How is american cheese made

Believe it or not, "plastic" isn't the worst thing American cheese could have been called. Kraft's pasteurized cheese had so incensed those natural cheese makers that they took to calling American cheese "embalmed cheese" and pushed hard for government regulators to do the same.

Because sodium phosphate, an emulsifier used in processed cheese to prevent globs of fat from pooling on the processed cheese's surface, was also used to … embalm corpses.

Luckily for Kraft and co. Because there are many, well, processes by which one can make processed cheese, there are a few different broad definitions. In terms of your standard deli-sliced American, that's a "pasteurized process cheese. Usually, that means at least one additive in order to augment the taste, texture, or presentation. Those can include water, salter, spices, coloring, or cream. Emulsifying agents like the aforementioned sodium phosphate, sodium, or potassium citrate , which aid in making sure everything's mixed together properly.

There's a lot of room for variation within "pasteurized process cheese," but the stipulation is that moisture content must be below 43 percent, and fat content of at least 47 percent.

In terms of Kraft Singles, those are a "pasteurized process cheese food. Importantly, at least 51 percent of "pasteurized process cheese food" must be, well, actual cheese. Finally, there's "pasteurized process cheese spread," which are the Velveetas and Cheez Whizzes of the world— basically the stuff you may already think of as processed cheese. That thankfully is also at least 51 percent cheese, 20 percent milkfat, and moisture content between 44 and Interestingly, it also must be spreadable at room temperature.

Nacho cheese, as our BrainStuff host Jonathan Strickland explains in the above video, is best when made with processed cheese. And what's one of the most popular, affordable types of processed cheese? American cheese, those single slices of individually wrapped, square golden goodness. American cheese has a long shelf life and is delightfully consistent in its melting abilities.

What's the process behind this unnatural wonderfood? According to the United States Food and Drug Administration's super-specific legal definition of processed cheese, it must be made by pulverizing, mixing and heating cheese of one or more types with an emulsifier into a homogeneous mass that can be easily shaped or molded. Definitions aside, what are the actual ingredients in that slice of American cheese melting atop your veggie burger?

Aside from a combination of cheeses, American cheese can contain water, salt, artificial color and flavorings, texture enhancers, mold inhibitors and, of course, emulsifying agents. Emulsifying agents are molecules that make it possible for water and oil to mix and become stable. These agents also give processed cheese its smooth texture because they make water and oil play nice, separating globules of oil and water and suspending them evenly together.

This helps the naturally occurring fats and waters in cheese stay blended, even when they're heated. Not Mr. Kraft like the irritating administrator from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. But Canada-born Robert L. Kraft who patented the method for processing cheese in This means the cheese becomes a sterilized product made by heating cheddar at degrees for 15 minutes while whisking it continuously , according to The New York Times.

Kraft was the first brand to debut individually sliced and packaged cheese slices for the American public. By , over 40 percent of cheese consumed in the US came from Kraft , and even today it remains America's largest producer of American cheese. Kraft apparently makes 7.

So, is American cheese really made from "inferior cheese? To start, it's not a simple health-conscious, whole food made from minimal ingredients.

American cheese has a laundry list of ingredients you're required to decipher: cheddar cheese listed as including milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes , whey, water, protein concentrate, milk, sodium citrate, calcium phosphate, milkfat, gelatin, salt, sodium phosphate, lactic acid as a preservative, annatto and paprika extract color , enzymes, Vitamin A palmitate, cheese culture, Vitamin D3. Basically, vagueness to the extreme, right? W hich enzymes?

Lactic acid? Protein concentrate? Are these words even easy to understand unless you study nutrition or biology? American cheese isn't even considered to be real cheese. It's called a "pasteurized cheese product.