Yep, if we have seven or eight of these Threads a year AHunter3 and gonzomax may finally realize American Cheese is not limited to individually wrapped slices of Kraft orange goo.
Kraft also makes a Swiss cheese, and it sucks. Why is it, when someone says “I like Swiss cheese,” others don’t pile on with “Ick! Kraft plastic wrapped artificial Swiss cheese is gross!”?
Incidentally, bouv, I share your fondness for cheddar so sharp it cuts the tongue, but I also like White American from the deli. Different cheeses for different moods/uses.
Let’s be clear - I’m not anti-lactic by any means - but Velveeta is good, but only insofar a narrow spectrum as outlined above. Gouda is wonderful in omelets, but I do enjoy Velveeta in certain pedestrian applications. Ersatz food ever and always disgusts me thoroughly and generally, but I submit that Velveeta makes no pretensions of something it is not.
I love American cheese on crackers (preferably Zesta saltines) with a bit of mayo or Miracle Whip. I also love what someone else said they hated — toasted American cheese with the browned bubbles. Mmm…
\ Super super sharp is my cheese. It can not be cut it crumbles too easily. I used to buy it in Pinconning Mich but not lately. It is hard to fing sharp enough cheese in the Dearborn area.
Yep. I like both sharp and mild cheddar. I like all cheeses. I buy the ‘American’ in the deli section. I also like the kraft singles. But certainly not the pre-wrapped ones. It’s just pre-sliced.
You ever notice how those individually wrapped slices aren’t called “cheese”? They’re called “singles”. Because they aren’t cheese, they’re something else. Something gut-wrenchingly disgusting.
Actually, they’re clearly marked as “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product” on the labels, which is a bit odd, since the usual designation it “Pasteurized Process Cheese Product.” That name is a specific FDA designation as to what it includes, and there are minimums of milkfat and other ingredients.
Not that it tastes any good. At best, it has no flavor at all; at worst, it can ruin anything it gets within six inches of.
Most people reguard Human Cuisine as being limited to South Seas barbcues or the rah-ther heavily processed product Soylent Green, but you can make a perfectly delightful Cheese out of most Americans
gah—American “cheese”. Why is there almost no consumer product that, when you put “American” in front of it, you know immediately that it’s an internationally respected, high-quality product eagerly sought the world over? About the only exception I can think of is cigarettes, the aroma of which betrayed the presence of Americans in post-WWII-era German short stories. And cigarettes are evil now.
Since there are so many people out there, myself included, who have a devotion to “real” American Cheese…wouldn’t it make sense for somebody to get up and running on production of an actual, honest to goodness REAL American Cheese, something that’s not “cheese food product” but an actual dairy-made cheese that has the taste and texture of what we know as American Cheese, a cheese that’s just as legitimate a cheese as Monterey Jack or Gouda? They could label it “Gourmet American Cheese,” place it in “upscale” groceries, and make a mint. Somebody out there has to be able to do this, right? Right?
By definition, all American cheese is processed cheese. There are three main types, in descending order of quality:
American cheese. Made only of cheese and emulsifying salts (maybe dye, too). This is what McDonald’s uses on their sandwiches, and what you get when you buy “Kraft Deluxe” slices.
American cheese food. As little as 51% cheese. What you get when you buy “Kraft Singles.” The rest is mostly water, skim milk, whey, and emulsifying salts. :dubious:
American cheese product. 50% or less cheese. The rest is mostly water, skim milk, whey, and emulsifying salts. What you get when you buy “Kraft Velveeta.”
