# What IS it about American Cheese? I just don't get it.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 13, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921 "2002-06-13T20:23:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/1 "2002-06-13T20:23:00Z")
I know someone who balked at trying some pimento cheese (that someone else had purchased) because it had been made with “American Cheese.”
(While it’s not the kind of cheese I would have chosen for pimento cheese, it still wasn’t bad–but getting back. . . .)
The protest was that American Cheese was “processed.”
I vouchsafed with, “What do you mean by ‘processed?’ All cheese is ‘processed’ in one way or another.”
The response was that it was heavily laden with soybean oil, as opposed to milk products.
I could have sworn that after looking at several packages, I didn’t see “soybean oil” as the main ingredients, so. . . .
What is about American Cheese that makes it so mild that it’s practically tasteless, and why it it so often the cheese of choice for cheeboogies?
Was she possibly confusing American Cheese with Cheez Whiz?
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### Author:  [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2002, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/2 "2002-06-13T20:41:22Z")
Maybe she thinks all American Cheese tastes like those individually wrapped pieces of yellow gunk. Kraft Delux American cheese is pretty good for sandwiches, Kraft singles are barely fit for human consumption.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/3 "2002-06-13T21:14:52Z")
If you’re looking for REAL, honest to goodness American cheese, go to a deli or the deli counter of a supermarket and buy a pound of Land O’ Lakes American cheese freshly sliced.
You’ll see the difference between that and the plastic stuff. The deli cheese has a nice, creamy taste and a better texture. It’s very good.
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### Author:  [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2002, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/4 "2002-06-13T21:28:28Z")
Bear in mind, that Kraft makes two completely different products: one is American cheese, and the other is American “cheese food.”
If you’re using individually wrapped slices, you’re almost certainly using “cheese food,” which is made primarily from oils, and has only a little bit of genuine milk. Their actual American cheese is made completely from milk. The flavor and the texture of American cheese is quite different from that of “cheese food.”
Don’t take my word for it, look at the labels.
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### Author:  [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2002, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/5 "2002-06-13T21:31:02Z")
Oh, and as for why the individually wrapped “cheese food” is used so often for cheeseburgers… it’s probably because cheese food melts a lot faster. If Dad is in the back yard grilling burgers, he can slap a piece of “cheese food” on the burger, and it’s gooey almost immediately. Real cheese takes its time melting.
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### Author:  [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/6 "2002-06-14T00:52:13Z")
Aren’t all american cheese pasteurized by law? If I’m right on this one, it could explain this issue. Pasteurization significantly dumbs down cheese’s flavor (the differents flavors of cheeses comes in large part from the bacterians it contains (not all bacteria are harmful). Pasteurization kills all bacteria, hence destroy the flavor. IIRC, other bacterias are sometimes added to some cheese after the pasteurization to somewhat restore the taste, but it’s necessarily not the same thing.
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### Author:  [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/7 "2002-06-14T02:22:38Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by clairobscur \*
> \*\*Aren’t all american cheese pasteurized by law? \*\*
(Canadian) cite: [http://www.parl.gc.ca/english/senate/com-e/agri-e/03ev-e.htm](http://www.parl.gc.ca/english/senate/com-e/agri-e/03ev-e.htm)
> [@](#):
>
> \*\*Approximately 98-99 per cent of cheese produced in Canada is made from pasteurized milk. Raw milk cheese production ranges from 50,000 to 65,000 kg per year compared to overall cheese production in Canada which is 305,000,000 kg annually.
>
> The Canadian production of raw milk cheese was almost non-existent five years ago. It is a developing niche market and the production is mainly concentrated in the province of Quebec. Raw milk cheese producers are also found in the provinces of BC, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Total consumption of raw milk cheese is relatively small accounting for 0.2 per cent of total cheese consumption in Canada. Historically, Dairy Farmers of Canada has been supportive of proposed regulatory amendments prohibiting the sale of raw or unpasteurized milk. DFC had a long-standing policy regarding the sale of raw milk to consumers and in 1990, extended its support to regulations pertaining to control of raw milk destined for cheese production.
> \*\*
I think that importation of unpasteurized cheese into Canada has been banned.
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/8 "2002-06-14T02:48:19Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by jiHymas \*
> \*\*I think that importation of unpasteurized cheese into Canada has been banned. \*\*
I don’t think that’s right - I can buy parmigiano reggiano at any supermarket around here, and I’m pretty sure that’s not pasteurized.
Here’s a cite (of sorts): [http://www.coldbacon.com/articles/sgparmigiano.html](http://www.coldbacon.com/articles/sgparmigiano.html) . About halfway down the page it says:
> [@](#):
>
> Because Parmigiano is concentrated and not pasteurized, it is an excellent source of nutrients, especially protein, calcium, phosphorous and B vitamins.
And also this [www.gourmetinteractive.com/articles/131feat4.html+parmigiano+pasteurized&hl=en&ie=utf-8](http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:2Jb7PLTh7CIC:%5Burl)"]Google cached page that says:
> [@](#):
>
> Parmigiano Reggiano
> Milk Type: Cow, raw milk
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/9 "2002-06-14T02:53:36Z")
Let’s try that link again: [foo](http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:2Jb7PLTh7CIC:www.gourmetinteractive.com/articles/131feat4.html+parmigiano+pasteurized&hl=en&ie=utf-8)
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### Author:  [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/10 "2002-06-14T03:31:22Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Manduck_
> \*\*I don’t think that’s right \*\*
I was able to find
[http://www.web.net/nben/envnews/media/01/mar/footmouth.htm](http://www.web.net/nben/envnews/media/01/mar/footmouth.htm)
> [@](#):
>
> \*\*CBC NEWS
> OTTAWA
> Mar 14, 2001
>
> Canada bans EU products as
> foot-and-mouth spreads
>
> Canada and the U.S. are banning certain meat and dairy products from the European Union because of foot-and-mouth disease, now that the outbreak has spread beyond British borders.
>
> Canada’s ban includes unpasteurized cheese, fresh unprocessed meat, all live animals, embryos and semen, as well as used farm equipment. \*\*
I don’t know whether the ban has been lifted, but the cite from the Senate shows that some have been wanting to do this for some time.
Unfortunately, I am not a cheese connaisseur, so cannot refer to personal knowledge obtained down at the deli.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/11 "2002-06-14T03:52:19Z")
Let me try to clarify one point. Of course, all cheese is processed, but processed cheese is cheese that has been ground up and melted and reformed. Probably reprocessed would be more descriptive. But I think that processed cheese has to be labeled. I also believe that cheese food is yet something else which is made from something less than 100% cheese. (I don’t count things like pepper cheese that has a small amount of red pepper ground into it, although I think it is processed.) Real American cheese is just a very mild cheddar and can be absolutely delicious. I don’t know about the Land O’ Lakes brand, but what we bought at the local deli when I was a kid was real good. Finally raw mild cheese is just what it says, cheese made from unpasteurized milk. It is, or at least used to be, legal provided it had been aged a certain amount of time, maybe 6 months or more.
You may be familiar with processed Gruyere in little triangular wedges. I guess it is made from Gruyere if it says so, but any resemblance between it and real Gruyere is purely coincidental. The latter is, among the hard cheeses, one of the world’s great ones, while the former is dreadful. On the other hand, I like at least one processed cheese: smoky Gouda. So there.
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### Author:  [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/12 "2002-06-14T05:44:47Z")
I’d just like to know where that “every Kraft single is made from 10 ounces of milk”, or whatever it is, comes from.
Is it just a very small fraction of (10 ounces of milk)?
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### Author:  [@woolly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woolly)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/13 "2002-06-14T06:10:49Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by KarmaComa \*
> I’d just like to know where that “every Kraft single is made from 10 ounces of milk”, or whatever it is, comes from.
>
> Is it just a very small fraction of (10 ounces of milk)?
Butterfat content of cows milk varies due to any number of factors, but would normally range from 3-6%, say typically 4%.
I can’t tell you the conversion ratio from cream to cheese, but expect it’s less than 50%.
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/14 "2002-06-14T06:11:59Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by jiHymas \*
> \*\*
>
> I was able to find
> [http://www.web.net/nben/envnews/media/01/mar/footmouth.htm](http://www.web.net/nben/envnews/media/01/mar/footmouth.htm)
>
> I don’t know whether the ban has been lifted\*\*
Well now I’m puzzled. I did some more googling, and I found several articles that referred to a proposed ban that was announced in March 1996, but not implemented. But your article is dated March 2001, so the articles I found aren’t relevant. I couldn’t find anything relating to the 2001 ban, but I do have a chunk of parmigiano in my fridge 🙂
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/15 "2002-06-14T06:38:57Z")
Ooh! Ooh! I found something!
[Canada Eases Foot and Mouth Ban](http://www.spcnetwork.com/mii/2001/010554.htm)
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### Author:  [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/16 "2002-06-14T14:05:50Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Manduck \*
> **Ooh! Ooh! I found something!**
Well, I’m impressed! I’m also surprised that, even when legal, you are able to find unpasteurized cheese in a supermarket - I was under the impression that it was more of a specialty/deli product (though to give them their due, the big supermarkets are getting less bland). Can you confirm that the labels on your cheese say “unpasteurized” or “raw milk” or whatever?
Regardless of whether unpasteurized cheese is legal or not, it is clear that it is a specialty product, given the proportion of production noted in the Senate report - even more so than “real beer”.
(Let’s really confuse the Americans, **Manduck** and get into a discussion of the merits of Upper Canada Dark Ale vs. Sleeman Rebellion Lager! 😃 )
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### Author:  [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/17 "2002-06-14T14:52:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I don’t think that’s right - I can buy parmigiano reggiano at any supermarket around here, and I’m pretty sure that’s not pasteurized.
I believe that’s because that is a “hard” cheese. Rules aren’t as strict on hard cheeses as they are on soft cheeses.
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/18 "2002-06-14T18:24:54Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by jiHymas \*
> \*\*
>
> Well, I’m impressed! I’m also surprised that, even when legal, you are able to find unpasteurized cheese in a supermarket - I was under the impression that it was more of a specialty/deli product (though to give them their due, the big supermarkets are getting less bland). Can you confirm that the labels on your cheese say “unpasteurized” or “raw milk” or whatever?
>
> Regardless of whether unpasteurized cheese is legal or not, it is clear that it is a specialty product, given the proportion of production noted in the Senate report - even more so than “real beer”.
>
> (Let’s really confuse the Americans, **Manduck** and get into a discussion of the merits of Upper Canada Dark Ale vs. Sleeman Rebellion Lager! 😃 ) \*\*
I think those must be eastern beers. I’ll have a Hermann’s Dark Lager instead 😃
But getting back to the all-important topic of cheese - the supermarkets around here have deli counters, which is like a small delicatessen inside the store, where you can get specialty cheeses, sausages, etc. They don’t put the parmigiano in the dairy case with the Kraft singles and such.
The cheese is sold bulk-style, i.e. in wedges cut off of a big wheel of cheese, so there is no proper label on it. Parmigiano Reggiano is marked on the rind though.
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### Author:  [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/19 "2002-06-14T21:43:56Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I’ll have a Hermann’s Dark Lager instead
Oh, the memories! Drink one for me, please. Ten years ago, my wife and I went to BC for vacation, and I remember Hermann’s Dark lager being wonderful.
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-american-cheese-i-just-dont-get-it/113921/20 "2002-06-15T01:07:59Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by ZenBeam \*
> \*\* Drink one for me, please._\*
Will do 😉