I do love cheese, but I would say Kraft or Velveeta do serve a useful culinary purpose. They make a nice, easily meltable and smooth sauce base to which you add real cheeses, as in, say, making a classic macaroni and cheese.
Until Shrub came along, I’d always maintained that american cheese was the worst atrocity the US had inflicted on the rest of the world. Of course, all I’ve ever had was the Kraft plastic stuff. I still haven’t had the real thing- I’m too in love with cheddar, muenster, farmer’s, and my all-time favorite, port-salut.
But I don’t just mean a change in packaging. I mean, craft a real version of what we’ve come to know as American Cheese. There has to be some way to get those American Cheese qualities of flavor, meltability and consistency in an honest to goodness, like they made it on the farm cheese. I believe there’s a fortune to be made there, if someone just has the know-how.
And yes, I know, “meltability” is pure advertising-speak, but I couldn’t think of a better term.
Kraft makes both the “real thing” (American cheese) and the “plastic stuff” (American cheese food). See my previous post above.
UGH, you use that stuff in, like, real food? What’s wrong with just using cheese-cheese, with milk, flour and butter?
Anyway, this has all been quite a revelation. I never even knew there was such a thing as ‘American cheese’. I’m guessing it’s what us Brits would just call processed cheese.
Sure. You’d be surprised at how many decent restaurants use Velveeta as a “universal solvent” of sorts. There was an article here in either the Trib or Sun-Times with secret shortcuts of the top chefs, and Velveeta was indeed one of them. If you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it.
We just call it processed cheese. In fact it’s a requirement that it be identified as such in advertisements. I hadn’t even heard the term “American” cheese until I read about it previously on the SDMB.
“Kraft Deluxe” is still greatly inferior to White American sliced fresh at the deli.
Though I respect your dairyland heritage, you are strengthening the myth that American Cheese = Kraft.
bouv said it beautifully:
Hee. One time I asked my friend if his dog liked cheese. “Oh, he likes cheese but he shouldn’t have it. It binds him up.” Now **that’s ** knowing your dog pretty well! (The dog would go out on its own to “do its business” so I’m surprised my friend would know that much about it.)
I used Kraft only because it’s the best known national brand of American cheese, something that most people would be familiar with. I myself have Kroger brand deluxe American slices in my refrigerator.
Something else I’ll add about American cheese: it’s not meant to be eaten by itself, like on a cheese tray. It’s meant to be cooked with, or sliced thinly and put in a sandwich (e.g., a hamburger). American cheese is a cheddar-like cheese that melts better than cheddar, and slices thinly without breaking.
It also makes a good cheese sauce for broccoli.
By virtue of our standing in the world the U.S. much automatically inflicts its leader on everyone else, but can it be said that we have inflicted American cheese on anyone? Is it even sold anywhere else?
Right, I’ll be sure to stop by on my way to the Kool-Aid Festival.
It is sold throughout Canada and Mexico and in Britain and Ireland, although not necessarily called “American cheese”. Often called “processed cheese”.
They certainly had processed cheese slices in Germany and Hungary from what I remember.
Although the slices came from America, they are usually not marketed as American. There are also different flavors inspired by various (European) types of cheese. The default flavor is called “Toast” - perhaps thats the closest to the original. The only slices that I have seen marketed as American (but not exactly “American Cheese”) were oversized ones for use with “American” white bread (snow white, about twice as large as usual).
It might be possible to buy American cheese but I’ve never consciously seen it.
I’ve never seen them marketed as “American” cheese myself (note that I never refer to it as such in my post). In Hungary, it was marketed as “camping cheese” or something like that.