What purpose does American cheese serve? What problem does it solve?

  • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    Oh, there’s plenty of American cheeses that are basically the same as any other European cheese, but we have the difference that we either need to use pasteurized milk, or age the cheese at least 60 days.
    We had a much worse time with listeria outbreaks around the time that food safety regulations were being put together, so our rules are a lot more strict for dairy products.

    This can impact the flavor, but honestly the reason imported cheese tends to be better is because you don’t import cheap cheese, you import nice cheese.

    Cellulose is only in shredded cheese, and it’s benign. It’s naturally occuring in every plant, and humans can’t digest it. It’s commonly referred to as “dietary fiber”, which is why they can use it as an anti clumping agent in shredded cheese. You’re already eating it and it’s entirely inert.

    Antibiotics are also a bit overblown in the US. When it comes to what arrives to the consumer, the US and the EU have compatible regulations. The biggest difference is actually cow breed, which impacts milk composition.

    • Maeve@kbin.social
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      5 months ago

      They’re compatible largely because of trade pressures applied. And pre-shredded cheese wreaks havoc on my stomach. I’ve had stomach issues for most of my life so imo a happy gut is a happy me.