# American cheese **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548 "2010-01-03T22:15:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/1 "2010-01-03T22:15:16Z")
Kraft Deli Deluxe American Cheese is a ‘Pasturized process cheese’. By legal definition, it is 100% cheese. Kraft Singles is a ‘Pasteurized process cheese product’. By legal definition, it contains less than 51% cheese and may not be sold as ‘cheese’. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/2 "2010-01-03T22:30:45Z")
Singles start out as a liquid goo that is splorked onto plastic and allowed to gel. I won’t eat them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/3 "2010-01-03T22:33:03Z")
Nor will I. But I’ll gladly make grilled cheese sandwiches or cheeseburgers with Deli Deluxe. ‘Splork’ is a good word. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/4 "2010-01-03T23:23:33Z")
You’ll _never_ convince some people that American cheese is real cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/5 "2010-01-03T23:24:25Z")
Kraft singles have their place. Jus’ sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/6 "2010-01-03T23:29:14Z")
All cheese starts out as liquid goo. That said, give me some sharp Vermont cheddar. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/7 "2010-01-04T02:17:43Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > You’ll _never_ convince some people that American cheese is real cheese. Tell me about it. We’ve had several Threads about this in the past and several posts into the Thread after it has been repeatedly emphasized that “American Cheese” is not interchangeable with “Kraft Singles”, there are still people posting “Eeew! American Cheese is NOT cheese that Kraft Singles shit is disgusting!” Growing up we always bought American Cheese sliced fresh at the deli- Philadelphia area, this was always White American Cheese. I live in California now. Anytime I go home to visit Philadelphia my mother knows to have deli sliced White American Cheese and fresh deli sliced rye bread waiting for me. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/8 "2010-01-04T03:22:47Z")
American cheese is real cheese. At its best, it has absolutely no flavor. Its popularity is the prime evidence that Americans fear flavors. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/9 "2010-01-04T04:26:14Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > You’ll _never_ convince some people that American cheese is real cheese. I’m not one of them. American used to be just cheddar, then was a mixture with colby, if I’m not misremembering (too much wine with the beef Wellington this evening). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/10 "2010-01-04T05:13:53Z")
Forget Kraft processed vaguely-similar-to-cheese ‘food’ product. There IS auxh a thing as American cheese – it’s a cream-colored cheese in several degrees of sharpness, depending on aging, that is a fairly tasty ‘vanilla’ cheese (not meaning vanilla-flavored, but the neutral state indicated by ‘vanilla’ as a generic adjective). There were cheesemakers among my collateral ancestors in Upstate New York who produced a mellow flavorful dairy-milk cheese. Sliced prepared processed cheese food, of whatever brand, is useful only for fixing quick kids’ meals, where bland and nutritious are the hallmarks. (Note I said ‘quick’ – I’m not talking about someone’s dinner, but the sort of thing where you need to ensure kid X eats a decent meal in the 45 minutes before he has to be at the soccer field, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/11 "2010-01-04T05:23:42Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Forget Kraft processed vaguely-similar-to-cheese ‘food’ product. > > \ > > Sliced prepared processed cheese food, of whatever brand, is useful only for fixing quick kids’ meals… > [@bienville](#): > > Tell me about it. We’ve had several Threads about this in the past and several posts into the Thread after it has been repeatedly emphasized that “American Cheese” is not interchangeable with “Kraft Singles”, there are still people posting “Eeew! American Cheese is NOT cheese that Kraft Singles shit is disgusting!” Ha! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/12 "2010-01-04T05:48:56Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Vermont cheddar. Oxymoron. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/13 "2010-01-04T06:44:11Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Forget Kraft processed vaguely-similar-to-cheese ‘food’ product. There IS auxh a thing as American cheese – it’s a cream-colored cheese in several degrees of sharpness, depending on aging, that is a fairly tasty ‘vanilla’ cheese (not meaning vanilla-flavored, but the neutral state indicated by ‘vanilla’ as a generic adjective). There were cheesemakers among my collateral ancestors in Upstate New York who produced a mellow flavorful dairy-milk cheese. It also has a nice meltability so suitable for things like the grilled cheese sandwich or cheeseburger when you like the cheeses in your fridge to not be individually wrapped in plastic sheets. Deli American is a staple in my cheese drawer. (I’m a vegetarian, I have a cheese drawer where most people keep meat.) ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Chaps\_Three](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Super\_Chaps\_Three](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Chaps_Three)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/14 "2010-01-04T08:23:56Z")
American Cheese would be a good title for a sitcom ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/15 "2010-01-04T09:45:10Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Ha! 😛 In the bit you snipped **Polycarp** did agree that American Cheese exists and made a point of distinguishing it from and contrasting it to “Kraft processed vaguely-similar-to-cheese ‘food’ product”. [QUOTE=Polycarp] There IS such a thing as American cheese – it’s a cream-colored cheese in several degrees of sharpness, depending on aging, that is a fairly tasty ‘vanilla’ cheese (not meaning vanilla-flavored, but the neutral state indicated by ‘vanilla’ as a generic adjective). There were cheesemakers among my collateral ancestors in Upstate New York who produced a mellow flavorful dairy-milk cheese. [/QUOTE] (Underlined Text indicates an altering of the original post from which the Quote was taken. Change made only to correct a typo: assuming “auxh” is a typo for “such”.) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/16 "2010-01-04T12:36:57Z")
[The recently dead American cheese thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=544262) that lasted way too long for the topic. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/17 "2010-01-04T14:53:42Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > Deli American is a staple in my cheese drawer. (I’m a vegetarian, I have a cheese drawer where most people keep meat.) I’m not a veg, but I also keep mostly cheese in my ‘meat’ drawer. Deli American can usually be found there with about 3-5 other types of cheese. American cheese most definitely has it own unique flavor and uses. ---
**Author:** ![Loisseau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@Loisseau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loisseau)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/18 "2010-01-04T15:59:23Z")
Land O Lakes white American cheese, fresh sliced at the deli. No more than a weeks worth. Makes the finest grilled cheese sandwiches ever. Kraft singles have an off taste that grilling makes even worse. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/19 "2010-01-04T16:55:47Z")
If I’m understanding correctly, you guys are saying that American cheese is _not_ Kraft Singles - it seems like if I order something in a restaurant that says it has American cheese on it\*, I’ll get something with Kraft Singles on it, though. I’m confused. \*Not likely - I hate it when people put that stuff on food instead of real cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548/20 "2010-01-04T17:13:29Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > [You] guys are saying that American cheese is _not_ Kraft Singles - it seems like if I order something in a restaurant that says it has American cheese on it\*, I’ll get something with Kraft Singles on it, though. I think you are correct on both points. In my experience, when you get “American Cheese” in a restaurant, you’re actually getting “Kraft Singles” (or some other similar version). In common parlance, the two are used interchangeably, but technically, they are different foods. In my opinion, American cheese has hardly any taste, other than the salt. It seems to be saltier to me than similar cheeses, but maybe that’s just because it’s just so mild that that’s all you taste. However, I can’t say that Kraft Singles have much taste, either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cheese/523548.md?page=2)