American cheese

[tartanwiz]

What kind of cheese do Americans eat? What is their most popular kind?

[marmaduke]

I live in London, where it is very, very easy to eat well, and not necessarily expensively.

[Cyberianwolf]

Monterrey Jack, Cheddar, Philadelphia cream cheese...mostly highly processed and rather tasteless...

[Cyberianwolf]

zgma, you mean nobody buys the stuff in the supermarket? That is strange, as it seems to disappear from the shelves on a regular basis...and how about the stuff people eat on cheeseburgers? Don't tell me...I bet you don't know anybody that does that either!

[Pythoness]

Being American, I'd have to say that Brie is my favorite kind of cheese.  I hate the processed cheese slices, and cheese in a can.  I wouldn't even feed that stuff to my dog.

Being pregnant, however, I cannot eat Brie at this time, so my cheese of choice currently is a Monterey Jack with jalepeno peppers in it called Pepper Jack.  The brand I prefer is made locally (to me) and it doesn't have any preservatives.

[monkeygirl]

Just wanted to question what zgma said, cos it struck me as being a bit wrong. I have visited the US many times as I have relatives in California. I have been to the supermarkets in their home town (which isn't a big place) and even in their supermarket, you can get evil things such as cheese in a can, Slim Jims (a horrible concoction of beef jerky with turkey and about a million additives). I just couldn't believe the amount of cereals that were on offer, there are shelves and shelves dedicated to sugar coated badness in the form of chocolate cereals and cookie cereals. They have SO much choice you can definitely see why there is an obesity problem. The one thing that I did notice this year on my visit, was the price of their groceries has definitely shot up in recent years as our prices in the UK have gone the other way. I just hope that it isn't the start of things to come in this country that we will be offered a choice of processed rubbish or more processed rubbish... Don't get me wrong, I like America and Americans but their attitude to food is totally bizarre. For one, portion sizes. 'Nuff said!

[zach]

im actuly mexican and cheese is a huge issue on our quesadias(cheese in the middle of two tortias) right now i think that choriso with eny thing is gooooood :-)

[zach]

im actuly mexican and cheese is a huge issue on our quesadias(cheese in the middle of two tortias) right now i think that choriso with eny thing is gooooood :-) thouugh there is a huge amount in the taste of the people in america P.S, bell & cobana are pathetic substitutes

[aslan]

The quot un quote american cheese is Cheddar as in a slice of apple pie and cheddar cheese

 

apparently considered the ultimate in hometown american food fare

[jatcjr]

I think if you were to look closely at the American Cheese for sale in the square shape in american supermarkets you would see there are actually three products 1) American Cheese - this is what I buy it is great on burgers, slower to melt and can actually be eaten alone.  2) american cheese process product this is american cheese that has been messed up and then we have 3) american cheese process food product this is american cheese (matbe) that has been totally screwed up.  If you buy number one, it is not that bad.

[tomato]

look..im american and i dont want to lie to you guys..i love my cheese slices and can cheese..and no im no obese at all

[tomato]

not kraft...velveta(the kind that tastes like it has a gallon of milk in each slice)

[little_star]

i'm from CA and i loooove cheese, a lot. i mostly eat pepper jack, monterey jack, mild cheddar and mozzerella, in the block form. Brie and gouda taste gross to me.

[aurelia]

Kingaroo - asked what cheese brits eat - I like Scottish Cheddar, Applewood Smoked Cheddar - it tastes amazing, Wensleydale - it is an english white cheese - you can buy it with cranberries in it, oranges or pineapples in it or plain.  I'm scottish so thats a big deal to choose to ean an english cheese.  I love Haloumi, Mozzarella, Feta, Edam, Brie and french roule, Boursin garlic and Boursin peppered and soft cheese like Primula light - which I spread on to toasted bagels.  I absolutely detest goats cheese as it makes me want to vomit - literally - I have gagged every time I have tried it and so never again

[Eubibliophil]

American Cheese... duh... ;)

[Peachallie]

Marmaduke, we have all kinds of all citrus, in fact, fresh fruit of every kind, and just about every vegatable known on earth. American cheese is made for topping other foods, not a cheese you eat alone. Cheddar, American & Mozzarella are most popular here in the US.

[j05]

Umm.  I'm from Georgia!!!! woot woot!.  I love FRESH cheddars, monterrey, choriso, cream (for bagels), parmesan, string, and feta cheese.  Thanks for posting your answers, I've neva heard of some of these you all talk about. Go cheese!

My theory:

I think that very few Americans do actually eat the cheese whiz, cheese in a can, spray cheese, etc. stuff because its GROSS! However, I think the FEW nerds out there who LOVE that stuff buy it in bulk...THAT'S  why it's being bought and being re-stocked.  But hey, that's just my opinion. 

[ezapf]

Cracker Barrel extra sharp cheddar with nothing.

Sorry I'm three months late, I just found this thread via the front page.

[nanner]

hmmm,,,,lol ok I think I can help a little with this one.  That square repulsive cheese in the plastic, is just perhaps perferred among the youngsters of the US, same as cheese whiz and all that type of nastieness. 

 I am american, I can say my favorite by far is Romano,,can seriously eat that off the block havent gained an ounce of weight to prove it though)  I also love Romano, and Mozzarella , but fresh Mozz, not the scarey bagged stuff thats alreay been shredded.  My daughter who is 6 loves swiss and would take that over ne other type except maybe provolone.  My husband is not as big on the cheese as we are, but he does enjoy blue cheese (he can keep that one all to himself). 

So hope that helps you on your quest to figure out what the most popular cheese is.  Good Luck! Oh and the comment bout processed foods.  My family only eats that junk once in a blue moon, and that is usually only when our 6yr old asks for McDonalds (which trust me is not often maybe twice a year)  I cook each and every one of my meals, breakfast through dinner from scratch. 

I do however know that I often complain about everyone I see getting groceries, with their carts full of nasty frozen entress n stuff.  Blah makes me sick.. I feel that home cooked meals are by far cheaper, healthier and taste better.  Would really love if more people picked up a cook book and gave it a go rather than putting a microwaved meal in front of their children every night.  I was a single mom at one point I worked full time days, and went to full time school in the evening.  I still for all meals, found the time between work and school, between classes etc, to cook for my daughter.  My mom babysat her,,she wasnt much on cooking.  So I know you dont need a life story but I do agree that americans in general eat to much processed foods. There is really no excuse for it.

[exarmyparrot]

banana cheese

[anna222222]

Okay, I'm also American, and when I was young (I mean ages 2 to 5) I was very fond of the Kraft Singles.  And then I promply grew out of that.  It's mostly small children that eat that type of cheese (and string cheese, that's a school lunch staple). 

I don't know how to take the knock on American food being overprocessed and nasty.  I'd say there's definately a grain of truth to it.  But we're a really freakin' big country entirely composed of immigrants and their children.  There are so many different cultural traditions floating around that it's hard to make any real conclusions as to what Americans uniformly eat.