When I told my hubby I was going to make this-um, let’s just say he disapproved. Not that we don’t use/eat American cheese- we do on occasion for grilled cheeses, and cheeseburgers, mainly…but it’s not one of those things we would eat unmelted. He disapproved because he had no clue how I was going to make it and feared coming home to a “not so fresh” house. “Honey, I’m home. Are you making cheese?” is not something he wanted to say. Me either, I would much rather hear “Honey, I’m home. It smells great in here and I won the lottery!”
So…cheese. Now- this is not “junk” cheese. It’s real. And it melts really well. It’s real because you begin with real cheese add some magic ingredients and poof-a 2lb brick of edible gold.
There will be a printable at the end of this post. I am so happy to finally have that for y’all. Now, I will be going back and editing all my previous posts (there are 246 of them) so you can print those, too. See how much I like you guys!? note: the print function works best with Mozilla Firefox, it did not work for my old-a** Internet Explorer. I am working on that. If you use IE and it works, let me know, please! Thanks.
I know what you’re thinking: how does it slice? Let me show you:
look at that! Like butta!
To make this- you need a blender. A food processor may work, I didn’t try it. The cookbook I got the recipe from was from 1978…I’m not sure if food processors were found in a lot of kitchens then. I was only 3.
First you whip up some hot water, gelatin and milk powder:
then add some shredded mild cheddar cheese:
Liquefy:
and place into a plastic wrapped lined pan:
groovy.
But, let’s keep it real.
Wanna see my mess?
Thought so.
It won’t be so messy next time…ha. Who am I kidding?
See the back splash-(the white part?) Yes- I am still waiting on my cabinets so I can paint. Ugh. 3 years in November….oh well.
[print_this]
How to make the world’s best American cheese:
From Make Your Own Convenience Foods by Don and Joan German
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs grated mild cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c HOT water
1/2 c plus 1 tbs instant nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
Method:
Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap.
In a blender, place: [from your ingredients above]
1/2 c hot water
3 tbs milk powder
1/2 tsp gelatin
whirl until frothy.
Add 1/2 lb of the cheese, whirl until liquefied and pout into prepared pan.
Repeat process 2 more times until all ingredients are used.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight. (not you, the cheese. Okay, you can chill, too)
A note: In my blender, I did the 1st batch then just one more batch with all the ingredients- it was fine. I guess it depends on how big/powerful your blender is.
[/print_this]I am going to try this with different shredded cheeses, also and some seasonings…its great this way, but this stuff will be fun to play with! Yum- imagine jalapeno and bacon bits in there? Me too.
14 Comments
Wow, what a great post! I would be so scared to make my own but this looks really good and like something I would be able to do. By the way when you said “like butta” I just giggled, haha. Living in the Boston area I hear that all the time except they would write it “buttah”. Thanks for the post, I loved it.
Thank you right back! It’s kinda messy, but fairly easy… I can’t wait to get creative and make more!
omg home made cheese,..and it looks so good too,.:-)
I am so impressed that you made cheese! I have been trying to muster up the courage to make goat cheese and mozzarella but I never thought that American cheese would be so easy!
oh man i was hoping you were making the cheddar too! haha. silly me, nobody but me is that crazy. i’ve been wanting to make cheddar for so long. haha. good work on the american! i bet it’d be great with some colby in it too!
I’m definitely going to try this! Thanks for sharing!
What a pretty simple recipe, I am very intrigued with this recipe, I have to give it a try!
Fascinating… I didn’t know it could be done at home without all the scary chemicals! One day I’ll get around to making something other than ricotta cheese (I’m talking to you, mozzarella!)…
I am so glad you posted this! My husband and son will only eat grilled cheese made with american cheese, but I hate using the ultra processed american cheese from the store. I will definitely be trying this, thanks again!
This is pretty awesome! I have recently become very fascinated with homemade cheese. I even made some from scratch a few weeks ago although it was more of a cream cheese than a sandwich cheese. This looks pretty easy. I’ll give it a try!
Will certainly try this. Here in Oz cheese is soooo expensive now, and my husband loves it, so this will make it go further.
This is awesome even if I don’t eat American cheese. It does make me feel better about what’s in the real stuff as opposed to Kraft. Does it have that sort of smooth texture that can be attributed to American cheese?
Yes- I would even go as far to say it melts better! Without that waxy-ness also!
I was so interested in this that I grossed myself out. I can’t believe, I, hater of many cheesy things, got glued to this post. Lol. You make it seem so easy. Come over and make it seem easy here. Please!