Is there anything more American than American Cheese? There sure are but those single slices of cheese or cheese product that we let melt over top of our burger patties certainty encompasses the indu
strial attitude America has about food. What is American cheese anyway? Well it’s a processed cheese, the definition of which surprised me when I read it. Processed cheese is not just a vat of chemicals solidified and molded to look and sometimes act like cheese. I say sometimes because I want to tell a story.
It was a particularly cold tailgate. More than usual we huddled around my friend’s grill trying to stay warm. Beer and corn-hole were not doing the job. He was throwing on burgers and had two types of cheese to choose from, yellow american and white american. However the yellow american was labeled as processed cheese and the white was labeled as cheese product.The yellow american melted normally but the white “product, not so much. After a minute the slice began to turn translucent. As it reached just opaque enough to know that there was a burger underneath the corners began to curl and burn. We did not eat that burger. We did test another slice right on the grill. Same thing happened.
This is what I assumed all processed cheese was. This is not the case. Processed cheese according to Federal Code of Regulations of the United States, processed cheese must be made from one or more cheeses. They then breakdown into three sub categories: Pasteurized Processed Cheese, Processed Pasteurized Cheese Food, and Processed Pasteurized Cheese Spread. American Cheese is usually made from a combination of cheeses and must be labeled as a processed American Cheese Food if other dairy products are added. The traditional cheese used to make american cheese is cheddar. This is no surprise as cheddar is the most predominant English cheese and much of early american food history is dominated by English influence.
What about those “single slices”? Well these are made with milk proteins and do not necessarily have to include cheese by any definition. This is where I made the mistake of assuming this stuff is processed cheese. This is the vat of chemicals. Why do this? Well it’s cheaper. I assume it is also easier to turn these chemicals into an aerosol for cheese spraying purposes. If you take note above to “Pasteurized Cheese Food, it is a regulated term. In 2002 the FDA sent a letter to Kraft saying that their “singles” could no longer be called “cheese food” as it did not meet government requirements to be “food”. They changed the labeling to say “pasteurized cheese product… yum.
Usually I try to tell you what to eat here or my opinion but this time I simply want you to think about taste and probably health over convenience. Yes it is a bit harder to separate deli sliced cheese than a pre-packaged “slice” but there are more benefits to buying from the deli counter. One, you are helping someone keep their job. Two, it tastes better. Three, it is more likely better for you. Four, less plastic you are throwing out. So, if you are buying american go to the counter.