Processed cheese
From Freepedia
Processed cheese (or process cheese) is a food product made from regular cheese and other unfermented dairy ingredients, plus emulsifiers, extra salt and food colourings. The best known processed cheese is orange in color and mild in flavor, with a medium-firm consistency; it is commonly known in the U.S. as American cheese and in Australia as Tasty Cheese. Many other flavors and textures of processed cheese are also made.
Processed cheese has two technical advantages. Traditional cheesemaking inevitably produces 'scrap' pieces that would not be acceptable for supermarket display; production of processed cheese from cheese scrap allows the cheesemaker to 'add value' to otherwise unmarketable scrap. Also, some consumers actually prefer processed cheese for its smooth melting. With prolonged heating regular cheese will separate into a molten protein gel and liquid fat; processed cheese will not separate in this manner. The emulsifiers (typically sodium or potassium phosphate, tartrate, or citrate) in processed cheese reduce the tendency for tiny fat globules in the cheese to coalese and pool on the surface of the molten cheese.
Because processed cheese does not separate when melted, it is used as an ingredient in a variety of dishes. It is a fairly popular condiment on hamburgers, as it does not run off, nor change in texture or taste, as it is heated.
Processed cheese is sometimes sold in blocks, but more often sold packed in individual slices, with plastic wrappers or wax paper separating them.
Due to the processing and additives, some varieties cannot legally be labeled as "cheese" in many countries, including the United States and Great Britain, and so are sold as "cheese food", "cheese spread", or "cheese product", depending primarily on the amount of cheese, moisture, and milkfat present in the final product.
