Cheese has been around a long time. In fact, nobody actually knows exactly when human beings began processing milk to produce this very fundamental and important food.
In any case, archaeological evidence such as artifacts showing signs of having been used in cheesemaking have been found. It is known that in the early history of agriculture humans domesticated milk-producing animals (Indeed, even in the Bible Abel is mentioned as having kept flocks).
At some point in history, people realized how to make cheese out of the milk from these domesticated animals and so cheese production was born.
Since then the methods of making cheese have developed to such an extent that today hundreds of different types of natural cheese exist.
However, humans being humans, in the last hundred or so years using scientific and technological advancements, many more types of cheese have come into existence. So-called, ‘Processed cheeses’ and ‘Cheese substitutes’.
Following on are a few artificial cheese types for sale, to wet your appetite for what Humans can do when they play with nature!
Velveeta
This catchily named Processed cheese is, as the name suggests, named after velvet, a material renowned for its smoothness. As you might expect then, it was named this way to reflect the smoothness of the product.
It has a mild taste, is butter like at room temperature, sliceable when chilled and easily and uniformly melts.
It was artificially developed in the 1920’s to produce a product with these qualities, not to mention a long shelf life, nutritious and easily storable.
It could be described as bionic cheese, although technically it is ‘Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product’ as it contains milk protein concentrate rather than actual cheese.
Nevertheless, Velveeta is an easy to use and versatile product!
Easy Cheese
This is essentially processed cheese spread in a spray can.
For a product to qualify as processed cheese spread, it must have a moisture content of between 44 and 60 % and contain more than 20 % milk fat.
Easy cheese contains some cheddar cheese, so in this sense, we could say that it is a good option in terms of processed cheeses as it contains some natural ingredient.
Of course, this natural cheddar cheese has been expanded in quantity and shelf life as well as standardized in quality through the addition of other ingredients, but this doesn’t necessarily lessen its usefulness as a food.
Indeed, the processing of cheese can produce a product with certain advantages over natural cheese and so, as long as it is consumed in the context of a healthy diet, there’s no reason to not enjoy it in soups and sandwiches or on crackers.
Easy cheese has been around since the mid-1960s, which gives it an air of credibility and is available in spray cans, which make it quick and easy to dispense!
American Cheese
Unsurprisingly, the term American Cheese originally referred to cheese (Cheddar) made in America. It was coined in England as a way to distinguish this Cheddar from English made varieties.
However, over time the usage changed and today American Cheese is used to refer to processed cheese which may or may not contain some cheddar. Indeed, today’s American cheese can be a mixture of different cheeses or as is often the case just contain some dairy products such as milk, cream or whey.
Although this doesn’t sound appetizing at first, there are a number of advantages over natural cheeses, in particular, consistent cheese quality and even cheese melting, which makes American Cheese nevertheless a good option for many uses.
This is a sauce that belongs to the category of processed cheeses foods.
It was originally developed in the 1950s as a sauce for use in the preparation of the dish ‘Welsh Rarebit’, which otherwise required a complicated, time-consuming sauce to be made.
Since then, due to its mild, but tangy flavor, it has found many uses such as a dip for chips, a spread for crackers and a sauce for hot dogs. Most famously it is used in Philadelphia Cheesesteak sandwiches, with many insisting that the true cheesesteak sandwich is made with Cheez Whiz and onions.
In the beginning, it was made with real cheese, but today there are both versions containing dairy products as well as the real cheese one.
There are a number of different flavors available, not to mention two spray can versions (the original Cheez Whiz being sold in glass jars).
Parmesan
Parmesan is one of the most cheeses of them all. However, authentic Parmesan cheese is actually another Italian cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano.
Parmigiano Reggiano is made using strict controls and in Europe, only Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses may be labeled Parmesan. This is not the case elsewhere.
Thus, grated Parmesan bought for example in the United States might contain other ingredients than just Parmigiano Reggiano.
That being said, there are still controls and regulations and so Parmesan bought from a reputable manufacturer should still be of a high quality. The main points are that it should be made from Cow’s milk, have a minimum water and milk fat content and no more than 4% cellulose as an anti-caking agent.
In any case, grated Parmesan may well be a processed cheese, but it’s still a good alternative to real Parmigiano Reggiano as it’s cheap, keeps well and still adds flavor to a variety of pasta dishes.
Overall then, we have seen a number of different examples of processed cheeses. Each one contains differing amounts of real cheese and dairy products. This doesn’t mean that they are not useful for cooking as they have a number of advantages in quality and cooking properties of real cheeses. Obviously, though, the real cheese lover will want to combine the use of these processed cheeses for easy and convenience with the consumption of real deal cheeses when time, availability and budget allows.
