American cheese

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For information on processed cheese in general, see processed cheese.
This article refers specifically to one type of cheese. For other cheeses of the United States, see List of American cheeses.
American cheese
American cheese

American cheese is a common processed cheese. It is orange, yellow, or white in color and mild in flavor, with a medium-firm consistency, and melts easily. It has traditionally been made from a blend of cheeses, most often Colby and Cheddar. Today's American cheese is generally no longer made from a blend of all-natural cheeses, but instead is a processed cheese (i.e. it is manufactured from a set of ingredients[1] such as milk, whey, milkfat, milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, salt) which meets the legal definition of cheese.

The common use of the marketing label "American Cheese" for "processed cheese" combined with the prevalence of processed cheese in the U.S. compared to the rest of the world has led to the term American cheese being used in the United States synonymously in place of processed cheese. Moreover, the term "American cheese" has a legal definition as a type of pasteurized process cheese under the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. The legal definition is discussed in the article on processed cheese.

American Cheese has long been a mainstay in popular American cuisine, most notably on cheeseburgers, in grilled cheese sandwiches, and in ham and cheese sandwiches.

Contents

[edit] Varieties

[edit] Origins in cheddar

Despite the common usage, American Cheese also has another definition. It can also refer to a mild, pale white to yellow cheddar[citation needed]. This is the source of origin of the name, as the gradual "watering down" of mild cheddar by processing it gave rise to modern American cheese[citation needed].

The term store cheese[2] is sometimes informally used to describe American Cheese and similar American cheddars.

[edit] Processed American Cheese

Even though the term "American cheese" has a legal definition in the United States as a type of pasteurized process cheese, products with the label "American Cheese" are by no means identical. Depending on the additives and the amounts of milk fat and water added to the cheese during emulsification, the taste and texture of American Cheese varies, with some varieties (e.g. "American Cheese" and "American Process Cheese") being very similar to non-processed cheese and other varieties (e.g. "American Cheese Food" and "American Cheese Product") being more like Velveeta or Cheez Whiz. The interested consumer should pay close attention to the wording used on the label of each product and to the ingredient list. (Refer to the definitions in the Sale and labeling section of the article on Processed cheese.)

The taste and texture of American Cheese varies considerably, and mostly depends on the percentage of cheese versus additives used during the emulsification process. Varieties with lower percentages of additives tend to taste more like natural unprocessed cheese. In addition, depending on the food manufacturer, the color of the cheese (orange, yellow, or white) may signify different ingredients or process. Some manufacturers reserve the white and yellow colors for their more natural[3] (i.e. fewer additives) American Cheese varieties. In other cases [4], the ingredients for white and orange colors are the same, except for the coloring. However, this does not necessarily mean that even these white and orange cheeses have the exact same flavor and texture because the spice annatto, which has a subtle but noticeable taste, is often used for coloring American Cheese[1].

The processed variety of American Cheese is sold in three basic packaging varieties: individually wrapped cheese slices[4], small pre-sliced blocks of 16 to 36 slices, and large blocks[3] meant for deli counters. The individually wrapped cheese slices are typically the least like natural cheese. These "slices" are actually individually poured onto each plastic wrapper and then set to emulsify. Small (e.g., 16 to 36 slice) blocks of presliced, but not individually-wrapped, American Cheese are also marketed, often with the branding "deluxe" or "old fashioned". This variety of American Cheese is similar in ingredients and texture to that of modern block American Cheese. Before the advent of the individually wrapped variety, this was the typical variety that Americans purchased. Hence, some people refer to this as "traditional", "old fashioned", or "classic" American Cheese. American Cheese in block form sold at deli counters is typically a more natural cheese than its individually wrapped cousin. Nonetheless, most block American Cheese is still a processed cheese[3].

[edit] History and usage of the term American Cheese

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The Oxford English Dictionary defines American cheese as a "cheese of cheddar type, made in the U.S." The Oxford English Dictionary lists 1804 as the first known usage of "American cheese", occurring in the newspaper Guardian of Freedom, Frankfort, Kentucky. The next usage given is in 1860 by Charles Dickens in his series The Uncommercial Traveller.

In these early references, "American cheese" is used to distinguish it from European cheese. An 1878 newspaper article in The New York Times lists the total export of American cheese at 355 million pounds per year, with an expected growth to 1,420 million pounds[5]. Another article from 1878 mentions that the high quality American cheese is usually re-labelled under European names after export, with only low grade cheese retaining American labelling in Europe[6]. It also states that even in the United States quality American cheese is often relabelled as Swiss, etc, and that this situation is a detriment to the reputation of American cheesemakers. This practice may be in part responsible for the name "American cheese" being synonymous with bland, low quality cheese[7].

[edit] See also

[edit] Softer versions of American/Process cheese

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Kraft Singles (Orange) Ingredients List.
  2. ^ Refer to definition of Store Cheese at Word Web Online
  3. ^ a b c For example, Land O' Lakes sells several varieties of what they call "slicing cheese" in orange, yellow, and white varieties. The orange variety is labeled "Pasteurized Process American Cheese"; the yellow variety is labeled "Yellow American"; the white variety is labeled "White American".
  4. ^ a b For example Kraft sells individually wrapped "American Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product" under the trade name "Kraft Singles" in both Orange and White colorings.
  5. ^ “The Cheese all inspected”, The New York Times: 5, December 8, 1878 .
  6. ^ “Lesson of a bit of cheese”, The New York Times: 8, December 9, 1878 . "There are other important lessons which the fair closed on Saturday will suggest to the practical men. One of them is that the best grades of American cheese should enter the foreign market and our own with an American label, not as spurious Roquefort, Stilton, Swiss, &c. As it is, for the most part, only certain inferior grades of American manufacture enter the foreign market as American, to the great detriment of our reputation for fine production, though, possibly, to the present profit of middlemen and commission houses."
  7. ^ “Fair Cheese”, The New York Times: 2, December 7, 1878 . This is the first of several articles covering the dairy fair held in New York City in 1878. "He remembered well how flavorless were the first consignments of American cheese that entered the European market...However all that was over now, and the products of American dairy men vied with those of Europe in flavor and delicacy."

[edit] External links

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