I have made my own yogurt, and I’ve made my own butter….but I have never attempted to make my own cheese. It’s been on “my list” of things I want to eventually try, but fairly far down because I figured it was pretty complicated. That was until I ran across a recipe for American Cheese that sounded quite easy! Besides, I was really craving a good grilled cheese sandwich…so I decided to go for it.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of “American Cheese” I think of something like Kraft Singles. But Kraft Singles aren’t really “cheese”…they are a “pasteurized prepared cheese product” and contain a highly processed mixture of ingredients such as water, milk, milkfat, milk protein, whey, food coloring, flavorings, and emulsifiers.
Doesn’t sound very appetizing does it? So how come they are so dang delicious in a grilled sandwich or melted over a cheeseburger? I’ll tell you why…because American cheese has great MELTABILITY! (completely made up word there.)
Luckily there is a way to make your own “processed cheese” with just a few pantry items and some “real” cheese thrown in that is every bit as gooey delicious as its Kraft counterpart but much better for you.
Homemade American Cheese
Adapted from a recipe at America’s Test Kitchen
Makes 1 pound
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
- 12 ounces Colby cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoon powdered milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
Line 5 x 4-inch disposable aluminum loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing excess to hang over sides. (I only had a bread loaf pan available, so I ended up doubling the recipe and using that.)
Mix water and gelatin in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.
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Combine cheese, milk powder, salt, and cream of tartar in a food processor and pulse a couple of times until combined. Cream of tartar is a great stabilizer that holds all ingredients together but I just wanted to let you know that it is also a natural alternative for bleach! Cream of tartar has a lot of uses in the household so make sure you have it available at all times.
Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan and remove from heat, then stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved.
With the food processor running, slowly add hot milk mixture to cheese mixture until smooth, about 1 – 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Immediately transfer cheese mixture to prepared pan. Wrap tightly and chill at least 3 hours.
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Then when you unwrap it a few hours later…….
…….get ready for the best grilled cheese sandwich of your life!
By the way….the cheese can be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 1 month.
I can’t wait to make it again and add some coarse ground black pepper….or maybe some jalapenos! :-)
Homemade “American” Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
- 12 ounces Colby cheese shredded
- 1 tablespoon powdered milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Line 5 x 4-inch disposable aluminum loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing excess to hang over sides.
- Mix water and gelatin in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Combine cheese, milk powder, salt, and cream of tartar in a food processor and pulse a couple of times until combined.
- Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan and remove from heat, then stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved.
- With the food processor running, slowly add hot milk mixture to cheese mixture until smooth, about 1 - 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Immediately transfer cheese mixture to prepared pan. Wrap tightly and chill at least 3 hours.
Question….I recently bought some cheddar cheese powder…..it’s dehydrated cheese. It’s okay for cheese sauces, etc., but we don’t eat that very often. How do you think I might use it in this recipe?
It won’t make up the bulk of the shredded cheese.
Thanks,
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Joey
Maybe you could use it as a flavoring? I haven’t tried though so I can’t say for sure.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.try using it on your popcorn! It would not work in the recipe
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Glad some one mentioned the fact that this is indeed making–cheese–from–cheese! Just as long as you have already got the “other” cheese needed—
I have made real cheese–from real milk from animals I milked myself–lots of times. And nope–it does not (unless it;s mozzarella) have that meltability.
The reason it does not is milk proteins as I understand it. For melting cheese–like raclette and others–these have to be different than the ones in cheddar etc.
The “faux” cheese in the individual wrapped plastic is –whether from Kraft or a no-brand name—made mostly from OIL. Yep. Not “cheese” at ALL. And the reason they need to wrap it? If they did NOT it would smoosh back into a brick like Velveeta. This is one of the differences between say Land O Lakes REAL American Cheese sliced at the deli–and Velveeta or “Kraft Slices”. I am not exactly sure HOW these are made but it involves some form of small cheese “off cuts”–I was told at a cheese making plant I visited that if their batches FAIL they get SOLD to Kraft FOR these “Slices”!!!!—-and oil mixed with some form of binders–which could be milk powder, gelatin etc. Very little actual CHEESE in there tho.
For the Land O Lakes type I gather that the recipe involves mozzarella type cheese and some cheddar and actual CHEESE mixed and molded. I will have to ask to see the outer wrapper on one of the slicer bricks one of these days!
Remember the days of “Government Cheese”? That was some sort of velveeta wanna be in huge bricks that were warehoused. I heard then that these were not really meant to be given to the public but were the basis cheeses for the “Slices” and somehow these deals were brokered to get them out of the Govt warehouses. Dunno if this is entirely true. Like that gasoline the Govt is said to be hoarding–who knows! But makes you wonder where some of this stuff COMES from–and how LONG this stuff can keep!
There are home made recipes out there where you start from milk and comne up with nice cheese–for those interested in going beyond making cheese from–cheese!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love this idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve read that this recipe does not make good mac and cheese or queso. Have you tried either of these?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I haven’t tried those yet! But it melted just fine on my sandwich so I’m not sure why it wouldn’t work for mac and cheese or queso.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You can still get real American cheese at the store. It’s just super expensive compared to the fake stuff. (almost $6 a pound) As long as it says “pasturiezed process cheese” instead of cheese food or cheese product, it’s real. I think Land o Lakes sells it unsliced.
Good idea if you can’t get the real thing in your area though!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I learned from my cheesemonger :o) to rewrap the cheese in a new piece of plastic wrap each time you take a slice from the block. Helps prevent the cheese from being introduced to bacteria/oxygen.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you!!!! Velveeta for the healthy eater. LOVE IT!!! I smell nachos in my future.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I found this recipe a couple months ago, and OMG, this cheese is delicious. I made grilled cheese and my 8 yr old had 2 sandwiches….sooooooo good!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Is there some reason I am not getting my daily email?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I switched over to a new email server and we’re still working through some kinks. You can try resigning up (in the upper right hand corner of my blog). If that doesn’t work you might just have to wait until we get everything working correctly.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Above and beyond once again, Jillee!! Since switching to a real food diet, I have been missing out on the fake pasteurized cheese — american and velveeta… woohoo, I can’t wait to try. I don’t have a food processor so I am going to figure a way to make it work, I am usually able to… :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.looks great – but I surprised the recipe contains the colby cheese – so we would really be making cheese from already existing cheese?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yup! It’s sort of like how you have to start with yogurt to make yogurt.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.mmm…cheese jello? I think I’ll skip this one. Thanks for a new idea though!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Haha Jen! I promise it doesn’t taste like jello ;)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Top of ingredients list shows recipe makes 1 lb.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Amazing! Thank you. Any suggestions for gelatin substitutes? Wonna make this vegetarian and gelatin is not vegetarian.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Chill over powder from Mary Jane’s Farm
Please log in or create a free account to comment.A favorite for the holidays for us a homemade-ish cheese ball. In that recipe cream cheese is used to hold the ball together. I’m pretty sure cream cheese is vegetarian (albeit not vegan). In that recipe the cream cheese it is very soft when blended in. Then refrigerated in the coldest part of the refrigerator & it holds form pretty well. Maybe that can work for you in place of the gelatin.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Other options may be agar-agar or carrageen. There are also some vegan kosher gelatin–Carmel’s unsweetened gel. Hope this helps.
You could also try Xanthan gum.
Use xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is produced from the fermentation of a carbohydrate. If substituting xanthan gum for gelatin, use half the amount of xanthan gum that the recipe suggests for the gelatin. For example, if a recipe requires 2 teaspoons of gelatin, only use one teaspoon of xanthan gum.[13]
Below is a link that will have different variations of gelatin substitutes depending on your needs. :)
http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Gelatin-Substitutes-for-Vegetarians
I hope this helps everyone.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You said you doubled the recipe. Does the recipe as stated make 1 pound? Or does it make a half pound? Sorry, it’s early and I’ve not had my coffee yet, lol….
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The recipe as post makes 1 pound.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Cool beans!! Gonna try it w the kids this wk!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Looks AMAZING!! Definitely trying this!
Once again, Jillee, you make the day ahead look like FUN!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Instant or non-instant powdered milk???
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Instead of the Colby cheese, you might try a “Mexican” blend, or a Pepper Jack, for that little kick of jalapeno….
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That would taste great with the Pepper Jack!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You might try a place that sells food storage and survival items. I think Morning Moo and some of the other dried milk products have a higher fat content than what you typically get in the grocery store. I wonder how evaporated milk would work in this recipe? I will have to try it. This looks so much easier to make than the cheddar cheese my mother in law used to make. Probably tastes much better, too. Wouldn’t rennet work as well in getting the cheese to set up as the Real cheese?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.yippee!! i stopped buying ‘plastic’ cheese products years ago, but sure have missed that american grilled cheese—this is terrific! now, where do i find whole milk powder? i’ve only seen the non-fat at the grocery store.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.i just heard about using mayo to grill the sandwich instead of butter last month in janell’s “saving you dinero” blog–we tried it and love it–it doesn’t add a mayo taste, just a richness that’s hard to describe–it’s delicious!
thanks, jillee.
Jillee said she used the nonfat and it worked jsut fine.
“1 tablespoon nonfat powdered milk (recipe called for WHOLE fat powdered milk but this is what I had on hand and it worked just fine)”
Please log in or create a free account to comment.oops
*just
good grief, i must’ve been blinded to details in all my excitement—thanks, debbe!
I too stopped using plastic chees many years ago, it just so awful and full of junk.
this looks so yummy, I need to try it, I think grilled cheese is on the menu for today.
Thank you Jill, you must know we appreciate al the things you fond for us. I just love all the soaps and the orange cleaner etc etc etc…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We’ve been using mayo instead of butter or margarine on grilled sandwiches for years. Spread it as thinly as possible. We also sprinkle it lightly with Cajun blend seasoning before grilling and it adds tons of flavor but its not hot or spicy. We call it a “Deli-Grill”.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you think this will freeze well?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sure!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Since we don’t get Colby cheese in South Africa, I’m going to try this with Cheddar or Gouda. I miss that meltable cheese :-) Thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I was wondering what to use in the place of Colby cheese. I just love melted cheese, on anything.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.that looks pretty good
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jillee, do you think this would work with no food processor, and any suggestions on how I might go about it?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jaunnette…I considered trying it in the blender…so that might be an option. I think I’ll try that next time.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have not made this recipe before and am only talking in theory at this point.
If you don’t have a food processor or blender–why not try buying a super fine shredded Colby (or hand shredded on a fine grate) and mixing everything up in a free standing mixer like Kitchen Aid. I would avoid the whisk paddle & go with the batter paddle.
CTY, I would, IF ONLY I had a free standing mixer! It’s on my list of WANT, right along with a food processor. I suppose I’ll just have to wait and break out the blender, see if I can’t turn out something edible.
Well! I finally got around to trying this with a blender, and it worked! At least, I think it did, my cheese hasn’t had time to chill, but it tasted wonderful and got all nice and mixed together. I couldn’t really “blend” the dry ingredients with the cheese, so just ended up shaking it up together in the blender before adding my hot milk and gelatin. I followed your recipe exactly except I used 2% (didn’t have whole thawed out). My son is not a big fan of the “melty” block cheeses, but he was pretty impressed with this.
I have done this on the stove and the trick is you need to whisk it and don’t have it on high. You want to just get the cheese to melt and combine with the liquids. I have only used cheddar too, but it still works good.
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