A Facebook group for Cybertruck owners is full of videos and photos of passersby and other drivers flicking them off, leaving notes that say “WHAT’S ELON’S CUM TASTE LIKE?,” and “NAZI CAR,” and people kicking their cars, throwing slices of cheese at it, etc.

  • SPRUNT@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Just wanted to say that the hate on American cheese is unjustified. American cheese is just cheddar that has been heated to 170f (iirc) for long enough to kill bacteria and make it shelf-stable. They add an emulsifier (again, iirc) to help it bind better and have a more pleasant texture.

    All other criticisms of America are valid, but the cheese doesn’t deserve the hate it gets.

    • Schmoo@slrpnk.net
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      1 month ago

      You forgot to mention that it’s watered down. That’s what the emulsifier is for, to make the oils in the cheese mix well with the added water. The concept is fine - for some applications - if it were only that, but this is hyper-processed American food we’re talking about here. Gotta pad out that ingredient list:

      CHEDDAR CHEESE (CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), SKIM MILK, MILKFAT, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, WHEY, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, SALT, LACTIC ACID, MILK, SORBIC ACID AS A PRESERVATIVE, OLEORESIN PAPRIKA (COLOR), ENZYMES, CHEESE CULTURE, ANNATTO (COLOR).

      The above is the standard Kraft singles ingredient list, and at a glance is the shortest one I saw on their website.

    • ParadoxSeahorse@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Literally this is why it gets hate. It’s not remotely Cheddar. Real Cheddar is deliberately none of these things. I love a crunchy cheese crystal and a crumbly organic texture. To each their own, but it’s not Cheddar, barely cheese. I’d have it in a burger, but only because so few places will melt real cheese properly. Brie is pretty good in a burger. Is Somerset Brie really Brie? Time for a Frenchman to tell me to gtfo…

      • SPRUNT@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        I didn’t say it was cheddar. I said it was made from cheddar. It’s decidedly not cheddar, which is why it’s not called “cheddar”.

    • Andonyx@lemmy.world
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      30 days ago

      Check out Nile Red on Nebula, (or YT if that’s your bag). He makes American Cheese from the ground cheddar up and you can watch. Having done so, I agree with you.

      • SPRUNT@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        “Pleasant” in the context of what it would be otherwise. My understanding is that, without the emulsifier, it would be crumbly and kinda chalky, and not hold a form very well.

    • endeavor@sopuli.xyz
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      1 month ago

      I agree, the american cheese is an Interesting and useful invention. At the end of the day it’s just emulsified cheese. Similiar to emusified sausages and meat products, which are popular all around the world.

      I much rather hate american insistace on substituting technique and culinary education with cream, corn syrup, sugar and butter, for example cacio e pepe or carbonara.

    • Botunda@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      American Cheese is not actually cheese. It is cheese food product. Even deli American cheese is not cheese.

      • roofuskit@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Legally they can’t label it as cheese, but get anyway with cheese being part of the name.

    • scholar@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      If by ‘more pleasant texture’ you mean ‘no texture whatsoever’ then yes, I suppose so.

    • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      IMHO, it has three purposes:

      1. a grilled cheese on cheap white bread with enough butter to guarantee an acid reflux episode
      2. melted on Chef Boyardee ravioli
      3. on a slice of apple pie

      If your Kraft singles are too precious, I think the Dollar Tree brands stray even further from gods light.

      • smort@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Wait wtf you put American cheese on your apple pie?!?

        Are you from the US? I’ve never heard of that, and honestly I’m horrified and intrigued

        • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          I think it might be an “older people in the south” thing. (Like all boomers and older I’ve talked to about it know about it, usually not younger) I worked at a diner for a bit, and it would be Silent Generation types that would order it.

          It’s pretty good, but real cheddar would be better. It’s that similar salty/sweet combo that makes French fries and a McFlurry better than sex.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        wtf would you put that on apple pie? Pie deserves a nice sharp white cheddar

    • JacksonLamb@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      All other criticisms of America

      Processed cheese is only called “American cheese” by Americans.

      The rest of the world doesn’t call it that, and it’s strange to see that some of you take it on as part of your national identity.

          • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            They said that in the broader context of saying they don’t think American cheese deserves the hate it gets. It was qualifying their defense of American cheese by saying they aren’t just blindly defending any criticism of America but honestly like the cheese.

    • Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works
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      30 days ago

      Honestly if you ever tasted anything else than cheddar and mozzarella, you know that americans cheese is something else. I’m willing to bet you could leave some slices in a forest and no animal would touch it.

      • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        30 days ago

        you know that americans cheese is something else

        It’s cheddar and Colby Jack with some emulsifiers to make them mix better, that’s about it

        Kraft singles have preservatives in them so they’re großer for sure, but that’s not the only kind of American cheese there is

        No I DONT know why my keyboard autocorrected that to use the German letter but it’s funny so I’m leaving it as is

        • Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works
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          30 days ago

          I’m sure there’s a lot of good american cheese but I thought this “cheese product” was the subject. I actually enjoy it from time to time, but I can’t bring myself to think of it as cheese. Like cheez weez for example, I like it sometimes, but it’s just a different product in my mind. And man that Halloween orange color… just… who got this idea…why?