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Comment by Hnrobert42 | Hacker News Reader

Individually wrapped cheese slices could lead to less spoilage.

Except in practice individual slices all go bad at (roughly) the same time. If a block of cheese goes moldy you can just slice off the mold and keep going. Cheese goes bad outside-in, pre-sliced cheese has way more surface area.

Processed cheese dries out very rapidly when exposed to the dry air inside a refrigerator.

So does nonprocessed cheese. You'll want to store it in something nonpermeable like modern cheese paper, or a small plastic bag.

This is potentially true. As far as I can see from the article this is only achieved by the use of preservatives. I wonder if similar results in limiting spoilage could be achieved using different preservatives without the wrapping?

As someone from Wisconsin it is wrong to even call that stuff "cheese". The plastic wrapping and the contents are pretty much the same thing.

Meh, this is just snobbery. Processed American cheese is still in fact a cheese, and whether you like it or not, it has its place.

>Processed American cheese is still in fact a cheese, and whether you like it or not

Not according to EU law. Over here, Kraft Singles could only be described as "processed slices (made using a blend of cheese, vegetable oils and milk proteins)".

Again, this is a type of snobbery, it's just encoded into law. The product tastes like a cheese. It contains the components of a cheese. It is used in applications where a cheese is used. It's not a great cheese, nor a traditional cheese, but it is in every way, functionally, a cheese.

As long as consumers are clearly informed about what they are eating (via labeling) and the food is safe for humans to consume, constructing a legal definition of products like 'cheese', 'ice cream', etc. just seems like pandering to interest groups.

“Constructing a legal definition of products like ‘cheese’” is the way various governments ensure that consumers are clearly informed about what they are eating (via labeling).

If it weren’t forbidden, this product would be sold in a package showing cows and cheese wheels, with “CHEESE” in huge letters on it, and, in a place people wouldn’t look at and in tiny low-contrast letters, a remark that this is processed protein made from diary.

Same in the US. You have to buy Kraft premium American cheese (or another brand) to get real process American cheese, which is just cheddar plus an emulsifying salt.

Isn't it technically a "processed cheese product"?

Why eat something so intensely boring, when there is so much great cheese out there?

I used to agree with you. Then I read this: https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/07/whats-really-in-american...

The answer to your second question is: Texture. The way process (not "processed") cheese melts is definitely different than similar cheeses. There's a gooeyness and meltability that's unique for applications like a grilled cheese or burger, and good process cheese is just cheese that's been melted with a few salts.

It turns out there are many different American cheeses:

Pasteurized Process Cheese - Various cheeses melted together with an emulsifying agent.

Pasteurized Process Cheese Food - Mostly cheese, but with a higher % of 'the other stuff'.

Pasteurized Process American Slices - Not actually cheese. A vegetable oil horrorshow.

I know there's a reason people like it, but when you can have cheddar instead, I still don't understand why anyone would prefer American cheese, other than nostalgia.

Take pride in what you create, rather than what you consume.

I make amazing food, using quality ingredients.

It has its place. It is called the garbage.

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