this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2026
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2 North American 4 You
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American Cheese is made with Sodium Citrate which is totally fine to eat. It's an emulsifying salt commonly used in molecular gastronomy... It's not plastic. American cheese has its uses like someone else said. It's literally just other cheeses like cheddar or Colby, melted in milk and emulsified with the sodium citrate. What is so bad about cheap cheese that has a long shelf life? Not everyone can afford to eat the fancy mountain-cave aged Swiss alp cheese.
Besides... People have been making cheeses for thousands of years, like how many more different ways to make it can we come up with? It's all the same basic ingredients at the end of the day. There are only so many permutations someone can come up with. The rest of the world kinda had a head start.
Also I just thought of another American cheese invention. How about cream cheese? Do you hate that too?
"It's literally just other cheeses molten in milk and emulsified." That's solidified cheese sauce and still made from [insert country]-style cheeses. The "making cheese of milk", the proces that produces actual cheese and flavour already happened.
I don't even hate it, I like it on a burger or in Mac and cheese. It's just not really cheese, and not really American. My question was, is there an actual American cheese?
The cream cheese is a nice one! I'm genuinely into cheeses and wondering what type of actual American cheeses there are.
Also, I find this a really funny analogy for USA culture in general.