American cheese

[tartanwiz]

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

[boognish76]

Americans aren't known as cheese connaisseurs - I think the most popular kind is the cheese squares you get on burgers.

[Alej]

processed tasteless ready sliced muck!

[zgma]

Well, I'm an American, and my most popular kind is goat milk cheddar. I also like feta, gouda, chevre, and this crazy stuff with whole peppercorns in it.

[zgma]

I can't stand the plastic cheese squares.

[Rabelais]

Well Americans are big fans of Kraft Cheese slices and even cheese whiz (cheese in a spray can) and even Kraft dinner. But when it comes to nonprocessed cheese the most widey eaten cheese is almost certainly The Monterey Jack.

[Bohne]

My husband is from Wisconsin, and as it's the Dairy Country, there are quite a few different cheeses available. I know he loves string cheese. And he got me into it, too. For some reason he also likes Cheddar, which I am not very fond of!

[Ouisch]

As an American, I can say that my personal preference is sharp Cheddar cheese. Other common varieties here are Muenster, Colby, Monterrey Jack and Swiss. So-called American cheese is the type you find pre-packaged by Kraft or Borden, and is popular mainly because it's inexpensive and conveniently packaged.

[marmaduke]

Monterey Jack is heavily processed itself! The Americans don't have ANY food that isn't processed. Their food is simply appalling.

[zgma]

Marmaduke, that's a bit strong. Come on, the most popular thread on this site is about Cremola Foam! How can you criticize American food when it seems like every person in the UK misses that stuff? I live in America, and I eat hardly any processed food at all - mostly veggies, bread (that I bake), eggs, cheeses (none processed), chicken, etc. And I find that my friends also eat hardly any processed food. I don't know a single person who eats the so-called "American" cheese slices. So let's lay off the misguided stereotypes.

[02levir]

in america they eat edeble cheese and it tastes nice. fish tastes bad.

[Kingaroo]

Well, what kind of cheese do Brits eat? I bet there's a lot of overlap - or do you only eat Cheddar and Stilton? I'm a Californian (but not as "granola" as my fellow left-coaster, Zgma). What I go through fastest are blocks of extra sharp cheddar and tubs of shredded romano. (I'd eat more brie and creamy herb cheeses if they weren't so fatty.) And I love ricotta. And, like Bohne's hubby, I used to live in Wisconsin, the Dairy State. Nowhere else have I found real cheese curds so fresh they squeak when you bite them! Talk about NOT processed!

[Kingaroo]

Okay, you got me wondering. The following article indicates habits have changed a lot in recent years - so be the first one on your block to update your stereotypes. snips: In 2003, Americans ate a record 8.8 billion pounds of cheese. That's 2.5 pounds a month for every man, woman and child...The vast majority is commodity cheese, but Americans are also consuming much more specialty cheeses. Blues, sharps, aged varieties and fresh ones have grown five times as fast in the last decade as the Cheddars and mozzarellas, the research showed....One out of every 10 pounds of cheese eaten is a higher-quality, value-added cheese such as artisan or farmstead varieties. Ten years ago, only one in 15 pounds of cheese consumed was specialty.

[zgma]

I'm not granola, if you mean hippy-dippy. I just don't like processed food; I can make or buy fresh food that tastes better.

[zgma]

Kingaroo, you're the first Californian aside from me that I've seen on this site.

[Yinzer]

I'm American-ish and I love Fromunda cheese.

[marmaduke]

zgma, you're amazing. Wouldn't it be good if you were the standard though, and not something special? You have to concede that Americans do have more access to heavily processed food (the infamous 'cheese' aerosol can), that they don't even question is incredibly suspect. People are having problems with British eating habits at the moment, but I don't think they're nearly as bad as in America. This isn't just anti-American feeling, it's the truth. Why does no one question cheese-spray or cookie dough and all those things that Americans have all ready for them in the supermarket?

[zgma]

Well, maybe my community is special, but like I said, I really don't know anyone that likes that stuff. None of my friends eat the processed stuff either. I grew up in a fairly standard American community in Florida, and I didn't grow up eating processed food, and neither did most of my friends growing up. When I lived in Rhode Island it wasn't popular there. It seems like all along the West Coast here, there is an incredible variety of fresh food available... huge amounts of really fresh veggies and fruit, lots of small artisanal dairies and bakeries, etc. My grocery store probably has 100 kinds of cheeses (and come to think of it, I haven't actually seen the cheese squares there, and I'm positive they don't stock cheese-in-a-can), as well as a warehouse-sized area of produce. Around here, it's really standard for people to eat about like I do. The middle of the country is probably more like what you're talking about, Marmaduke... I'm not sure why. I showed this page to my husband just now - he sort of laughed derisively and said that the last time he was in London, he and his friend walked for MILES trying to find someplace to eat that had any veggies on the menu, or anything that wasn't fried. Marmaduke, I'm guessing you live somewhere else? All of this is to say that the blanket statements about American cuisine are not particularly fair.

[grandmabundy]

Monteray Jack

[grandmabundy]

Monteray Jack

[Sifter1978]

Camembert is luscious, as is Brie. as for our originals.... i aint keen on any of them! most british cheese i have is flavouring on crisps! though occasionally have cheese on toast... cheddar by the waty !