Don’t Be Afraid of American Cheese
American cheese has a bad reputation, especially among foodies and health conscious people. You may hear claims that it is made of “plastic” or “chemicals”, but in reality there is nothing to worry about. American cheese is simply cheese mixed with melting salts and common ingredients like milk.
Technically, manufacturers can’t call it cheese because it’s a mixture of cheese and stuff. However, the word cheese still has to be somewhere on the label. “American slices” or “deli slices” are not prepared with cheese, but any variation on “pasteurized processed cheese” products. Or, as J. Kenji Lopez-Alt put it:
Saying “American cheese is not cheese” is like saying “meatloaf is not meat.” Just like meatloaf is a product that is made by mixing real meat with ingredients that change texture and taste, so American cheese is a product that is made by mixing real cheese with ingredients that change texture and taste. In fact, as a percentage, chances are good that your American cheese slices have more milk and cheese than meat loaf!
In Serious Eats, he examines the ingredients of American cheese and explains where myths come from and why they are misleading. American cheese is a wonderful thing to put on top of a hamburger, and there is no shame – and certainly no health risk – in enjoying it.
What is American Cheese? | Serious food