American process cheese and why I cannot stand it

 Now, this is gonna be weird, because it's about food, a subject I don't usually discuss, but because I was reading about the history of cheese recently, I figured I might share this, as it's both an opportunity to vent my spleen about something I don't like and a chance to inform the public on something.

First off, my dislike of American processed cheese does not mean I do not recognize its value. It's commonly used in various products like cheeseburgers in restaurants because it is very good for cooking purposes. Nor do I think the invention itself was a bad one, I just don't prefer it.

That said, let me explain a bit about the history of said cheese.

The inventor was James Kraft, the same guy whose last name you might be familiar with who created the Kraft Foods company, and the product Kraft's Macaroni and Cheese. Now, Kraft made process cheese as a way to make a common form of cheese that would be easily made in large batches and easily preserved.

Not a bad concept, here's how it works.

1. Process cheese is a hybrid cheese product, using a combination of cheeses or cheese-related products, like Cheddar and Colby.

2. It's a spinoff of traditional cheese-making, meaning it takes existing cheese made via the original cheese-making process and transforms it into American cheese.

3. The key to American cheese is the adding of an emulsifier or a type of binding agent that prevents the easy separation of the oil and water content of the cheese. This is typically done to prevent their separating before, during, and after the cooking process, which can cause a mess, make the two properties separate in an unappealing fashion (like how milkfat can separate from actual milk), and also prevents the spoilage and contamination that results from the poor adherence of the two properties.

As a result, you get a cheese that cooks well, melts onto food without being overly goopy due to the fat or overly runny due to the water, and can be easily preserved.

Now, here is why I personally am not a fan of it:

1. Due to the fact it uses an emulsifier, it has a high amount of retained sodium and fat content compared to most traditional cheese. For health reasons, it'd be better to avoid eating this in sizable amounts.

2. The emulsifier process serves to bind oil and water together and that's why you may notice American cheese has an oily yet wet look in certain temperature regimes. It tends to taste strange because, typically, oil and water usually separate over time or during temperature changes, and it can taste somewhat "plastic".

3. My final reason for not liking it is, to be blunt, I'm a bit of a cheese snob. Sure, American process cheese can be very thinly sliced for sandwiches and for other purposes, but considering points 1 and 2 and the fact I prefer the taste of traditional cheese due to the fact it is not saturated in preservatives like emulsifiers, so it avoids having the taste of being "artificial".

This all stated, I just speak for myself only. If you like this type of cheese, you do you. However, in case you don't or wondered why it may not appeal to your palate, I hope this article was more informative for your needs.