Is American cheese strictly an American thing? And, for that matter, is there Swiss cheese in Switzerland??? - Jinx
Can’t speak about Europe, but they have American cheese in Japan, so it isn’t strictly an American thing.
I experienced American Cheese in Scotland, Hong Kong & Japan. In all 3 cases at McDonalds. Not usre if this counts.
I believe whereever McD’s is, American cheese will be there.
Swiss cheese in Switzerland? Sure. What we call “Swiss cheese” goes by Emmental/Emmenthal/Emmentaler in Europe.
Oh, one more thing. If by “American cheese” you mean “American cheese product” like Kraft singles, and not the hard cheddar-type cheese, then yes to that as well. Processed cheese in plastic single-serving wrappers are known there, too.
Even in France you can buy what we would call American cheese. I think they call it “hamburger cheese” or some such, and it comes in individually wrapped slices. I think their attitude is that since they already have 3,000 cheeses, they may as well go for comprehensiveness.
I thought American cheese was Cheddar cheese that was renamed due to anti-english sentiment at the time (kinda like Freedom Fries). I would think that Europeans would still call it Cheddar cheese, unless they are referring to the imitation stuff produced by Kraft and the like.
What I find a little more interesting is how they label foods with American names, when they have little to do with regional cuisine here.
For example: Texas Pizza, featuring those great Lone Star State ingredients, tomatoes, pepperoni, and mozzerella. 
Or, even better: Boston pizza, with, whodathunkit, farmer’s cheese (Frischkaese ???), spinach, mozzarella, onions, and … um … it’s been awhile since I took German, but almonds? (Mandeln?)
Say what?
Processed cheese is commonly known in the US as American cheese and in Australia, in a no less effective marketing ploy, as Tasty Cheese; it is also sometimes sold as cheese food, cheese product, etc… Ordinarily, cheeses separate into their constituent proteins and fats during prolonged heating; processed cheese is made from cheese, but typically emulsifiers, smelting salts, and food colourings are added to make the food perform consistently when cooked.
Phosphates and citrates bind to the casein proteins of cheese. With their polarity changed, these proteins now can interact with both water and fat. Smooth creamy cheese, within a large temperature range, is the result. As a consequence, flavor and texture is significantly changed, giving rise to the derogatory name “plastic cheese”. Nearly odorless, it is one of the blandest varieties of cheese.
Because processed cheese does not separate when melted, it is used as an ingredient in a variety of dishes. It is a fairly popular condiment on hamburgers, as it does not run off, nor change in texture or taste, as it is heated.
Processed cheese is sometimes sold in blocks, but more often sold packed in individual slices, with plastic wrappers or wax paper separating them.
Due to the processing and additives, some varieties cannot legally be labeled as “cheese” in many countries, including the United States and Great Britain, and so are sold as “cheese food”, “cheese spread”, or “cheese product”, depending primarily on the amount of cheese, moisture, and milkfat present in the final product.
A genuine American cheese was Liederkranz, made from 1891 to 1981, but now extinct.
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Processed_cheese”
Cheeses can go extinct?
But Liederkranz was a joke used in a Fracture Fairy Tales episode!
Apparently, Liederkranz was made with a specific live culture that may or may not still be alive today (the original producers shut down their operations in 1981), according to web sources. So, yes, a type of cheese can literally become extinct.
I’m sure they sell Kraft aerosol cheese overseas somewhere!
If by American Cheese you mean cheese made in America, then ASDA often stock Monterey Jack and I have seen Limberger in specialist cheese shops.
Processed cheese is never called “American Cheese” in Canada – and I’ve never heard of the slightly-better “real” “American Cheese” that I’ve heard of being available here, either. (There may be one or two shops in the nation I’ve overlooked, of course.)
I felt like an idiot after having a confusing (and inconclusive) dialogue with a Las Vegas server about what kind of cheese, exactly, the “American” cheese in their breakfast omelettes was. “Cheddar? Mozarella? What?” “American.” “Yeah, but what kind?” “American.”
I wouldn’t feel so stupid about it if they didn’t keep serving me Bloody Caesars without blinking, as though they were the most natural thing in the world.
Cheese food. As if cheese needs to eat.
It was a different world, a more primeval world, when the mighty Liederkrantz strode the American Prairies, grating themselves on the trees and leaving yellow-encrusted omlets in their wake. But the Liederkrantz are now extinct, and their distinctive roar will be heard no more. We can still find their rinds in museums.
Limburger is a Belgian cheese. I suppose there may be some American dairies that produce it, but it is definitely Belgian.
This thread has a whey about it. I’d be hard pressed not to post.
Ja!
From Google Translation:
“Enjoy our American Darling of the east coast: occupied with wonderful sahnigem frischkaese, tender spinach, finest Mozzarella, bulbs and almonds. All this harmoniously rounded off by a breath garlic as well as fine spices. That tastes super: just right!”
True American cheese (as opposed to cheese food) is a very young barrel cheddar, mixed with milk to give it an even milder flavor and make it melt more evenly. Closest I’ve seen in Norway is something that was called burger cheese, meant for putting on homemade cheeseburgers of course, though it was a good bit saltier than plain American cheese. My kids loved it, but it seems to have disappeared.
When we’re in the States, they gobble up the Land O’ Lakes American cheese from the supermarket deli, but won’t touch Kraft singles. See? I’m raising 'em right! 