Cheese??

So, what the F*#% is "Cheese Food"??

Moreover what the hell is "Processed Cheese Food"???

I mean, I know what Cheese is and where it comes from, but why all of the confusion?

The Cheese confounds.....

According to the USDA, these "descriptions" define how much actual Cheese is in every product.

Something that is labeled "Natural Cheese" is just that, natural. Natural cheese refers to its variety, i.e. "Cheddar Cheese", "Swiss Cheese", or "Blue Cheese". These natural cheeses contain 100% real cheese, you know, curds, whey, natural enzymes, stuff like that. So far, so good.

Here's where things begin to get tricky. "Pasteurized Process Cheese" is a blend of fresh and aged natural cheeses that have been shredded and mixed (processed), then heated (pasteurized), after which no further ripening occurs. This blending of pasteurized processed cheese is not necessarily a scary thing; it just means that one or more varieties of natural cheese were used in the "process". For example, “pasteurized process American cheese” or “pasteurized process Swiss and American cheese.”

Thus far, nothing weird; but what is Cheese Food?

Say, what??!?

Cheese Food contains only 51% real cheese, any lower than that and they couldn't call it cheese at all!


Cheese Food contains a host of other things that are not cheese like non-fat dry milk, whey solids (whatever those are), and lots of water. After pasteurization, processing, and some mumbo jumbo, you wind up with “Pasteurized Process Cheese Food". 

Cheese Food, quite obviously, has a much milder flavor and softer texture than Natural Cheese. It spreads more easily and melts more quickly than process cheese. The most popular variety is pasteurized process American cheese food, which is packaged in slices, rolls, links and loaves.

EZ_Cheezy!

Now, cheese spreads have a different composition from cheese foods and are labeled as “pasteurized process cheese spread.” All of the ingredients used in the preparation of these products are listed on the respective labels along with the kinds or varieties of cheese used in the mixture.

Oh, Yeah!!

For more than you ever wanted to know, go HERE.