American Cheese Is the World's Most Misunderstood Cheese
I am an unapologetic American cheese lover. I grew up in a household where everything from scrambled eggs to baked potatoes to broccoli was swathed in a blanket of American cheese. American cheese was as ubiquitous to me when I was a child as cheddar, Swiss, and mozzarella. It wasn’t until I grew up that I became aware of the fact that American cheese is quite divisive, with some people happily singing its praises, while others decry that it’s “too processed,” “plasticky,” and even “not real cheese.”
In my opinion, American is the ideal melting cheese. Every marketing image of a perfect burger has a slice of yellow American on it for a reason. The emulsifiers in American cheese help it melt easily and smoothly, making it not just the best burger topper, but also the secret ingredient in a good cheese sauce.
But what exactly is American cheese? And what’s the difference between the block at the deli counter and those iconic individually wrapped slices? I’ll explore all of that here, and also offer ideas for how to use it properly. I promise you will not be sorry.
What Is American Cheese, Anyway?
Originally developed in Switzerland as a way to reduce waste and patented by James Kraft in 1916, American cheese is made differently than most other types of cheese. Instead of starting with milk or cream and separating the curds from the whey, American is made from a blend of other cheeses and combined with emulsifiers to make it silky smooth.
Is American Cheese “Processed” Cheese?
Let’s get this clear. Yes, American cheese is processed cheese, but so is all cheese. All cheese is processed cheese. Cheese is made by human hands via a series of processes. Heating milk to separate the whey from the curds. Pressing the curds. Stretching the cheese. Adding salt. Washing with brine. The introduction of bacteria. Aging. These are all processes that various kinds of cheese go through. Holding American cheese separate from other types of cheese because it’s “processed” doesn’t make any sense. Many of the ingredients we use in our everyday lives — bread, butter, yogurt, pasta, rice, to name a few — go through some kind of process before reaching our kitchens. That doesn’t make them inherently subpar.
What’s the Difference Between American Cheese from the Deli and Pre-Packaged Slices?
My love for American cheese extends specifically to the kind you get sliced from the deli counter at the supermarket, not the kind you find packaged in individual slices, which has a much different texture and flavor (and is often what comes to mind when one hears the term “American cheese”).
Deli American cheese falls under the category of “processed cheese.” Per FDA guidelines it contains more fat, which gives it the rich, cheesy flavor and smooth texture I adore. Pre-packaged slices, meanwhile, are defined as a “processed cheese food or product.” This designation means the “cheese product” can have much less fat, which results in a bland slice with a distinctly congealed texture.
How to Use American Cheese
First of all, grab it from the deli counter. Secondly, I am not advising you to replace your go-to cheeses with American. I am an enthusiastic lover of all kinds of cheese and rarely have less than four varieties in my fridge at any given time — a fancy cheese counter loves to see me coming.
If you’ve ever tried making a cheese sauce with sharp cheddar, it can be kind of tricky because cheddar, like many other varieties of cheese, separates when exposed to high heat. Instead of a smooth sauce, it’s easy to wind up with a clumpy, oily mess. However, if you stir a slice or two of American into the same sauce, the emulsifiers in the cheese will keep it smooth and unbroken.
American will improve nacho cheese, a classic grilled cheese, or an egg sandwich (to name but a few examples). It will add both mild cheesy flavor and smooth-as-silk-velvety texture. The flavor is mild enough that it won’t take over, and your food will have that inexplicably perfect cheesy quality we’re all after. Just humor me on this and give it a try.
Recipes to Try with American Cheese
Further Reading
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