Actually it is almost always white American. Provolone is always an option, but is usually standard only on a pizza steak.
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Thank you Steve.
I’ll admit to, in the distant past, occasionally treating myself to a bit of PPAC on a Ritz cracker, but none of us is perfect! Anyway nowadays it’s usually something more appropriate, especially a blue, which is always most rewarding.
I’m on both sides of the hate/love PPAC debate, by the way. Growing up we seldom had anything else. As an adult with kids I used to buy it pretty often, but then10+ years ago just fell out of the habit.
We had a bunch of family in town recently and I was taking/writing down burger orders. I went through the range of ~ 6 sliced cheese options and one of the younger nephews asked about American. A daughter was on her way home so I had her grab a package of the Kraft DE-Luxe (you have to emphasize the “DE” down here, or folks will figure out you’re a Yankee).
Yuck. There’s some weird “whang” to it now. I’m sure it hasn’t changed, though - my taste buds most likely have.
Nope… the brand is Primo Taglio… a kinda house brand of Safeway that makes up most of their deli section. Some of it is quite good (turkey, ham, cheeses), and some not so much (pastrami).
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If I’m being honest ( they say that a lot on the Great British Menu), I feel the same way about the United States. It doesn’t feel like a single monolithic cultural country to me, but then I’ve never lived anywhere else.
I see the question about whether brands could explain the difference in the white and yellow American ("catchy* title ) has been answered, so now I’m stumped by the original question.
The comments about cheesy sauce made me think of a recent observation, one I had not noticed in other European countries I visited before I think the UK. I’m sure dishes like cheese cauliflower and rarebit aren’t representative of British food, but they sure do come up a lot on television! I think there was a saucey fish dish with cheese on the last episode of Top Chef.
Is that just my imagination?
And all of them have Processed Cheeses as well.
There’s some weird “whang” to it now. I’m sure it hasn’t changed, though - my taste buds most likely have.
Ah, this raises a whole different topic, so I’ll keep it short.
Boards like this one and many that came before and articles in various publications, and general commentary out there, are constantly full of comments to the effect that (fill in the blank) isn’t as good as it used to be, because the nasty corporations have cheapened it or it’s GMO’s or etc etc etc. My view is that very often there no change in the product – the real cause is our tastebuds, which like all our senses (um, hearing or eyesight anyone) decline over time, so the same thing does taste not only different but not as “good” as remembered. But not because of the thing itself; the fault is in us. Didn’t that guy Shakespeare say something like that once?
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I’ve noticed what might be a “whang” as well, at least on fast food with cheese, but I 've noticed the exception is in and out cheeseburgers. I assumed they used a better quality melting cheese.
Nope… the brand is Primo Taglio… a kinda house brand of Safeway that makes up most of their deli section. Some of it is quite good (turkey, ham, cheeses), and some not so much (pastrami).
Isn’t Primo Taglio Safeway’s upscale house brand?
The problem with private labels of course is that they don’t make it themselves but get it made by some regular producer(s). And they can and do occasionally change suppliers, or even use multiple suppliers for the same thing (e.g. in different geographical areas), and this could certainly be the case for locally produced items like deli meats and cheeses. Not only that, it is possible (not likely) that the supplier for two different but similar items in the same store on any given day could be different – in theory, the white could have come from one supplier and the yellow from another. So one never really knows.
The US is one country with one official language, so I think the comparison to a continent with several, vastly different cultures is flawed.
You could say American food (i.e. burgers, cheesesteaks, buffalo wings, etc.), but I don’t think there is such a thing as “European” food. Besides its absolute superiority to American food, that is. /s
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Perhaps I said that wrong. I meant to say if I was being honest, I felt the same way about the United States. That I don’t think of it as a monolithic culture.
ETA Oh wait; I think you are saying I don’t feel the same way you feel about it. Makes sense; I don’t know how you feel, I only know how I feel, and my feelings are certainly influenced by only having lived where I’ve lived.
I know that there’s a reason kids LOVE sweets and are incredibly sensitive (and usually put off) by spicy (as in hot peppers), and that gradually reverses as we age. As kid, I was adamant that milk chocolate was superior. That dark stuff tasted like coffee (which I hated). As an adult, I will grab the 75% dark chocolate 4 out of 5 times and I can appreciate (if not always finish) the super-spicy thai dishes that are so hot they seem to alter my senses. Still hate coffee.
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I suppose that is possible… but I have hit up the local Safeway deli hundreds of times over the last 20+ years and not noticed a difference in anything as much as I did between the yellow vs white American. But they could easily be produced by different providers which may account for the difference… so I’m sticking with the yellow! (c;
I think there was a saucey fish dish with cheese on the last episode of Top Chef.
Is that just my imagination?
Wow! That would certainly have blown Scott Conant’s’ mind. He’s well known for his absolute prohibition on mixing cheese with fish or any seafood.
This reminds me of an episode of some food series years ago covering New Orleans food in which John Besh was pointing out his favorite dish was Bon Ton’s crab casserole, which was made with cheese. He didn’t know what type of cheese, but said he was sure it was something rare and fancy. So he asked about it, and it turned out they used American.
Bon Ton is gone and Besh has had his troubles, so I’ll not opine further what it all means.
I agree with him… and not only cheese but cream too (short of creamed spinach on oysters on the half shell - yum). (c;
I don’t think its flawed. Different than what has happened in Europe. But the US is not a monolithic culture despite what TV might tell us. I grew up in the South. My wife is from New England. We live in neither. Our families are sprinkled around the country. Its a big country and there are very large differences. I can tell you that based on family gathering. Areas were settled by many groups from vastly different parts of the world at very different points in time. You can say that everyone speaks the same language but its pronounced very differently and different words can be used to refer to the same things. An old boss of mine used to have a book that was called something like “How to Speak Okie” that he would share with me when there were moments of confusion.
There is this great test from the NY Times
It has placed people I know remarkably well from my experience.
@linguafood - it may not work as well on you though
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prohibition on mixing cheese with fish
And yet crab/shrimp alfredo and lobster mac 'n cheese are EVERYWHERE. And there’s (to tie in to the origin of this thread) the slice of American cheese on McDonald’s Filet o Fish.
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and this has often made me wonder about cheeseburgers. I prefer my burger with no cheese. I like the taste of the beef to come through but obviously many people like their ground beef topped with melted cheese/oil food product. But if I took a nice piece of steak and covered in with melted cheese I think many people would think I’ve desecrated it. One rarely sees cheese (other than perhaps blue) put on top of beef away from burgers (the steak fromage at Spark’s being a notable exception).
Nooooooooo! No cheese on mine please.
BTW it looks like In and Out uses better cheese on their burgers than most ff places.
It is a half slice… IMHO for good reason. (c;
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