What Is American Cheese, Really?

Most people hear the phrase "American cheese" and think either of the soft, yellow, highly processed slices of Kraft Singles or a few other processed cheese products. Either way, that phrase, which once referred to actual cheese, has become associated with the idea of fake foods that are as far as possible from what people should be eating. That's understandable, given that one of the products associated with "American cheese" comes out of a spray can, rather than out of a cheesemaking facility.

But that's a misconception. It's true that the American cheese we have now isn't what most of the world considers to be "real" cheese. But the name has a longer history than the shelf life of those processed slices in your fridge, and many of the products colloquially called American cheese are closer to real cheese than you know. American cheese might be a divisive product in some culinary circles, but it's revered in others. Let's take a peek at the processing that gives us this melty marvel, so you know what American cheese really is.

No, American cheese is not the same as cheese produced by the traditional cheesemaking process. Real cheese comes from milk and rennet, with some additional steps like kneading, depending on the variety of cheese. American cheese takes this a step further, taking real cheese and reprocessing it with additional ingredients to form a block of softer cheeselike material, or "cheese product."

Cheese, like other foods in the U.S., is defined by certain FDA regulations known as the Standards of Identity. American cheese does not meet the legal definition of cheese according to these standards. However, many forms of American cheese can legally use the word "cheese" as part of a larger description, like "pasteurized process cheese." These descriptions are also standardized and give specific details about what can be considered one of these processed products. Each description specifies the minimum amount of fat, real cheese, or specific nutrients that must be in the product. However, people tend to use "American cheese" as a catch-all term for a number of processed products, even those that can't legally use the term "cheese" on their packaging.

The basic process for making most American cheese is to take Colby or cheddar cheese, or a mix of the two, chop or shred the cheese, melt it, mix it with additives like emulsifying agents, and then let the mixture cool in molds. Occasionally, another cheese, like Swiss, might be in the mix. The exact process varies depending on what you want to produce, as the American cheese you find in delis is very different from, say, canned cheese.

During the procedure, manufacturers can add additional ingredients like herbs, as well as annatto for coloring. American cheese is usually paler, and the annatto adds the yellow color that you're used to seeing. The coloring also helps hide differences in natural color that occur due to natural variations in milk color. By the way, that's the only difference between white and yellow American cheese — everything else is the same between the two. The emulsifiers are critical to the process because they make the final product flexible and melty without causing it to break into little clumps.

Believe it or not, our beloved American cheese is ... Swiss. Well, almost. The product invented by Kraft is American, but the technique of repurposing cheese bits into a softer product with sodium citrate (a common preservative and additive) was invented in Switzerland in 1911 and was first used with Emmentaler cheese. Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler were cheesemakers who just wanted to create a version of the cheese that would last longer.

James L. Kraft (yes, that Kraft) was in the U.S. at the time and was also playing around with ways to make cheese easier to distribute. Initially, the cheese was warmed and then cooled, with additions like emulsifiers entering the picture later. The resulting cheese lasted longer and didn't taste that different from other cheeses. It became so popular and easy to ship that it landed a place in the food supplies for U.S. troops in both World Wars.

If you look into the term "American cheese," you'll find it's applied to three different categories over the centuries. One is cheese that was made in America, and this is the original definition. When cheesemaking was brought over from Europe, people in the American colonies made cheddar and other well-known European cheeses. Of course, Europeans at the time considered the cheese made in America to be worse than actual European cheese, and they started calling it American cheese to distinguish it from European-made cheese.

Then there are cheese varieties that were created in America by smaller cheesemaking companies. Some of these are artisanal cheeses, but others are very well-known, such as Colby, which is a cheese that doesn't undergo the "cheddaring" process that gives cheddar its name. Whey is drained and replaced with water, resulting in a milder cheese without cheddar's characteristic sharpness. Monterey Jack is another American-origin cheese. 

And then there's the processed stuff. It became known as American cheese in the mid-20th century when the use of processed cheese in delis increased, followed by the release of Kraft Singles in the 1960s. The name shift occurred simply because people saw it so much and associated the cheese with America.

For the most part, American cheese is fairly mild and even a little bland. It's meant to be a melty companion in many recipes, rather than the star of the show. Even when it's in a sandwich by itself, its soft, creamy texture is more important than whether it tastes extra mild or not. Most of the time, it's based on Colby cheese or a mix of Colby and cheddar, and the proportion used affects the final taste. The sharper the cheddar, the more pronounced the taste of the American cheese.

But you can find American cheese with other flavors, too. Hot versions with jalapeno peppers are relatively easy to find, and you can score other flavors at the grocery store, like caramelized onion or garlic. Reviews note that these flavors tend to go well with the cheese's texture, although the melting properties might be somewhat affected.

American cheese gets a tremendous amount of hate from people around the world. It comes down to three things: perceived unhealthiness, perceived disrespect, and plastic. Not actual plastic, but the perception that the cheese is plastic because of its unique texture — and the fact that everyone knows it isn't something that springs out of the traditional cheesemaking process. Plus, the legal definition of different types of processed cheeses mentions the word "plastic," which doesn't help.

American cheese is highly processed compared to regular cheese, and packages are labeled as such. When you look at the legal US government definitions of "pasturized process cheese food" and "cold-pack cheese food", they are at one point mixed into a "plastic mass." That means the mass is malleable, not turned into actual industrial plastic. The weird processed food names on packaging have to do with the mixture of ingredients in specific products.

There's also this idea that because cheesemaking is revered in many societies, the processing of bland American cheese is somehow disrespectful to the art. The extra processing and additional ingredients may be seen as too processed and not in line with diets that aim for less processing. Regardless, it's still one of the best cheeses for melting and has plenty of fans, including people like Martha Stewart.

American cheese is incredibly good for melting, much better than plain cheddar or mozzarella. When you make a recipe like grilled cheese, you want melty, somewhat stretchy cheese, but you don't want it to be too stretchy like mozzarella on pizza. Nor do you want it to be too thick and greasy, like melted cheddar can be. Granted, sometimes you want the flavor of cheddar or another cheese and can ignore the texture differences. But melting is what American cheese does best. Or is it?

Some cheese slices no longer melt that well. Comments online in 2024 noted that some Kraft cheese was no longer melting, even though the company had apparently said nothing had changed. It turns out that the culprit was the lower fat content in the particular product people bought. If you want the cheese to melt, buy the regular version and not the 2% milk version. If you've bought that low-fat version, though, you can still use the cheese.

Of course, you don't have to melt American cheese to enjoy it. You can eat a slice of American cheese right out of the package or in a basic sandwich or wrap. (Think back to the bologna and cheese sandwiches you had as a kid.) It's also great for decorating other food if you're preparing a bento-style lunch. The flat, soft slices cut cleanly and don't break apart easily, making them great choices for cutting out tiny shapes where you want detailed edges to stay intact.

The exact nutrition breakdown for American cheese and related products varies according to the product (we'll discuss the different types in the next section). The percentage of cheese to other ingredients can vary, and the number of ingredients can vary. All of that makes a difference. In general, however, the more actual cheese in the product, the more protein and calcium you'll find. For Kraft Singles, one slice has 330 mg of calcium, which is 25% of the amount most adults need daily. That same slice has 4 grams of protein and 50 calories, which means it's likely a decent dietary addition if you're trying to add more protein without adding too many calories.

Most of these cheese products will have some fat, most of which is saturated fat, and a relatively high level of sodium for such small slices. You can also get some vitamin A and D, along with phosphorus, in each slice. The more processed you get, the higher the fat and sodium, and the lower the calcium and other nutrients. Easy Cheese, for example, has zero vitamins according to its nutrition label.

To a lot of people, the term "American cheese" refers mainly to the individually wrapped slices, but it can also cover any of those not-exactly-real-cheese products like Velveeta or canned spray cheese. However, they aren't the same; there are differences in ingredients and the legal definitions of the products. The stuff you normally find in delis that is sliced fresh is considered "pasteurized process cheese." If it's at least 51% real cheese, then it's considered a cheese product. The stuff you find in wrapped individual slices in the grocery store is sometimes the same stuff (usually labeled with "deli"), but most of the time, it's not.

Products like Kraft Singles are "pasteurized process cheese food" or "pasteurized process cheese product." The proportion of cheese to other ingredients is lower, albeit still above 51%. Anything labeled "American slices" or "sandwich slices" isn't a cheese product. These products are a mix of milk and vegetable oils and cannot include the word "cheese" in their labeling. 

Then there's "pasteurized process cheese spread," which is spreadable stuff like Velveeta. Believe it or not, pasteurized process cheese spread is supposed to have at least 51% real cheese and is considered a cheese product. Spray cheeses (like Easy Cheese and Cheez Whiz) can be pasteurized process cheese spreads, complete with at least 51% real cheese. But you'll also find brands that are more like spreadable American slices, with whey as the first ingredient. 

Refrigerate American cheese (or slices, and so on). Even if what you bought was shelf-stable when in a closed package, once you've opened it, you have to refrigerate it. When stored in proper conditions, American cheese can last a long time. Slices you get from a deli can last two to three weeks when kept wrapped up, but commercial slices like the typical "single" can last several months when the outer packages are still sealed. Once opened, the shelf life drops, but those individually wrapped slices should still be good for at least a couple of weeks. Of course, you always want to be sure the slices haven't developed a bad odor or changed texture before you eat them. Some anecdotal reports online mention eating slices of the cheese months after opening the outer package, but you might not want to take that chance.

For most American cheese products, freezing is just fine (and way better than leaving it in your fridge for months). The texture of the cheese will change when you thaw it; it'll be more crumbly and not the best for eating out of hand. But it will still melt easily and taste great in recipes like grilled cheese sandwiches.

One potential exception is Kraft, which says its Singles should not be frozen. The company doesn't give a reason. People online have claimed that freezing them is actually fine; you can always experiment with one or two slices to see how they do.

Obviously, you can buy American cheese in your supermarket, and the packs of individually wrapped slices are a mainstay of the refrigerated cheese case even though those "singles" aren't considered cheese by the FDA. You can also find blocks of American cheese in delis, sliced fresh from blocks of the stuff.

But it turns out that you can also order American cheese through the mail. Some cheesemakers will sell blocks of processed cheese from their dairy online, although their mailing process may change in hot weather. Some may stop selling the product temporarily until temperatures cool down, but others have procedures for using coolers and ice packs. Even Amazon can ship you some deli American cheese, such as two large blocks of Land O'Lakes Hot Pepper Deli American Cheese Product. The one drawback is that orders like these are usually large, so be prepared to either eat a lot of cheese for a while or make room in your freezer if the product manufacturer says freezing is ok.

Given that American cheese is made from existing cheese that's been remixed with a few other ingredients, can you make American cheese at home? Yes and no. You can make a processed cheese product from Colby and other cheeses that looks similar to the blocks you might find in delis. But you're not going to get a true copycat product, as you likely won't be able to get all of the ingredients or add them in the exact proportions that manufacturers like Kraft use.

You'll find recipes for making something like American cheese online, and according to online reviews, they do work. But according to people who've made them, some of these recipes produce a cheesy product that tastes more like Velveeta, or they're mainly just regular cheese melted down and reformed with the addition of sodium citrate. Either way, the recipes appear to be easy enough for most people to make successfully, and the final cheese product melts well. The recipes are also customizable, and some have reported making a melty version of American cheese with mixtures of cheeses like cheddar and edam — an underrated cheese similar to Gruyère.