Trump's war on Parmigiano Reggiano

even as an american, american cheese is disgusting.

I can taste the emulsifier they add to it so it "melts" nicer.

I will disagree with pasta and cheddar, though. Mac and Cheese is wonderful. (well. from scratch mac and cheese. blue boxes need not apply)

There is a time and place for Kraft mac & cheese.
- yhea, and it is making it with real cheese.
  
  Ive grown to really enjoy Kraft singles on burgers and grilled cheese over the last several years. I come from the land of Tillimook cheese but personally can't stand it on the above mentioned items because it's just so damned greasy when you melt it and waters down the taste of everything else with grease flavor.
  
  I'm confused, both of those are American cheese.
  i meant American and American, not as cheese singles that is barely legally cheese
  
  Well maybe i need to try cheddar made outside of the US on a burger to see how I like it. Kraft cheese is American cheese so I thought you meant the "style" of cheese not the country of origin. From what I've heard, Tillamook cheese is pretty popular in a lot of places though
  
  Kraft cheese is American cheese
  It's literally not, go read the label again.
mac and cheese is something else, you wouldn't put parm on that. but practically every other sauce needs some real parm on top.
- You might want to reconsider the first part. While you don't want parm to be the primary cheese, a little parm added to homemade Mac and cheese really steps it up.
  
  Just don't use that nasty crap in a green can. Real Parmesan or GTFO.
They mean all cheese manufactured inside the United States, not the product titled “American Cheese,” as in the yellow slices like Kraft Singles, etc.
- Go read a Kraft Singles label from any point in the last two decades and show me where it calls itself "cheese."
Sodium citrate
- Oh that's relatively harmless. Sodium coming from salt as a metal or thru a precipitation reaction, and citrate is something derived from a fungus.
  
  Yep! I have a container of it to make otherwise non-melting cheeses melt smoothly.
  
  It's also the main electrolyte ingredient in a few electrolyte drinks.
Kraft Singles aren't American Cheese (like literally, they're legally not allowed to call it that). I wish people would stop associating the two.
Actual good American cheeses exist. A favorite of mine is Cooper Sharp American.

Have you tried sartori or belgioioso Parmesan? They aren't parmegiano Reggianio, but they definitely scratch a similar itch. If you're talking about "American cheese" itself then, yeah, you either know that that's not cheese or are living in ignorant bliss not knowing what cheese actually is

tried. not even close.
- Fair enough. But when the real stuff is $15 for a sliver that lasts the afternoon... we take what we can get I suppose
  
  $15 lasts me about 4 family meals. not sure where do you get your cheese or how much you're using
  it isn't a cheap ingredient, but it is definitely not a luxury one either.
  we aren't taking abour real balsamic vinegar or caviar here
living in ignorant bliss not knowing what cheese actually is
May I introduce you to the godless abomination from St Louis, MO - Provel cheese
- I do miss St Louis style pizza every so often.
- Tbh I dont think it looks terrible. I prefer a wet mozzarella with some sharp cheddar but I'd try it

i cannot put American “cheese” on my pasta.

Who the fuck does that?

Americans
- I don't think the people downvoting know that there's really people out here putting American craft singles slices on their spaghetti. I should know, I'm related to a couple of them. Seen it a good chunk of my life, almost always in poorer homes, from the southern US and a few times here in the midwest.
  
  The exception, not the rule.
- They don't though, unless you count mac & cheese
  
  He's not talking about "American Cheese," he's talking about e.g. Kraft grated (fake) "parmesan" cheese made in America.
  
  Oh yeah, we definitely do that lol
  
  You don't. You can literally find them making dinner on TikTok.
  
  I can't. I don't have TikTok, literally or figuratively.
  
  you mean Americans don't grate cheese on their Bolognese?
  
  Oh I thought you meant "American cheese" a la Velveeta. Yeah, we definitely put shitty grated fake Parm on stuff. It's an acquired taste/texture lol. I don't recommend trying to grate Velveeta.

There's no such thing as American gastronomy.

hard disagree.
yhea "white" American food is shite. because White culture, fundamentally does not exist (white as a culture was a way to erase the historical heritage of immigrants to create a blank slate group that was superior to natives/slaves). and once modernised its all corporate franchise slop.
and it shows. however, other subgroups have a rich culinary history. look at soul food for example, or when the immigrant heritage is allowed to shine Italian influence with NY pizza... or that bizarre mix of when a Chicago Italian hired a black cook from the South mixing southern slave recipes with Italian, to create Chicago pizza...

American cheeses are the best in the world.

Show me someone who prefers Parmigiano Reggiano over Kraft and I’ll show you an elitist liar.

I'm assuming you're joking.
many American cheeses aren't even allowed to be labelled as cheese in the US.
- I believe there are some that are. Just not the cheapest stuff. Adding sodium citrate to cheese doesn't automatically make it low quality. Starting with low quality cheese is what makes it low quality.
  
  Am I just too close geographically to Wisconsin or are y'all overplaying how bad our cheese is? Cause like I can run to the store and get some really incredible cheeses. There's almost no ultra processed shit cheese in stores near me, in fact it's basically just those Kraft singles and those are only good for "grilled cheese."
  
  People think American cheese and think Kraft.
  People think American chocolate and think Hershey.
  People think American beer and think Budweiser.
  People think American burgers and think McDonald's.
  They just know the cheap, bland international brands, but not the amazing regional stuff.
  America is a huge diverse place, with amazing food, amazing people, and amazing landscapes, but they only experience the cheap stuff, cause the best stuff isn't made for export.
  Edit: they've never had Wisconsin string cheese where you can see the handprints of the person who made it, and it shows.
  
  I know it's kinda "basic" but fresh cheese curds go so hard, it's unreal. I genuinely feel bad for anyone who can't get them fresh, it's a life changing snack.
  
  Especially if they give that nice squeak when you bite in.
  
  Elitists love ignorance.
  
  This right here. It’s funny when Europeans trash our beer culture. My state has more beer styles and types than all of Europe. Not that European beer isn’t good, it is, but Germany isn’t going to brew a juicy IPA because of their antiquated laws. It’s different.
  They have great cheese, no doubt, but so does the US when you actually look for it. Guess what Europeans, we don’t like Kraft either.
  
  Outside the dairy capital of America, yes, the dairy situation sucks.
  
  Vermont cheddars like nobody's business. Like, they've got the good shit with the crunch.
  Most Americans outside dairy areas don't have many high quality local cheese options, but we have high quality domestic cheese options.
  It's really butter and Parmesan where we can't compare.
  
  Oh yeah that's why. I live in the northeast and most of our cheese is the processed stuff. The good stuff is in the specialty section.
  
  The northeast has cheese from Vermont. Granted, not as much as Wisconsin, but it is good stuff.
  
  Yeah but that's pretty much just cheddar. I don't think I've had any other notable cheeses from VT.
  
  Fair enough
  
  Tragic, truly. I love cheese, have a whole section in the fridge dedicated to just cheese.
  
  I don't know. I live in Wisconsin... I don't understand why people assume cheeses made by America are bad.
  
  go to any European market, check the cheese section. or go to any cheese shop (not sure they exist in the US) it's not even close.
  
  Not in Wisconsin. Hell every regular grocery store has a huge cheese section. We have several cheese mongers here, dairy farms where you can tour and buy fresh cheese. We even have a festival for it https://www.cheesedays.com/. I've lived most of my life in the Midwest, which may explain why I think good cheese is abundant. Heck even out in Detroit they famously use Wisconsin brick cheese for their signature pizza. However, I do realize that many other states don't even have access to brick cheese or have even heard of brick. From this thread, I guess they're missing out on our other cheese too.
Dude, normally you seem a sane person, but on this you’re flat out wrong.
- Pretty confident they are trolling.
- Italians don’t ever sell their cheeses pre-shredded and that’s some lazy bullshit.
  
  Nah, if you shred cheese you have to add cellulose to prevent sticking and cellulose prevents the cheese from properly melting in your dishes.
  
  Cellulose is a perfectly natural part of aging.
  
  Okay. These are getting better and better.
  
  Cellulose in aging?
  Cellulose is a plant material, no way to make any milk product develop cellulose. Biologically impossible.
  it has to be an additive.
  Granted, perfectly edible, and counts as dietary fiber, but definitely not a natural part of cheese ageing
  nevermind, that's just a shit post
Call me a liar then. We have a chunk of parmigiano reggiano in the fridge. No other kinds of "parmesean" cheese to be found.