What are the best brands of American cheese?

SandwichShortOfAPicnic

SandwichShortOfAPicnic

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Well I’m planning (in the future) on doing a coast to coast ride in America, maybe a bit of what’s left of route 66 so I need the names of these good American cheeses because a friend went a just before Covid and said the thing he struggled with most was the cheese!

He said that the good cheese is treated like an artisan product and has that price tag attached to it and the reasonably priced supermarket cheese is diabolical.

So lay it on me. What cheese names should I look for in a supermarket?

This is going in my Ride Merica file!
 
The main thing is to look for "cheese" on the label, not "cheese product." Also, look for Kraft brand, and then don't buy it. :laugh:

I buy Boar's Head cheese, and I prefer white American Cheese to yellow. Try both.

American Cheese is the quintessential cheese for a cheeseburger. It melts beautifully, and just works so well on a burger. Same with a grilled cheese sandwich. It is not a cheese to eat all by itself, IMO.

CD
 
Brief experiences from 6 months in Cincinnati.
Vermont or Wisconsin Cheddar cheeses are pretty good, but I think you'll fond them "creamier" than British Cheddar. The piquancy is just not there, and that might be because of the incomprehensible refusal of the FDA to allow unpasteuried cheeses. Anyway - it is what it is.
Monterrey Jack is an interesting cheese, and you'll find quite a number of cheeses with "additions": cranberries, apricots, hot peppers, garlic, etc.
The best Blue cheese I tried was called Bayley Hazen Blue. Excellent. The others I tried were a bit too mild and creamy for my liking. Not unpleasant, but lacking "oomph". and I speak as a lover of Stilton, Shropshire Blue, Bleu d'Auvergne and Cabrales.
Soft, French style cheeses like Brie and Camembert, are far too creamy and not "funky " enough, IMHO - and I speak for myself, as an Englishman, not as an American. Evidently the soft cheeses sell, but having been spoiled with unpasteurised Petit Livarot, Pont L'Evecque, Brie de Meaux, etc., I found them underwhelming.
There is an extraordinary soft goat's cheese called Humboldt Fog. If you can find it (and afford it - it's not cheap) then buy it and enjoy it. Truly wonderful.
 
Website wouldn't let me post this...

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CD :rolleyes:
 
I like cheddar cheeses the most, and both Cabot and Adams Reserve are quite good. Not sure if they're carried everywhere. As CD mentioned, Tillamook is good too. I had it out west several years ago and it's recently appeared locally in the Midwest grocers stores. Here in NE Ohio there are a lot of small Amish cheesemakers that do a nice job.

Here's an interesting article about USA cheesemakers (I've never heard of any of them, lol).
The Best Cheese in America: These Are the Top 50 U.S. Cheesemakers
 
Fantastic.
Feel a lot happier on the cheese front now.

I suppose our experience of American cheese is the processed slices that go on burgers and it's hard to see past that.
Man V's Food is one of the few American cookery programmes that was a semi hit over here and it was always the cheese he ate that looked terrible, that didn't help things much.
Now I'm actually looking forward to trying some! 🤗
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
Fantastic.
Feel a lot happier on the cheese front now.

I suppose our experience of American cheese is the processed slices that go on burgers and it's hard to see past that.
Man V's Food is one of the few American cookery programmes that was a semi hit over here and it was always the cheese he ate that looked terrible, that didn't help things much.
Now I'm actually looking forward to trying some! 🤗
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If you take the time to look for them, there are many good cheeses, wines, beers and other foods/drinks in the US that are very good. You have to look for them, because the average supermarket may not have them. Although, good craft beers are found in supermarkets here.

The only cheese company in JAS_OH1s linked list that I recognized is The Mozzarella Company in Texas. It is in Dallas. Mozzarella Company | Handmade Mozzarella Cheese

CD
 
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My favorite American cheese is Philadelphia Cream Cheese. It goes on bagels and pairs with pasta de guayaba for one of my favorite snacks. I even add it to Alfredo sauce to give added flavor. No other brand measures up. It is an American tour de force.
 
caseydog said:
If you take the time to look for them, there are many good cheeses, wines, beers and other foods/drinks in the US that are very good. You have to look for them, because the average supermarket may not have them. Although, good craft beers are found in supermarkets here.

The only cheese company in JAS_OH1s linked list is The Mozzarella Company in Texas. It is in Dallas. Mozzarella Company | Handmade Mozzarella Cheese

CD
Click to expand...
I don't know why Miceli's in NE Ohio didn't make the cut. They've got nice Mozzarella and other Italian style cheese.
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