Is not then American Cheese simply a processed cheese product that happens to be based on a single ingredient (cheese)?
(i.e. not actually a variety of cheese, in the same way that omelette is not a variety of egg)
Yeah, I am one.
Retro thread rebound! There is a current thread about “how to spot the American”, in which I got needlessly involved about my dislike of the so called “cheese”
Processed cheese just is not cheese, any more than mince is not steak. And at least with mince there are no extra ingredients being added, just the form factor changing.
American “cheese” is comparable to polony, which I think is called baloney in your part of the world. It is an industrial reclaimed meat product that strips what little meat there is from the bones of the slaughtered animal, pulverises it, mixing in various other ingredients, and then extruding it as a sausage for use on bread or, god forbid, occasionally fried.
I am willing to eat a number of things, many of which exceed “normal” expectations, but processed meat and processed cheese are a hard limit. I mean, yes, a mopani worm or two. Yes, a whole roasted field mouse on a kebab. A lamb brain curry. Crocodile, warthog, durian (smelliest fruit ever).
But American cheese? It is just a plastic material that is yellow and melts at an appropriate temperature for a burger topping.
Can you imagine a white bread* sandwich made with just polony/baloney and American cheese? I would have been expelled fron junior school if my mother had chosen to pack that combination in my lunchbox, the teachers would have heard swear words with which they were not familiar.
Thanks for reading my rant.
* dont get me started on white bread! I bake. I bake white but I carefully choose my flour, and it is very different to the floppy tasteless stuff you get in a supermarket.
Ok, who is the person reading this who prefers Kraft Singles? Or is it a pica situation? They would be preferable to something like dirt I guess.
Wow, this thread. I only barely remember participating.
American cheese is a cooked product made from a mild cheddar-type cheese, treated with citrate to stabilise it. I feel tempted to argue that this is not cheese because of the process it’s been subjected to, even though it doesn’t fit the local definition of ‘processed cheese product’.
But then Mozzarella is cooked during the manufacturing process, and the milk is also acidified, and I wouldn’t dream of arguing that Mozzarella is not cheese, so American Cheese is cheese. It’s not cheese that I desire to eat in very many contexts (melted on a burger sounds fine - in fact I’ve tried mature, highly flavourful cheeses in burgers and the powerful flavour of the cheese competes with the beef, rather than enhancing it, so a mild, smooth-melting cheese is a good choice there).
Eh, I don’t buy it, I don’t eat it, but I’m not going to judge people who do, at least, not if they’ve given superior options a try. I know plenty of people who don’t eat cheeseburgers at all, because they feel that most cheeses (but especially crappy American cheese) cover up the taste of what they’re eating. Of course, with American fast food burgers, that’s often a pro rather than a con, but… 
But if it’s the taste of your childhood, or other fond memories, or just plain comfort food, go for it.
And that leaves out the similarly processed options like Velveeta, which again, I would not use on it’s own, or for flavor, but has a limited place if I’m making a big batch of queso and need it’s melting properties and ability to stay plastic (insert joke here) with a great number of add-ons for the actual flavor. You’re basically using it as an emulsifier to facilitate the addition of a number of other more solid or more fluid ingredients.
On the gripping hand though, if I’m doing it in small batches for just myself and one or two others, I’ll take the extra time and quality ingredients and skip the Velveeta, because, well, yeah, it isn’t adding anything to the party (in both senses)!
^ This. Even though by definition American cheese is real cheese, all of the haters get stuck on the ‘pasteurized process food product’ that isn’t, by definition, real cheese. Kraft Singles are not American cheese, even if they look alike.
Which, again, doesn’t meet the definition of ‘cheese’ like American cheese does.
No argument, just saying that personal preferences are one thing, utility is a second, and definitions are a third.
But to your original (2010) point, if I was buying cheese, I’d identify it as such. If I was buying Velveeta or Kraft singles, I’d say I was buying those products (by name) and why, but I wouldn’t say I was buying “cheese”.
Similarly, if I was providing a cheese platter, cubes, or a sampler for friends/family, I wouldn’t think of including either, even if I knew there were people in that group who liked them.
Every cheese does. It’s called “milk”. 
Mozzarella and Cheddar are the two most popular cheeses in America- all processed cheeses come a pale third.
Incidentally, I got a log of fresh mozzarella and a live basil plant at lunchtime today. I’ll have to get some Roma tomatoes tomorrow.
Velveeta is a perfectly cromulent name for a baby girl.
Both bland cheeses with little flavor.
Good sharp cheddar, of course, is an exception, but most people go for the blander version like supermarket “sharp” cheddar.
The youngest cheddar in my home is over 5 years old. I can buy that one in 5 lb blocks from our local cheese factory. The oldest is over 20.
American cheese is as real as mozzarella, as has been mentioned. We rarely stock it; only for large parties where we’re grilling a lot of burgers, as the youngsters demand it. To each their own.
My friend used to be a cook aboard an Alaska fishing vessel. He said, of Velveeta, that if you put it on chum salmon, the crew would actually eat it.
So…one use for Velveeta.
I always thought Velveeta was the primary ingredient in ‘gringo’ nacho sauce. A block of the stuff melted with a jar of spicy salsa, then ladled over tortilla/corn chips. No?
“Mexican Velveeta” (if they still make it) made great grilled cheeses.
Yes, indeed - chili con queso. The classic short cut is Velveeta + Rotel. Guilty, guilty pleasure. I like American cheese on a burger or a nostalgic childhood grilled cheese, but queso is the only thing I’ll use Velveeta for and it has been many a year. Don’t let it cool! Cold queso is a repulsive plastic block.
Where? Where?
The real American cheese (like the Deli Deluxe mentioned in the OP) is okay. I will buy it on occasion; not often, but every once in a while. It’s cheese, it’s just not as good as most other cheese. But in certain dishes it’s okay.
In particular, it’s not that bad on a burger, where the cheese mostly serves the purpose of offering a melty texture and maybe a bit of saltiness, which the cheese can provide.
I do not like the “cheese product” version. Never did, not even as a kid. I don’t buy that version. It gives me a headache. I might even have a mild allergy to it.
I don’t like American cheese. Yeah, it’s okay on a burger, or even melted into a grilled cheese sandwich, but it doesn’t stand up in its own. It’s bland and just tastes fatty.
But it’s not objectionable. The “singles” are nasty and taste like plastic. I remember when they first came out, and immediately replaced slices American cheese at the supermarket. And they tasted like plastic. I assumed it was from the contact with the plastic. But now i wonder if the product itself tastes like that.
Also cheap - the process cheese food is invariably cheaper than actual cheese.
Which is why I happily pay more for “Deli Deluxe” which is actual cheese.
Yes.
One is cheese and one is not cheese.
Traditionally, American processed cheese is a mix of mild cheddar and colby. Yes, it’s considered a variety of cheese.
It can also be made entirely with mild cheddar.
And, just to make it clear that it’s not just the Americans doing this sort of thing - Laughing Cow cheese is also a pasteurized process cheese, but since it’s French some people who diss American cheese will consider laughing cow to be a real cheese. (The original La vache qui rit was based on Swiss cheese if I recall correctly). If anything, it’s even more bland than American cheese.
Which is OK by me - not everything has to be strongly flavored enough to knock over a moose.