The history of processed cheese (aka American cheese)

Processed cheese is found everywhere today because its already sliced, melts well, and many people find it convenient or cheap. But who invented it? Why is it also called American cheese? Is it even cheese? Why does every type of burger seem to come with it? These are the sorts of questions I’ll try to answer in this video on the history of processed (or American) cheese. Chesdale cheese jingle:    • Chesdale Cheese - TV Ad (1969)   Support me on Patreon:   / cheesehistory   Follow me on Instagram:   / cheese.history   Sources "John Wardell." New-York Evening Post, 18 November 1801, 3. "American Cheese." The British Medical Journal 1, no. 1115 (1882): 711-711. "Food for Britain from Auckland." Food Manufacture 24, no. 3 (1949): 117-119. "Cheeses and Related Cheese Products," Code of Federal Regulations, title 21 (2024): §133. "Pasteurised Process Cheese," Code of Federal Regulations, title 21 (2024): §133.169. Ashburn, Doug, "Kraft Foods", Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/money/Kraf.... Butland, Jack Richard. "Process and Apparatus for Reconstituting Cheese." New Zealand Patent Office, 56541. New Zealand, 1926. de Salcedo, Anastacia Marx. Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way You Eat. New York: Current, 2015. Donnelly, Catherine, ed. The Oxford Companion to Cheese. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Edgar, Gordon. Cheddar: A Journey to the Heart of America's Most Iconic Cheese. White River Junction: Chelsea Green, 2015. Farrer, K. T. H. "Walker, Fred (1884-1935)." In Australian Dictionary of Biography, edited by John Ritchie, vol. 12. Netley: Melbourne University Press, 1990. Garstin, George. "Cheese and Process for Sterilizing Same." United States Patent Office, 1 368 624. United States, 1921. Kindstedt, Paul. Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese and Its Place in Western Civilisation. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012. Kraft Heinz, "Slice of History" https://www.kraftheinz.com/kraft-sing.... Kraft, James Lewis. "Process of Sterilizing Cheese and an Improved Product Produces by Such Process." United States Patent Office, 1 186 524. United States, 1916. ———. "Process of Sterilizing Cheese and an Improved Product Produces by Such Process." Australian Department of Patents, 1620/16. Australia, 1916. ———. "Process of Sterilizing Cheese and an Improved Product Produces by Such Process." New Zealand Patent Office, 37685. New Zealand, 1916. ———. "Process of Preparing Cheese." United States Patent Office, 1 400 171. United States, 1921. Kraft, Norman. "Apparatus for Heat-Treating Cheese." United States Patent Office, 2 005 996. United States, 1935. ———. "Cheese Forming Method and Apparatus." United States Patent Office, 2 352 210. United States, 1944. ———. "Cheese Production." United States Patent Office, 2 361 775. United States, 1944. Kraft, Norman and Paul J. Ward. "Manufacture of Cheese." United States Patent Office, 2 743 186. United States, 1956. Moss, Michael. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. New York: Random House, 2013. Ozersky, Josh. The Hamburger: A History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. Ray, Randy and Mark Kearney. I Know That Name!. Ontario: Dundurn Press, 2002. Robins, Brian. "Australian Cheese Company Buys Vegemite Off Kraft as Part of $484m Deal." Stuff, 19 January 2017. Salek, Richardos N., František Buňka and Michaela Černíková. "The Use of Different Cheese Sources in Processed Cheese." In Processed Cheese Science and Technology, edited by Mamdouh El-Bakry and Bhavbhuti M. Mehta, 79-112. Cambridge, MA: Elsevier Science, 2022. Smith, Andrew F., ed. The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. ———. Hamburger: A Global History. London: Reaktion Books, 2008. Stewart, Henry. American Cheese and Cheese-Making. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1889. Strahlmann, Berend. "Gerber, Walter." In Neue Deutsche Biographie, edited by Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode, vol. 6, 254. Berlin: Duncker & Humbolt, 1964. Tunick, Michael H. The Science of Cheese. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Wikipedia, "American Cheese" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America.... Images Portrait of James Lewis Kraft (1934), public domain Stettler, Fritz (1865-1937)--DB3461, Portal ARH People and institutions, December 2024 version. Peter Moser, Gerber, Walter (1879-1942)--DB1242, Portal ARH People and institutions, December 2024 version. Fred Walker, Kraft Foods, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons 00:00 American cheese 01:53 What was the earliest American cheese like? 04:39 What is American/processed cheese like today? 06:52 Is processed cheese actually cheese? 09:01 Who invented American cheese? 15:47 How were cheese slices invented? 17:25 When was processed cheese added to burgers? 19:53 Processed cheese in Australia and New Zealand 21:15 Summary and outro