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by - January 7, 2009 - 11:13 AM
While they had plenty of other culinary talents, the Native Americans were not a cheese-making people. It was the pilgrims who brought cheese and cows with them on the Mayflower and got the whole thing started this side of the pond.
Most early American cheeses were made at home, to be eaten at home, or sold in local markets. And while a variety of European styles persisted in non-commercial cheesemaking, American industry soon honed in on a single type: cheddar. It was uniquely sturdy and adaptable, and it proved manageable in colonial conditions. It also tasted great despite the seasonal extremes in temperature and humidity that other European cheeses couldn’t endure.
So Americans got serious about cheddar; by 1790 they were exporting wheels back to England, the original motherland of the breed. The trade grew, and revolutionary patriots became proud of their “American cheese.” British connoisseurs looked down on it, though, judging “Yankee cheese” inferior to traditional cheddars. The poor reputation made American cheese cheap, and what the aristocrats snubbed the British commoners quickly bought up.
The Craft of Kraft
Cheesemaking was transformed forever when Jesse Williams created the first American cheese factory in 1851, in New York. It started as a father-son venture — conceived, in part, to cover for his son’s poor cheesemaking skills. By buying up milk from surrounding herds and pooling it to make cheese at one location, Williams made commercial cheesemaking more viable and American cheese more reliably decent. From New York outwards, cheese factories spread like smallpox. Generic, factory cheddar became so common that Americans simply called it “store cheese,” or “yellow cheese.”
Then came James L. Kraft, who in 1903 moved from Canada to Chicago with $65, bought a horse and wagon, and started wholeselling cheese. To reduce waste, Kraft tried packaging cheese in jars, and then began experimenting with cheese canning — an idea the Swiss had been tinkering with already. Then he tried something completely different. By shredding refuse cheddar, re-pasteurizing it, and mixing in some sodium phosphate, Kraft produced the strange wonder we now know as American process cheese (patented in 1916). It was an immediate commercial success, and a boon to American soldiers in the World Wars. By 1930 over 40% of cheese consumed in the U.S. was Kraft’s — and that was in spite of its relatively high price. Thanks to clever advertising, Kraft was able to charge more in exchange for a promise of safety and consistency, even though the product was derived from inferior cheese.
Some Fantastic Plastic
Meanwhile, “natural” cheesemakers lobbied to have Kraft’s product formally distinguished from real cheese; the government acquiesced and established guidelines for labeling cheese-like products. Of the “pasteurized process” family: “American cheese” is a mild, meltable, and stable concoction of natural cheese bits mixed with emulsifying agents to make, in the language of the law, “a homogeneous plastic mass.” “Cheese foods” and “cheese product” are similar, but each have less “natural” cheese content than American cheese — and, therefore, longer shelf lives.
Over a hundred and fifty years, what was known as “American cheese” moved from farmhouse to factory to laboratory, from wheels to waxed blocks to single-serving packets. In the last few decades we’ve started importing more cheeses of more varieties; and a new wave of “artisanal” cheesemakers promise to revamp the image of American dairy. Still, it’s hard to believe that the generic title, “American cheese,” will ever be wrenched from the most generic of all cheeses, the topping on Big Macs and grilled cheese sandwiches. What other product could epitomize with such grace this essential tendency in culinary history and the American identity?
Cheese expert David Clark is guest blogging with us all week! Be sure to check out his previous posts: ‘Big Political Cheeses and the Riots They Caused’ and ‘The Maggot Cheese of the Mediterranean.’
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Comments (15)
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Refuse cheddar, re-pasteurization, and sodium phosphate. How charming and wholesome. And now, even better, it’s produced by a tobacco company!
posted by murray on 1-7-2009 at 11:52 am
But it tastes so good on a white bread grilled cheese with a side of cheap tomato soup…
posted by Katie on 1-7-2009 at 12:22 pm
While I generally do not eat American cheese on anything, it is a major “comfort food” for me. A Kraft single and real butter on a piece of home made bread, with a Coke in a glass bottle and a rice krispie treat. Yummy! I loved going to my great Grandma’s house and she always had these things on hand.
Now, I geneally to take a nice couple of pieces sturdy of whole wheat and put cheddar or pepper jack on it for my grilled cheese. It makes the cheap tomato soup so much better. However, I can’t convince my kids to eat the upgrade, so I do keep Kraft singles in the fridge for them. The tradition continues…
posted by bzzyb on 1-7-2009 at 12:56 pm
You’re so right, Katie, for reasons I don’t know how to explain. I eat my body weight in fancy or artisanal cheeses each year, and my bread is usually whole-grain, but I can’t imagine a grilled cheese sandwich any other way than how my Nana used to make them: Velveeta or Kraft Singles, and spongy white bread toasted to a perfect golden crisp. Go figure.
posted by Kikadee on 1-7-2009 at 1:00 pm
At least it’s better than yesterday’s maggot cheese! I couldn’t even look at the homepage.
posted by Norkio on 1-7-2009 at 1:13 pm
Yeah, I have to admit that I occasionally eat American cheese as part of a grilled cheese sandwich, although I personally prefer cheddar or Colby jack cheese. In my home we normally buy cheddar, Colby Jack, mozzerella, but American cheese is bought only if we plan on making grilled cheese.
posted by Sarah C. on 1-7-2009 at 2:09 pm
Kraft singles are to cheese as O’Douls is to beer
posted by BassMan on 1-7-2009 at 2:55 pm
Wow. I was not aware that American cheese had any actual dairy product in it. I thought that is was made entirely of vaseline and trans-fats. I’ve long thought the wrapping tasted better then the cheese-colored oil squares.
You have not had a Grilled cheese until you’ve enjoyed one with a Gouda and Dubliner mix. Gouda gives it that melty texture and smooth flavor and the Dubliner adds some bite. MmmmHmmm.
posted by n2y2 on 1-7-2009 at 2:56 pm
My sister and I used to fight as kids over (among other things) which was better: American Cheese Singles, or American Cheese deli slices. Somehow, I always took pride in the fact that the American Cheese from the deli (the white variety, to be precise) was “more cheeselike” than the orange, plastic-wrapped, single rubber squares that my sister preferred. Actually, 20 years later, we both still defend our childhood preferences for Americheese, though my cheese palate has thankfully diversified since then.
posted by Stephanie on 1-7-2009 at 3:11 pm
I do love my American cheese, but forget Kraft. I get mine straight from the deli, sliced thin. Land O’ Lakes is good, and they also have a Light Yellow American, it’s good. I use it for egg & cheese sandwiches, macaroni & cheese, and grilled cheese. Good stuff. God, I love cheese…
posted by El on 1-7-2009 at 3:53 pm
Nasty, nasty, crap. It shames me that the nation of my birth has this orange turd as its cheese.
posted by Admiral Byrd on 1-7-2009 at 6:37 pm
“a homogeneous plastic mass.” – I think that’s the best description of American ‘cheese’ that I’ve ever heard! I love cheese, but I avoid anything that can be characterized as a ‘cheese product’ or ‘cheese food.’ Yuck!
posted by Nikki on 1-7-2009 at 6:57 pm
What’s amazing is that there is a caste system of American sliced cheese! Kraft (your finer version) and then you have your slimier version (Always Save). Neither taste what “cheese” is supposed to taste like, I know, but I always have a stash in the fridge anyway. Its taste is just cheesy enough to not overwhelm the chopped, pressed ham slice on my Wonderbread!
posted by Kara on 1-7-2009 at 8:51 pm
Kraft cheese is terrible, terrible cheese. Actually, correction, it is not cheese. At all!
posted by Alison on 1-9-2009 at 3:09 pm
I tried a slice of Kraft Singles cheese when I was in the US on holiday and it was disgusting! It made me feel sick.
posted by Sparkle on 3-12-2010 at 1:03 pm