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Homemade American Cheese

Image may contain Food Bread Toast and French Toast
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Styling by Ali Nardi
  • Active Time

    20 minutes

  • Total Time

    2 hours, 20 minutes

Using a mild cheese like Colby will get you closest to the American cheese you remember from childhood, but feel free to play around with something sharper if you wish. Cheddar makes an assertive substitution, but stay close to the semisoft family of cheeses; the harder, crumblier stuff won't work.

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk, divided
1 teaspoon gelatin
8 ounces mild orange cheese, such as Colby, grated
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    To make a block of cheese, line a 2-cup resealable container with plastic wrap. Alternatively, to make square cheese slices, line a 13x9" rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap.

    Step 2

    Place 2 Tbsp. milk in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over. Let sit 10 minutes. Meanwhile, pulse cheese and salt in a food processor just until mixed and broken up.

    Step 3

    Heat butter and remaining 1/2 cup milk in a small saucepan over medium-high. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and whisk in gelatin mixture.

    Step 4

    With motor running, carefully pour in milk mixture through tube, then continue to process, scraping bowl halfway through, until smooth, 10–20 seconds.

    Step 5

    Working quickly (gelatin will begin to set), pour cheese mixture into prepared container, smoothing top. Cover and chill until firm, 2–3 hours. If making a block, unmold and slice as desired. If making cheese slices, cut cheese into 6 4x4" squares and store slices with layers of wax or parchment paper in between.

  2. Do Ahead

    Step 6

    Cheese can be made 5 days ahead; wrap tightly in plastic and chill.

Cooks' Note

For a variation, stir in 1 tablespoon chopped chives after processing cheese and pulse once to combine.

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  • To all the negative reviewers out there, you're obviously not in a country that doesn't sell deli grade American cheese. If you love in and out or another great burger place but don't have it in your country then this recipe is a God sent. Yeah I love snobby cheeses too but when I needed the correct cheese to make my knock off in and out burgers this recipe saved my day. Thank you so much! You can't get American cheese in Canada and kraft singles aren't true American cheese, yes it's processed but it's not the same. Great substitute for sharp yellow American cheese, so good for copy cat in and out burgers! Thank you thank you thank you! It was so good!!!

    • Menobgotgobbled

    • Canada

    • 6/8/2021

  • Ok, so enough with the sparky comments already. I have a question. Can this method be used to make pepper jack or horseradish cheddar slices? Love to make grilled sandwiches with them but would rather not have to make the extra grocery store stop for these items when I want them. Has anyone tried this with add-ins?

    • mcamous7154

    • No Calif

    • 3/9/2021

  • For all those who snub this because it's about making a version of something you judge as being trashy, for a lot of us this is nostalgia. I was raised on Velveeta and white bread. I love high-brow food but sometimes I really enjoy processed cheese product and on low-brow grilled cheese and my homemade burgers, there's nothing better! No one's forcing anyone to try something they don't like. So keep the nasty comments off here if it's just about judging others' tastes. It's fun and nostalgic. Back off.

    • oliveoil62

    • washington

    • 9/29/2019

  • Amusing article, but it begs the fundamental question, i.e. "Why bother ?" I probably will try it when I have some time and some leftover cheese. But until then, if I want gummy/salty/caulking-compound cheese, I'll just go to the store.

    • peterh1

    • Tidewater Virginia

    • 1/7/2019

  • I probably won't try this but loved reading the reviews(?) rating based on the humor, unfortunately you have to rate it to have it posted - three forks for the entertainment factor.

    • vtgrammy

    • vermont

    • 1/7/2019

  • I used Colby and it is ok but does not taste like American cheese and it isnt smooth snd creamy. If you like Colby you'll probably like it though. Inlikevygectaste of Kraft American and this just isn't it as I was hoping.

    • plhamill

    • 11/7/2017

  • I'm not a fan of American cheese, but this is delicious. If you want to make the perfect grilled cheese, this is what you should do with your cheese. And quesadillas. Very good in them. I highly advise making this. I used New York style extra sharp once and Wisconsin sharp another time. I love salty food, but with how sharp those cheese's are I'm glad I reduced the amount of salt I added to the recipe. Instead of a 3/4 tsp I sprinkled a tiny bit in. Next time I probably won't add any at all.

    • Runatuna

    • Virginia

    • 9/2/2017

  • What a great recipe! I used havarti cheese and it turned out wonderfully. I am a great fan of American cheese in certain recipes and it is impossible to find outside of the U.S.

    • mjwolf1177

    • 5/20/2017

  • WOW! Thanks so much for this recipe. We find it hard in Australia to find this amazing cheese. So will definitely be trying it out. Ignore the trolls...so many control freaks out there. Thanks for sharing! Just gotta get the orange colour right.

    • Aoart

    • Australia

    • 5/6/2017

  • Good, I found it a little salty. I don't think of making fake cheese out of real cheese, but letting real cheese melt better. This is going into a mince and cheese pie tonight!

    • NZcookie

    • New Zealand

    • 4/28/2017

  • I think it a great way to prepare cheese to be used in recipes that ask for Velveeta and need to melt intact. If you melt cheddar for say, nachos, it separates proteins from grease and takes other steps to make right. Besides, Velveeta isn't very healthy and there's nothing bad in this recipe! Not to forget how much it costs?!?! I'm going to make some!

    • Anonymous

    • 29 Palms, ca

    • 4/16/2017

  • I'm not trolling, but I really don't understand the need for this recipe. I make lots of grilled cheese sandwiches, and only perhaps 1% have had processed American cheese in them. If you like cheddar, use cheddar in your grilled cheese. If you like havarti, use havarti. Why the need for gelatin and a whole lot of work? And yes, I did read the related article. I still don't understand why anyone would do this. If a cheese is appropriate for this recipe (i.e., semi-soft and gratable), then it's certainly suitable for melting in a grilled cheese sandwich.

    • ldesanto

    • Chicago

    • 3/13/2017

  • This is interesting in a "how it's made" kind of way (ew!), but why the heck would anyone want to go to all that effort to turn perfectly good, real, meltable cheese into a cheap, crappy product invented by a giant corporation? There's a reason you can't find Velveeta in Europe; because it's an insult to the thousands of far superior, traditionally crafted, delicious cheeses available.

    • Bigjenhoward

    • Toronto, Canada

    • 3/13/2017

  • I live in Italy where Velveeta is not available. I will definitely try this recipe, though I may have difficulty finding the right base cheese to use. Am thinking of trying scamorza first, or maybe mixed with cheddar (hard to find but would provide the right color). There are some soft slices available here, but I agree with other reviewers that it's nice to be able to control the ingredients in your "fake" cheese, and my kids are just American enough to LOVE melty Velveeta sandwiches. Trollers, don't judge! People don't all have the same needs/wants!

    • lchasson

    • Milan, Italy

    • 3/13/2017

  • I'm going to make this because the people who took time to do just that, instead of being snarky, liked it!

    • kjdunham

    • Sunny California

    • 3/13/2017

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