cheese
(midwest.social)
tgirlschierke to 
196
"The one true product", completely ignoring Texas BBQ
American cheese is just cheddar cheese + sodium citrate. You can make it yourself with cheddar cheese, lemon juice, and baking soda. The sodium citrate acts as an emulsifier, which prevents the cheese from separating when it melts. You can make some really high-quality American cheese, but since this is America, we have agro-businesses creating the cheapest, filler-filled shit possible
If anybody wants to watch someone make it: https://youtu.be/0aGNAxN5Z-o
That's my secret for cheese sauces that don't break. I make the sauce and throw in the tiniest bit of sodium citrate. I'm talking 1/4 tsp per quart of sauce. If you can't find the pure stuff, a single slice of American cheese produces the same effect.
I've made cheese sauce out of cheese that shouldn't be used for cheese sauce, like romano, and feta, to make absolutely divine sauces that don't break even when refrigerated.
My grocery store just sells sodium citrate, is that not normal? Love the stuff!
IIRC, “American” is a technical term of art referring to this process, so theoretically one could have American French cheese and so on.
I've made american cheese out of parmigiano reggiano. Technically, it's not just cheese and sodium citrate; you also need extra water depending on how dry the cheese is. It's a good way to add flavor because you can use stock, or beer, or mountain dew, or whatever.
According to wikipedia:
A mix of ingredients that must include at least 51% cheese (such as a traditionally made cheddar or Colby) is ground, combined with emulsifying agents and other ingredients that may total up to 49%
At least it's mostly cheese. Probably. Good old 'Murica never fails to underwhelm.
The stuff you get at a restaurant is frequently 100% actual cheese + emulsifier. Even Dairy Queen. The stuff in a grocery store is hit or miss, though. Kraft Singles for example cannot even legally call themselves American Cheese. They are a "Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product". Always check the small print on the label for "American Cheese" that's on its own.
The burger was not an import from Germany, rather, many ground meat products were referred to by a German city name, Wiener (Wein being Vienna), Frankfurter (Frankfurt), Berliner ( US president John F Kennedy), ECT
So when they made a sandwich using a style of ground beef introduced by immigrants from Hamburg it got called a “hamburger”, but the practice of frying a ground beef patty and making a sandwich out of it is not from hamburg.
You'll never guess which German city the cheeseburger was named after
That's mighty confident!
My understanding is that there are plausible competing theories, one of which is that hamburgers were iniquity made in Hamburg.
See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_hamburger or like a book or something
The style of ground meat certainly was, but, there are no records or references to it being cooked as a patty and served as a sandwich in Hamburg.
The first references and evidence we have for it absolutely come from the US, wether it be menus, mentions in news papers, or other textual evidence.
Lots of different claims as to who did it first, but who ever it was, all the historical evidence shows that the concept originated in the US. Probably none of the people who claim to have invented it actually did, but, we do have records from the time that show the concept spreading between diners along the east coast.
This is immediately and indelibly part of my worldview. Blocking and hiding any contrary comments
I mean, it's called Kraft cheese. Does that sound American to you? No! Thats the German word for power. What kind of power? Well you won't hear me saying it's nuclear power, but the coincidence is too big.
(Agreed, you shouldn't listen to the denialists)
Funny thing is I think I like melted Swiss cheese more on my burgers.
Same; but I also hate the taste of American cheese-product with a complete passion. I prefer a pure cheese, in any context.
