Do you have a secret love for American cheese, perhaps in a melty grilled cheese sandwich or on a diner-style cheeseburger? The folks at America's Test Kitchen have figured out how to make a block of that mild and familiar cheese from scratch, without any weird additives or preservatives.
American cheese is more like a cheese ball than a traditional cheese. Instead of starting with milk and rennet, as you would with most other types of cheese, America's Test Kitchen uses grated Colby cheese, gelatin and hot milk, which are mixed together in the food processor until smooth and then pressed into a small loaf pan. After chilling in the fridge for a few hours, the result is "a soft but sliceable cheese that oozes gently when heated."
Flavorings like black pepper and cayenne pepper can be added along the way, but we'd probably opt for a homemade take on the classic Kraft-Singles-and-Wonder-Bread grilled cheese sandwich, made with plain cheese slices and no-knead white sandwich bread. The ultimate comfort food!
• Read more: How to Make American Cheese
• Get the recipe: Homemade American Cheese
Have you ever made American cheese from scratch?
Related: A Cheese Confessional - The Cheesemonger
(Images: America's Test Kitchen)
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I ... I don't understand. Why would you do this to colby cheese? Why wouldn't you just use the colby as it is? It's so soft and tasty.
I had no idea! I'll have to give it a try. :)
If you want to make queso dip this would be a perfect starter!
I'm with BeckyCN: I was thinking this would make the perfect Velveeta substitute - just don't firm it up in the fridge.
YES. I live near Monroe, NY where Velveeta was invented as a way to use up wheels of cheese that cracked or were otherwise unsellable as-is. Before I moved here, I never knew that processed cheese was originally made from real cheese!
The question is - how to the mega companies like Kraft make it now?
How could I substitute the gelatin?
Don't forget the cream of tomato soup! And Peru Delights you could substitute agar agar for the gelatin.. just check the conversion amounts..
Uhm, this is amazing. How long would this keep, do we think?
@vintagejenta Sodium citrate (salt form of citric acid) or another type of salt that allows the cheese to melt without breaking.
This is great. American cheese is one of those things that I never keep around. However, I always seem to have mild cheddar, gelatin, and powdered milk on hand. Great recipe for one of those "Oops, I forgot an ingredient" moments.
What a terrible thing to do to a real piece of cheese. It is it really, really so hard to find a real cheese that "a soft but sliceable cheese that oozes gently when heated." Um, pretty much every cheese does that.
Generally, I think processed cheese is kind of disgusting and I'd rather have good cheese (or use colby as others suggest), BUT... as a replacement for Whiz on a cheesesteak, this sounds ideal. If I'm already going greasy and unhealthy, I'd like to go all the way. And surprisingly, Whiz isn't always available.
@vintagejenta love the Velveeta fun fact. I had no idea that was its origins.
Yes! Thank you! Generally I don't go in for processed cheese (probably like most of the other readers), but I never like grilled good cheese as much as grilled bad cheese. And there are other applications - mac and cheese, queso dip, broccoli and cheese...
The variations for this is much more interesting than the basic recipe. I'm already thinking spicy American, bacon, pesto, smoky, bbq, etc...
any idea if this could be done with some vegetarian substitute for gelatin? pectin or agar, maybe?
I am so trying this. I love the texture and flavor of American cheese (a complete childhood memory) but really don't ever want to buy it. Solution found!
I think I'll stick with the processed crap when I want a melty grilled cheese. At least it's not gelatin.
@Greybeard - This is not a recipe for making cheese, it is a method for processing cheese. If the end product were inspected by the FDA it would be labeled "Pasturized Process Cheese Food" - check out the Wikipedia explanations of the types of PPC.
Why are so many people hating on this amusing article? If you like to experiment in the kitchen, try out the recipe. If you want Kraft's product, go buy it!
missdewey- You are making me laugh. Gelatin is less processed than processed cheese.
Sorry, "Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread."
Sorry, They can't even call it that now because it is even lower quality than before. Now it is "Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product."
@ JudiAU: Yes, but it's also not vegetarian friendly.
The great thing about American cheese is that it's been emulsified with milk and/or water, so it melts more easily than normal cheese. Yes, I could use a soft cheese, but they taste really different. Plus cheese, by definition, has been tinkered with by man, so being a purist about the whole thing is a little silly. I'll keep putting Kraft swiss cheese singles in my brown rice mochi from Whole Foods- it's a really tasty breakfast.
@vintagejenta
My teacher at culinary school said he went to a factory where they made American cheese and cheese whiz, and all they do is take all the leftover bits of cheese and slowly mix it with oil. Lots of it.
Obviously there are some preservatives and whatnot in there too, but mostly oil. :)
I won't be doing this myself, but what a cool funny idea! You know there are cooks out there who secretly crave the gooey familiar weirdness of Kraft Singles, this would be fun for them.
I LOVE processed cheese food (or whatever it has to be called now). LOVE it. I eat it by the greasy plastic-wrapped slice (after folding it into as many tiny squares as I can). I would love to know if this Colby-inspired recipe tastes like the "real" thing.
I love this and also don't understand the anger it's evoking! I really like to make store bought stuff at home, like american cheese, because then I know exactly what's in it.
BeckyCN, Homesick Texan has a Velveeta-free queso dip that has fewer steps and no gelatin. It's basically a verrrrrry thick and cheesy sauce with a roux base, speckled with peppers and tomatoes.
You can make a very similar product out of any cheese, with corn starch and milk. I've done it with Parmesan, even. If anybody wants to read more about the ideas, go to Serious Eats here: [LINK]. Change the proportions of starch to milk a little in favor of the starch, and let it set up in the fridge.
This is great! I'm allergic to certain preservatives present in most "Pasteurized Process Cheese Foods" and I've missed American cheese grilled cheese sandwiches so badly. I'm glad I can have them again!
@missdewey - you're kidding right? At least it's not gelatin? What do you think the list of chemicals on the side of the velveeta box includes? What do you think sodium alginate is? Plus, all the other unpronounceable chemicals: maltodextrin, sodium phosphate, calcium phosphate, etc.
And on top of that one serving of Velveeta contains a HUGE amount of sodium. If you make a homemade version, at least it has no artificial chemicals in it and you can control the salt level.