American cheese

American cheese is a type of processed cheese made from cheddar, Colby, or similar cheeses, in conjunction with sodium citrate, which permits the cheese to be pasteurized without its components separating. It is mild with a creamy and salty flavor, has a medium-firm consistency, and has a low melting point. It is typically yellow or white in color; yellow American cheese is seasoned and colored with annatto. Processed American cheese was invented in the 1910s by James L. Kraft, the founder of Kraft Foods Inc., who obtained a patent for his manufacturing process in 1916. British colonists made cheddar cheese soon after their arrival in North America. By 1790, American-made cheddars were being exported back to England. According to Robert Carlton Brown, author of The Complete Book of Cheese, what was known in America as yellow cheese or store cheese was known as American cheddar or Yankee cheddar back in England. The Oxford English Dictionary lists the first known usage of "American cheese" as occurring in the Frankfort, Kentucky, newspaper The Guardian of Freedom in 1804.

Source: Wikipedia