this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2025
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Recipes
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A place to exchange kick-ass recipes. Either your own, or links to ones you've found and tried (and which worked) online, or tweaks to classics.
This community isn't for gourmet meals or Michellin stars, it's for real recipes people actually use and love.
Also, no cuisine gatekeeping here, please. If you love pineapple and strawberries on pizza, or mushrooms and jellytots in carbonara, them you do you!
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Im not a cheese eater but I was under the impression that American cheese made a better grilled cheese because of the way it melts.
That's actually correct, and a lot of people like to give American cheese grief because it comes individually sliced and packaged in plastic, but in reality it's just cheddar that has been reconstituted with extra milk. It can still be very high quality, with a uniquely creamy texture that is unmatched for a hot ham and cheese, or melting onto a burger.
The cheese melts faster. But I've def had better grilled cheese with, like, provolone.
I think there is such a thing as fancy American cheese that actually tastes good, but I've never seen it or tasted it.
American cheese is just cheese (usually cheddar) mixed with potassium citrate that acts as an emulsifier and prevents it from breaking when heated. It's as good as whatever cheese you start with.
Sodium citrate. Which I believe is there to allow the cheese to survive pasteurization, but it results in the texture and melting properties that make it the objectively correct choice for cheeseburgers. I still stand by provolone for cheesesteak sandwiches though.
And in that vein if you're sufficiently adventurous you can americanize your cheeses of choice
That's interesting. I would imagine the same with magnesium citrate would be more of a uh liberating experience.
Kraft Deli Selects if you're looking for prepackaged, otherwise a deli counter probably has it.
Its a different dish. American cheese is very melty but unless you go for some specialty shit or do some kitchen chemistry, its a very uncomplex cheese. It'll taste like a blend of mild cheeses, predominantly unaged cheddar. That's sometimes good, but one of cheese's best features as a food is that it's got a wide range of deeper flavors available. For the cozy familiar dish you go with the cozy familiar version. But those of us who love the depths of cheese and don't have that craving, we often prefer more fancy cheese blends