Processed and spreads
American cheese, spreadable wedges and cheese spreads: cheese melted with emulsifying salts.
Processed cheese is made by melting natural cheese with emulsifying salts, such as sodium citrate or phosphates, so that it stays smooth and does not split when it is heated again. It was developed in Switzerland in 1911 by Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler, and in the United States by James L. Kraft, who patented a process in 1916. Slices, wedges, spreads and blocks followed, and processed cheese is now found from burger bars to Indian school tiffins.
How it is made
Natural cheeses, often a blend of young and aged cheddar or Emmental, are ground and heated with emulsifying salts, water and sometimes milk solids, cream or flavourings. The salts bind calcium and let the proteins hold fat and water in a smooth, stable mass. The hot cheese is poured into foil, moulds or tins, or spread into sheets and cut into slices. Labelling rules differ by country: in the United States, terms such as process cheese, cheese food and cheese spread mark different minimum shares of cheese.
Around the world
American cheese is the melting slice of the cheeseburger and the grilled cheese sandwich. Spreadable wedges wrapped in foil, an idea of the 1920s in France and Switzerland, travelled across Africa, the Middle East and Asia because they keep well. In the Gulf and the Levant, jars of soft cheese spread are breakfast staples. In India, processed cheese in cubes, slices and tins is the cheese many households first knew, grated thickly over sandwiches, toast and pasta, and it is the cheese of Mumbai's grilled sandwich stalls.
Older cousins and cooking
Before emulsifying salts, cooks made smooth melted cheeses in other ways. Cancoillotte, from Franche-Comté, melts a sharp skimmed-milk curd with butter and water into a runny spread, and Hesse's Kochkäse, cooked cheese, is a similar country dish. Processed cheese melts evenly without oiling off, which is why it is used for burgers, queso dips and nacho sauces. Cooks who prefer natural cheese can get the same smooth result by adding a little sodium citrate to a sauce.
Worth knowing
- American cheese: The cheeseburger slice
- Spreadable wedges: Foil-wrapped portions found around the world
- Cheese spread: Soft processed cheese in jars and tins
- Rauchkäse: Bavarian smoked processed cheese
- Cancoillotte: Runny melted cheese of Franche-Comté
- Kochkäse: Cooked cheese of Hesse
Good to know
- Once opened, keep processed cheese chilled and use it within the time given on the pack.
- Keep the film between slices so they do not stick together.
- Melt it over low heat; it needs no flour to stay smooth.
Sources and further reading
Original text by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Processed on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 1 moreProcessed cheese
A meltable cheese blend made with emulsifying salts for stability and long shelf life.Mixed · Processed · Salty
🇺🇸 United StatesAmerican cheese
A mild, meltable processed cheese made from cheddar or Colby with sodium citrate.Cow · Processed · Salty
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCancoillotte
A runny French cheese made by melting metton, served hot or cold in the east.Cow · Processed · Milky and fresh