Processed cheese

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American process cheese

Processed cheese, process cheese, or prepared cheese is a food product made from regular cheese and sometimes other unfermented dairy ingredients, plus emulsifiers, extra salt, food colorings and/or whey. Many flavors, colors, and textures of processed cheese exist. In the United States, the most recognizable variety of processed cheese is sold under the name American cheese, although this name also has other meanings. The name American cheese also has a legal definition as a type of pasteurized process cheese under the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. The Laughing Cow is another type of processed cheese, showing the international reach of this product.

Although processed cheese was first invented in 1911 by Walter Gerber of Thun, Switzerland, it was James L. Kraft who first applied for an American patent for his method in 1916. Kraft Foods also created the first commercially available sliced process cheese, which was introduced in 1950. This form of sliced cheese with its derivatives were to become ubiquitous in America, most notably used for cheeseburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Advantages

Processed cheese has three technical advantages over unprocessed cheese: extended shelf-life, resistance to separation when cooked, and the ability to reuse scraps, trimmings and runoff from other cheesemaking processes.

Traditional cheesemaking inevitably produces 'scrap' pieces that would not be acceptable for supermarket display; production of processed cheese from cheese scrap allows the cheesemaker to add value to otherwise unmarketable scrap. Processing can turn these scraps into new presentable shapes for repackaging and sale.

The use of emulsifiers in processed cheese results in cheese that melts smoothly when cooked. With prolonged heating, unprocessed cheese will separate into a molten protein gel and liquid fat; processed cheese will not separate in this manner. The emulsifiers, typically sodium phosphate, potassium phosphate, tartrate, or citrate, reduce the tendency for tiny fat globules in the cheese to coalesce and pool on the surface of the molten cheese.

Because processed cheese does not separate when melted, it is used as an ingredient in a variety of dishes. It is a fairly popular condiment on hamburgers, as it does not run off, nor does it change in texture or taste as it is heated.

Disadvantages

Processed cheese is often criticized for its small range of flavors, which is far narrower than the range for unprocessed cheeses and normally at the mild end of the flavor range. Processed cheese also normally lacks the range of textures available in unprocessed cheeses; processed cheeses are normally very smooth and medium-firm.

Inclusion of artificial additives in processed cheeses and the higher levels of salt are other subjects of criticism.

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Sale and labeling

Processed cheese is sometimes sold in blocks, but more often sold packed in individual slices, sometimes with plastic wrappers or wax paper separating them.

Legal issues

Due to the processing and additives, some softer varieties cannot legally be labeled as "cheese" in many countries, including the United States and Britain, and so are sold as "cheese food", "cheese spread", or "cheese product", depending primarily on the amount of cheese, moisture, and milkfat present in the final product.

In the United States processed cheese is defined, categorized, and regulated by the Food & Drug Administration under the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 (Food and Drugs), Section 133 (Cheeses and Cheese Related Products). Pasteurized process cheese can be made from a single cheese or a blend of several cheeses. Cream, milkfat, water, salt, artificial color, and spices may also be added. The mixture is heated with an emulsifier, poured into a mold, and allowed to cool. The definitions include:

• Pasteurized process cheese (Includes "American Cheese" and "Pasteurized process American cheese"), (e.g., "Kraft Deli Deluxe American Cheese")

• Pasteurized process cheese food, which contains as little as 51% cheese

• Pasteurized process cheese spread

• Pasteurized process cheese product (e.g. Kraft Singles, Velveeta), which contain less than 51% cheese

The various definitions are mainly used to distinguish minimum/maximum amounts of cheese ingredient, moisture content, and milkfat.

American cheese

Main article: American cheese

Processed cheese slices individually wrapped in plastic

The best known processed cheese in the United States is marketed as American cheese by Kraft Foods, Borden, and other companies. It is orange, yellow, or white in color and mild in flavor, with a medium-firm consistency, and melts easily. It is typically made from a blend of cheeses, most often Colby and Cheddar.

American Cheese also refers to government cheese, which can consist of a mixture of any of cheddar cheese, Colby cheese, cheese curd, or granular cheese.

Despite the common usage, American Cheese also has another definition. It can also refer to a mild, pale white to yellow cheddar.

The term store cheese is sometimes informally used to describe American Cheese and similar American cheddars.

External links

• American Chemical Society article on processed cheese.

• From Cheese to Cheese Food: How Kraft persuaded Americans to accept cheese by divorcing it from its microbe-laden origins.