American cheese#Regulation

File:The Ladies' home journal (1948) (14764744941).jpg

British colonists made cheddar cheese soon after their arrival in North America. By 1790, American-made cheddars were being exported back to England. According to Robert Carlton Brown, author of The Complete Book of Cheese, what was known in America as yellow cheese or store cheese was known as American cheddar or Yankee cheddar in England."The English called our imitation Yankee, or American, Cheddar, while here at home it was popularly known as yellow or store cheese". Robert Carlton Brown, [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14293/14293-h/14293-h.htm#Page_37 The Complete Book of Cheese] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815080031/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14293/14293-h/14293-h.htm#Page_37 |date=August 15, 2018 }} (New York: Programmer Publishing Company, 1955). Republished in 2006: "Bob" Brown, The Complete Book of Cheese (Echo Library, 2006). The Oxford English Dictionary lists the first known usage of "American cheese" as occurring in the Frankfort, Kentucky, newspaper The Guardian of Freedom in 1804.{{cite dictionary |dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1991 | volume = I | page = 397 | edition = Second | isbn = 0-19-861258-3 |editor=Edmund Whiner |editor2=John Simpson| title = The Compact Oxford English Dictionary: Complete Text Reproduced Micrographically }}

After patenting a new method for manufacturing processed cheese in 1916,{{cite web|url = http://emmi-gerber.ch/index.php?id=1656|title = Emmi Gerber – Über Gerber|publisher = Emmi Fondue AG|access-date = March 26, 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130531110313/http://emmi-gerber.ch/index.php?id=1656|archive-date = May 31, 2013|url-status = dead}}{{cite web |url = http://www.kraftfoodsgroup.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/pdf/CorporateTimeline_KraftGroceryCo_version.pdf |title = Kraft Foods Corporate Timeline |publisher = Kraft Foods Group, Inc. |access-date = March 26, 2013 |archive-date = December 3, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131203064955/http://www.kraftfoodsgroup.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/pdf/CorporateTimeline_KraftGroceryCo_version.pdf |url-status = dead }}{{Cite web |date=2020-07-16 |title=Patent Images |url=https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=01186524 |access-date=2024-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716011827/https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=01186524 |archive-date=July 16, 2020 }} James L. Kraft began marketing it in the late 1910s. The term "American cheese" rapidly began to refer to the processed variety instead of the traditional but more expensive cheddars also made and sold in the U.S.

Traditional cheese is ground, combined with emulsifying agents and other ingredients, mixed and heated until it forms a melted homogeneous mixture.{{cite web |title=CFR- Code of Federal Regulations Title 21: Sec. 133.169 Pasteurized Process Cheese |url=https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=b5b6b386bfe799ca8be16d1af46f5177&mc=true&node=pt21.2.133&rgn=div5#se21.2.133_1169 |website=Electronic Code of Federal Regulations |publisher=U.S. Food and Drug Administration |access-date=March 30, 2019 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320071923/https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-133#se21.2.133_1169 |url-status=live }} Sodium citrate is an important additive at this time, as it prevents the cheese fats from separating. The cheese mixture is then heated to a temperature of at least {{convert|150|F|C}} for a minimum of 30 seconds during pasteurization.

Composition requirements of processed American cheese control the percentage of milkfat, moisture, salt and pH value in the final product, along with specifications for flavor, body and texture, color, and meltability.{{cite web |title=USDA commodity requirements document: DPPC3 Pastuerized process American cheese for use in domestic programs. |url=https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Pasteurized%20Process%20American%20Cheese%20%28DPPC3%29%20effective%20Sep%2025%2C%202013.pdf |website=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=March 29, 2019 |date=2013 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212192137/https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Pasteurized%20Process%20American%20Cheese%20%28DPPC3%29%20effective%20Sep%2025%2C%202013.pdf |url-status=live }}

Processed American cheese is packaged in individually wrapped slices, as unwrapped slices sold in stacks, or in unsliced blocks.{{cite book |last1=Tamine |first1=A. Y. |title=Processed cheese and analogues (Vol. 16) |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |page=14 |doi=10.1111/j.1541-4337.2008.00040.x |s2cid=85756594 }} Individually wrapped slices, sold as 'singles', are typically the least like traditional cheese. Blocks of American cheese are more similar to traditional cheese, and are sliced to order at deli counters.{{cite web|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65003/what-exactly-american-cheese|title=What Exactly is American Cheese?|last=Semigran|first=Rachel|website=Mental Floss|date=April 12, 2016|access-date=December 9, 2021|archive-date=March 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315232946/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65003/what-exactly-american-cheese|url-status=live}}

File:Cheeseburger.jpg is often topped with American cheese, a popular choice in North America and elsewhere.]]

American cheese is a common choice for sandwiches because of its versatile nature, pairing with a variety of meats and other ingredients. American cheese is also recognized for its smooth and meltable texture, which is what makes it a reliable cooking ingredient for many dishes. American cheese is used in the typical American cheeseburger, contributing both flavor and acting as an adhesive layer to maintain the form of the burger.

The Philly cheesesteak was developed in Philadelphia by combining thinly sliced beef, onions, and cheese on a long roll. The cheese used originally was provolone, but white American cheese slices are now a common ingredient in a Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwich; {{as of|2018|lc=y}}, the Philadelphia/South Jersey market was responsible for 50% of Kraft Foods' white American cheese sales.{{Cite web |last=Fiorillo |first=Victor |date=2018-09-23 |title=The Cheesesteak: An Oral History |url=https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2018/09/22/cheesesteak-history/ |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=Philadelphia Magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=October 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003100614/https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2018/09/22/cheesesteak-history/ |url-status=live }}

In a standard grilled cheese sandwich, American cheese is most commonly used because of how easily it melts.{{Cite web |last=Russo |first=Susan |date=May 13, 2009 |title=Grilled Cheese Gets an Update |website=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2009/05/13/104057146/grilled-cheese-gets-an-update}} Kraft's American cheese was used for "filled cheese sandwiches" during World War II, as its consistency worked well for such a sandwich.{{Cite web |title=Choose Cheese, 1940 |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/choose-cheese-1940 |access-date=October 3, 2023 |website=Imperial War Museums}} In breakfast foods, American cheese is commonly used when making meals such as omelets, scrambled eggs, and breakfast sandwiches that involve eggs, bacon, and bread.{{Cite web |last=Marshall |first=Cassie |date=2023-07-02 |title=Ultimate Guide to an American Breakfast |url=https://thekitchencommunity.org/american-breakfast/ |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=The Kitchen Community |language=en-US |archive-date=December 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218005709/https://thekitchencommunity.org/american-breakfast/ |url-status=live }} American cheese is also common in macaroni and cheese.{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |title=A Brief History of America's Appetite for Macaroni and Cheese |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-americas-appetite-for-macaroni-cheese-180969185/ |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217184534/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-americas-appetite-for-macaroni-cheese-180969185/ |url-status=live }}

According to the Standards of Identity for Dairy Products, part of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), to be labeled "American cheese" a processed cheese is required to be manufactured from cheddar cheese, Colby cheese, washed curd cheese, or granular cheese, or any mixture of two or more of these.{{citation|url=http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_99/21cfr133_99.html|title=Title 21, Subchapter B, Part 133|author=U.S. Food and Drug Administration|date=April 1, 1999|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217063132/http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_99/21cfr133_99.html|archive-date=February 17, 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=February 17, 2007|at=Paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of section 133.169}} The CFR also includes regulations for the manufacturing of processed American cheese.{{cite book |author1=Carić, M. |author2=Kaláb, M. |title=Cheese: Chemistry, Physics and Microbiology |chapter=Processed Cheese Products |date=1999 |author-link1=Processed cheese products |editor1-last=Fox |editor1-first=P.F. |url=https://archive.org/details/cheesechemistryp00foxp_615 |url-access=limited |publisher=Springer |location=Boston, MA |page=[https://archive.org/details/cheesechemistryp00foxp_615/page/n471 467]–505 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4615-2800-5_15 |isbn=9781461526483 }}{{cite journal |last1=Kapoor |first1=Rohit |last2=Metzger |first2=Lloyd E. |title=Process Cheese: Scientific and Technological Aspects—A Review |journal=Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety |date=March 2008 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=194–214 |doi=10.1111/j.1541-4337.2008.00040.x|s2cid=85756594 |doi-access= }}

Because its manufacturing process differs from traditional cheeses,{{cite web |url=http://www.milkfacts.info/Milk%20Processing/Standards%20of%20Identity.htm |title=Standards of Identity for Dairy Products |publisher=MilkFacts.info |access-date=February 25, 2013 |archive-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302104834/http://milkfacts.info/Milk%20Processing/Standards%20of%20Identity.htm |url-status=live }} federal laws mandate that it be labeled as "pasteurized process American cheese" if made from more than one cheese. A "pasteurized process American cheese" must be entirely cheese with the exception of an emulsifying agent, salt, coloring, acidifying agents, and optional dairy fat sources (but at no more than 5% of the total weight). A "pasteurized process American cheese food" label is used if it is at least 51% cheese but other specific dairy ingredients such as cream, milk, skim milk, buttermilk, cheese whey, or albumin from cheese whey are added.{{cite web|url=https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-133/subpart-B/section-133.173|title=CFR – Code of Federal Regulations Title 21: Sec. 133.173 Pasteurized process cheese food|publisher=U.S. Food and Drug Administration|access-date=March 17, 2025|archive-date=February 24, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250224161310/https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-133/subpart-B/section-133.173|url-status=live}} Products with other added ingredients, such as Kraft Singles that contain milk protein concentrate, use legally unregulated terms such as "pasteurized prepared cheese product".{{cite web |last1=Strom |first1=Stephanie |title=A Cheese 'Product' Gain Kids' Nutrition Seal |url=https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/a-cheese-product-wins-kids-nutrition-seal/ |website=Well |publisher=The New York Times |access-date=August 31, 2021 |date=March 12, 2015 |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006150133/https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/a-cheese-product-wins-kids-nutrition-seal/ |url-status=live }}

{{portal|Food}}

• Cold pack cheese
• Government cheese
• List of cheeses
• List of dairy products

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• [https://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-1501:1 Making American cheese on the farm for home consumption], Farmers' Bulletin No. 1734, U.S. Department of Agriculture, October 1934. Hosted at University of North Texas Government Documents Department.
• [https://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-1731:1 An American-type cheese: how to make it for home use], Farmers' Bulletin No. 2075, U.S. Department of Agriculture, October 1954.

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Category:American cheeses

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