Who invented American Cheese?

[gbrisson2000]

Hello, all! I'm new here, so bear with me!

Recently, my friends and I were discussing the un-merits of American Cheese. Apparently, most of them think it's disgusting, but all of us wonder where it was invented and by whome (Someone actually suggested it was invented in Canada!)

And while we're at it, is *all* American Cheese "Processed, Pasturized Cheese Food Product" or just Velveeta?

Thanks,

Greg

[Coldfire]

Welcome aboard!

Since cheese already existed in the Old World, I think it's fair to assume that noone invented "american cheese". Or is there something that I'm missing? Is this a specific sort of cheese that's unique to the US?

[gbrisson2000]

Well, American Cheese as known in the US is usually yellow (but does come in a white variety), blandish and is almost always used for grilled cheese sandwhiches. You can ask for it by name ("American Cheese") and Velveeta seems to be the #1 distributor (remember the ads? Velveeta melts better?) That's the cheese I mean!

[woodstockbirdybird]

Coldfire, don't they have American cheese in the Netherlands? Maybe it's called by a different name in different parts of the world. It comes in flat, square, individually wrapped (usually) slices and we in the U.S. most commonly use it to make grillled cheese sandwiches. No idea who invented it, though.

[scratch1300]

Originally posted by gbrisson2000
And while we're at it, is *all* American Cheese "Processed, Pasturized Cheese Food Product" or just Velveeta?

Well, there's American cheese and there's American cheese.

American cheese is really just a very mild cheddar. It can be good, if not especially flavorful -- just get some at the deli instead of pre-packaged in the dairy aisle. I don't know, however, when the appelation "American" attached to this kind of cheese.

[woodstockbirdybird]

Oops, gbrisson2000 beat me to it. It's also the kind of cheese used on burgers at most chains (McDonald's, Burger King, etc.).

[bibliophage]

Traditionally "American Cheese" refers to a very mild type of cheddar cheese. It's hard to find these days but it would be similar to "mild cheddar" or "Monterey Jack". The crap you buy in the grocery store is "Process American Cheese". The first process cheese was made in Switzerland in 1911 but really took off when James Kraft started making it in Chicago in 1912.

Cecil Adams on Process cheese: A related question: What's the deal with so-called process cheese and cheese spreads such as the infamous Velveeta? They're not completely synthetic, as some believe; rather, they're made by mixing and heating natural cheeses and emulsifiers, producing a "homogenous plastic mass." (I am quoting from my cheese book, you understand.) While we gourmands may sniff at such stuff, it does have the advantages of uniformity, long shelf life, and comparatively low production cost, no small achievement in a world where many are glad to have any cheese at all.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/981002.html

[Shiva]

From http://www.lovechef.com/foodweek/frCheeseFeature.html

The first American cheeses were brick cheese, invented in Wisconsin in 1877, and Liederkranz, produced in New York State since 1892.
[\quote]

From http://members.tripod.com/~FCFA/essay.html

[quote]All was well and good in the American cheese scene until a businessman named J.L. Kraft invented and patented a way to make processed cheese. The company that he founded also patented a way to individually wrap each slice of processed cheese mechanically. This new type of cheese became commonly known as American cheese...

[bibliophage]

One source I found says James Kraft first introduced process cheese in Canada in 1915, not Chicago in 1912. If true, there's your Canada connection. Kraft's website (http://www.kraft.com/html/heritage/kraftd.html) incates they started making process cheese in 1915 in Stockton Illinois. If the Canadian connection is real, it's my WAG that their first customer was the Canadian armed forces. Canadians were already fighting in Europe by 1915, but America wouldn't join the war until 1917.

[gbrisson2000]

Thanks everyone! :-) That's enough info to satisfy my brief curiosity!

Greg

[occ]

I would draw a distinction between American cheese and Velveeta. Though both are used for melting, oftentimes (and melt much better than a lot of cheeses), Velveeta is almost more of a cheese spread, while American cheese has a sturdier consistency. American cheese is also my dog's favorite food.

[evilhanz]

From http://www.cebco.com/spring.html

History of American Cheese: Years ago, there were companies who were manufacturing and cutting all kinds of cheeses. When you produce cheese and cut it in to uniform shapes and sizes, there are a certain amount of cheese trimmings which are left over. One day a cheese maker decided to utilize the trimmings to make a new type of cheese. He threw all of the trimmings in to the cooker (American Cheese is cooked or processed), added some barrel cheddar for consistency and sliceability, added some moisture (water) for meltability, and voila . . . American Cheese! This was a great day in Cheese as it gave all of the cheese makers a place to use their trimmings.

There was just one problem, American Cheese became so popular that there were not enough trimmings to satisfy the demand for American Cheese. Cheese makers would then (and most still do today) shop the world over for any type of cheese they could buy at a cheap price. They would throw this cheap cheese in to the cooker with some cheddar and water to make their American Cheese. This is not an easy process because the cheese had to perform two very critical functions, it has to slice properly and it must melt properly. This may sound easy but it truly is not. When you make American Cheese with all kinds of different cheeses, the formulation must be perfect or the finished product will not work properly.


Further notes from the field:

J.L. Kraft invented and patented a way to make processed cheese. The company that he founded also patented a way to individually wrap each slice of processed cheese mechanically. This new type of cheese became commonly known as American cheese, although it is actually a combination of cheddar, colby, and washed curd. This and only two others, cream and cottage cheeses are credited as American inventions.