American cheese

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This article is about a specific type of cheese. For cheeses of the United States generally, see List
of American cheeses.
"American Cheese" redirects here. For the Nerf Herder album, see American Cheese (album).

American processed cheese (wrapped slices)

American cheese is a processed cheese. It is orange, yellow, or white in color and mild in flavor,
with a medium-firm consistency, and melts easily. American cheese was originally only white,
but is usually now modified to orange. It has been made from a blend of cheeses, most often
Colby and Cheddar. Today’s American cheese is generally no longer made from a blend of other
cheeses, but instead is manufactured from a set of ingredients[1] such as milk, whey, milkfat, milk
protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, and salt. When some of these or other substitutes
are used, it does not meet the legal definition of cheese in many jurisdictions, and must be
labeled as "cheese analog", "cheese product", processed cheese, or similar.

The marketing label “American Cheese” for “processed cheese” combined with the prevalence
of processed cheese in the U.S. compared to the rest of the world has led to the term American
cheese being used in the U.S. synonymously in place of processed cheese. Moreover, the term
“American cheese” has a legal definition as a type of pasteurized process cheese under the U.S.
Code of Federal Regulations.[2]

American cheese is used in American cuisine, for example on cheeseburgers, in grilled cheese
sandwiches, and in macaroni and cheese.

Contents
[hide]
  1 History
o 1.1 Origins
o 1.2 1942 U.S. restriction to American cheese
 2 Modern varieties
 3 See also
 4 Notes
 5 External links

[edit] History
[edit] Origins

British colonists made cheddar as soon as they arrived in America. By 1790, American cheddars
were being exported back to England. The British referred to American cheddar as "American
cheese," or "Yankee cheese," and post-Revolution Americans promoted this usage to distinguish
their product from European cheese.[3] For example, an 1878 newspaper article in The New York
Times lists the total export of American cheese at 355 million pounds per year, with an expected
growth to 1,420 million pounds.[4]

Originally, the English considered American cheese inferior in quality; still, it was cheap, so it
sold. This connotation of the term American cheese became entrenched in Europe even after the
Americans began producing quality cheese. Another article from 1878 mentions that the high
quality American cheese is usually re-labelled under European names after export, with only low
grade cheese retaining American labelling in Europe.[5] It also states that even in the United
States quality American cheese is often relabelled, etc., and that this situation is a detriment to
the reputation of American cheesemakers. This practice may be in part responsible for the name
"American cheese" being synonymous with bland, low quality cheese.[6]

"American Cheese" continued to refer to American cheddar until the advent of the processed
cheese that now commands the title. Meanwhile, Americans themselves referred to their cheddar
as "yellow cheese" or "store cheese," because of its popularity and availability.[3] By the 1890s,
once cheese factories had sprung up across the nation, American cheddar was also referred to as
"factory cheese." And in the 1920s another slang term arose for the still popular cheese: "rattrap
cheese," or "rat cheese."[7]

The Oxford English Dictionary defines American cheese as a “cheese of cheddar type, made in
the U.S.” and lists 1804 as the first known usage of "American cheese," occurring in the
Frankfort, Kentucky newspaper Guardian of Freedom. The next usage given is in 1860 by
Charles Dickens in his series The Uncommercial Traveller.[8]

[edit] 1942 U.S. restriction to American cheese

During the summer months of 1942, U.S. officials imposed severe restrictions on cheese
consumption as a wartime conservation measure.[9] These restrictions disallowed the sale or
consumption of all types of cheese other than American Cheese. This was due to a combination
of factors: paucity of availability of cheese from continental Europe, abundance of the American
variety, and a perceived need to encourage wartime patriotism among citizens. The ban took
effect on May 4, 1942.

The public response to the ban was immediate and noticeable. Importers of British cheese
claimed that it damaged morale in both countries, and represented a lack of solidarity in the war
effort on the part of the USA. For these reasons and others, the ban was rescinded without
opposition on August 1, 1942.[10]

[edit] Modern varieties

Even though the term “American cheese” has a legal definition in the United States as a type of
pasteurized process cheese, products with the label “American Cheese” are by no means
identical. Depending on the additives and the amounts of milk fat and water added to the cheese
during emulsification, the taste and texture of American Cheese varies, with some varieties (e.g.
“American Cheese” and “American Process Cheese”) being very similar to non-processed
cheese and other varieties (e.g. "American Cheese Food" and "American Cheese Product") being
more like Velveeta or Cheez Whiz. The interested consumer should pay close attention to the
wording used on the label of each product and to the ingredient list. (Refer to the definitions in
the Sale and labeling section of the article on Processed cheese.)

The taste and texture of different varieties of American Cheese vary considerably, and mostly
depend on the percentage of cheese versus additives used during emulsification. Varieties with
lower percentages of additives tend to taste more like unprocessed cheese. Depending on the
food manufacturer, the color of the cheese (orange, yellow, or white) may indicate different
ingredients or processes. Some manufacturers reserve the white and yellow colors for their less
processed[citation needed] (i.e. fewer additives) American Cheese varieties. In other cases[citation needed],
the ingredients for white and orange colors are the same, except for the coloring. However, this
does not necessarily mean that even these white and orange cheeses have exactly the same flavor
and texture because the spice annatto, which has a subtle but noticeable taste, is often used for
coloring American Cheese.[citation needed]

The processed variety of American Cheese is sold in three basic packaging varieties: individually
wrapped cheese slices, small pre-sliced blocks of 16 to 36 slices, and large blocks meant for deli
counters. The individually wrapped cheese slices are typically the least like unprocessed cheese.
These “slices” are actually individually poured onto each plastic wrapper and then set to
emulsify. Small (e.g., 16 to 36 slice) blocks of presliced, but not individually-wrapped, American
Cheese are also marketed, often with the branding “deluxe” or “old fashioned.” This variety of
American Cheese is similar in ingredients and texture to that of modern block American Cheese.
Before the advent of the individually wrapped variety, this was the typical variety that
Americans purchased. Hence, some people refer to this as “traditional”, “old fashioned”, or
“classic” American Cheese. American Cheese in block form sold at deli counters is typically a
less processed cheese than its individually wrapped cousin. Nonetheless, most block American
Cheese is still a processed cheese.[citation needed]

[edit] See also

 List of cheeses
 Government cheese
 Kraft Singles
 Velveeta
 Cheez Whiz
 Easy Cheese