I know there's a reason people like it, but when you can have cheddar instead, I still don't understand why anyone would prefer American cheese, other than nostalgia.
cheese and cheese food?
American cheese should just be american cheddar that's been made pliable for easy slicing. I forget the extra step or two, offhand.
Growing up i always heard "cheese food" isn't cheese, but if it's made from curds and whey...
I've had cheddar cheese in the UK. I've had cheddar cheese in the US that was imported from Cheddar England. I've had cheddar cheese in the US that was made in the US. I have absolutely no idea what all the hand-wringing is about. What's wrong with American cheddar? Is there some sub-par brand out there that is sold in the majority of grocery stores in coastal America but not in the grocery stores in middle America? Are we just up in arms because some brands add some coloring to it?
According to Wikipedia cheddar is the most popular cheese in the UK but not, it turns out, in the US. In the US the most popular cheese is apparently … mozzarella.
Not sure what any of this goes to prove (that Yanks eat a _lot_ of pizza?) but I guess I'm trying to say that I associate cheddar with British cheese-making in the same way I'd associate brie with French, edam and gouda with Dutch, feta with Greek, manchego with Spanish, and so on.
UK cheese is different from middle of America cheese. I remember being amazed by the cheddar selection at Sainsbury's. Cheap and delicious! Trader Joe's is the only place I've found a crunchy cheddar over here.
I really dislike that the US took the name 'Cheddar' and applied it to basically mean generic cheese with no other characteristics. Traditional Cheddar is a great cheese with its own merits.
The strange part of this article is that it seems the author hasn't tasted any good English cheddar? Most of the cheese sold as cheddar bears absolutely no resemblance to cheddar, generally being flexible and springy with hardly more taste than the polyethylene wrapper.
American Cheese is fantastic! Kraft Singles American however is trash and I hate that I have to explain the difference or that some people think that's what all American Cheese is like.
You can make good cheese in the United States, cheese is really about the recipe (and how much cream was left in the milk).
There just is nothing like the culture of cheese production, US foodstuffs are awful quality because the general public buys it up for some unknown reason.
Not that cheddar can't be a good cheese, but on the other side of the pond, cheddar is really the most basic cheese.
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