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This is a list of cheeses typical of the United States. The list excludes specific brand names, unless a brand name is also a distinct variety of cheese. While the term "American cheese" is legally used to refer to a variety of processed cheese, many styles of cheese originating in Europe are also made in the United States, such as brie, cheddar, gouda, mozzarella, and provolone. Also, many local dairies throughout the country produce artisan cheeses and other more localized flavors. Almost half of the cheese produced in the United States comes from Wisconsin and California; they along with New York and Vermont are well-known within the U.S. for their cheese. [1]
Cheddar cheese is a natural cheese that is relatively hard, off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting. It originates from the English village of Cheddar in Somerset, South West England.
Pizza cheese encompasses several varieties and types of cheeses and dairy products that are designed and manufactured for use specifically on pizza. These include processed and modified cheese, such as mozzarella-like processed cheeses and mozzarella variants. The term can also refer to any type of cheese suitable for use on pizza. The most popular cheeses used in the preparation of pizza are mozzarella, provolone, cheddar and Parmesan. Emmental, pecorino romano and ricotta are often used as toppings, and processed pizza cheeses manufactured specifically for pizza are mass-produced. Some mass-produced pizza cheeses are frozen after manufacturing and shipped frozen.
Monterey Jack, sometimes shortened to Jack, is a Californian white, semi-hard cheese made using cow's milk, with a mild flavor and slight sweetness. It has been called "an American original" and "as a vestige of Spanish rule in the early nineteenth century, derives from a Franciscan monastic style of farmer's cheese."
String cheese is any of several different types of cheese where the manufacturing process aligns the proteins in the cheese, making it stringy.
Processed cheese is a product made from cheese mixed with an emulsifying agent. Additional ingredients, such as vegetable oils, unfermented dairy ingredients, salt, food coloring, or sugar may be included. As a result, many flavors, colors, and textures of processed cheese exist. Processed cheese typically contains around 50 to 60% cheese and 40 to 50% other ingredients.
Colby is a semihard orange cheese made from cow's milk. It is named after the city of Colby, Wisconsin, USA, where it was first developed in 1885 and quickly became popular.
Cheez-It is a brand of cheese crackers manufactured by Kellanova through its Sunshine Biscuits division. Approximately 26 by 24 mm, the rectangular crackers are made with wheat flour, vegetable oil, cheese, skim milk, salt, and spices.
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.
Muenster or munster is a semi-soft cheese created in the United States. It is thought to be an imitation of Munster cheese, a washed-rind cheese originating in Munster, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, which was familiar to German immigrants. Its name is not related to the German cities of Münster, Westphalia, or Munster, Lower Saxony, nor to the Irish province of Munster.
Colby-Jack, or Co-jack/Cojack, is an American marble cheese made from Colby and Monterey Jack. It is classified as semi-hard in texture and is mild due to its two-week aging process. It is generally sold in a full-moon or a half-moon shape when it is young. The flavor of Colby-Jack is mild to mellow. Colby-Jack cheese is mainly produced in the states of Wisconsin and California. It is used in various dishes or as a topping to be melted. These dishes include burgers, pasta bakes, macaroni and cheese, casseroles and so on. It is predominantly used in the United States, and is not readily available internationally.
Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk. During production, milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese. Some cheeses have aromatic molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout.
There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, methods of production, fat content, animal milk, and country or region of origin. The method most commonly and traditionally used is based on moisture content, which is then further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods. The criteria may either be used singly or in combination, with no single method being universally used.
Beecher's Handmade Cheese is an artisan cheesemaker with retail locations in the greater Seattle area and several airports. The company was founded by Kurt Beecher Dammeier in 2003 and opened in Pike Place Market after Dammeier acquired a difficult-to-obtain storefront lease in the Market. Because Dammeier had never been a cheesemaker, he sought out the assistance of Brad Sinko, who helped run a family cheesemaking business in Oregon. A second location was opened in 2011 Manhattan's Flatiron District; this closed in October, 2022.
Wainwright Dairy is a creamery established by Carl Wainwright in Live Oak, Florida. The dairy produces pasteurized but nonhomogenized cream-on-top milk and Colby cheese, pepper jack cheese, baby Swiss cheese, cheddar, and chipotle cheese. The dairy was established in 1972 and added the creamery in 2009 Their Baby Swiss, Marble Cheddar, Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, Chipotle Cheddar, Provolone, Mozzarella, Longhorn Cheddar and Muenster are available at Ward’s Market in Gainesville.
Vegan cheese is a category of non-dairy, plant-based cheese analogues. Vegan cheeses range from soft fresh cheeses to aged and cultured hard grateable cheeses like plant-based Parmesan. The defining characteristic of vegan cheese is the exclusion of all animal products.
Dairy is a major industry in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Being known for its dairy production, the state is often called "America's Dairyland." The industry is prominent in official state symbols—being displayed on the state's license plates, state's slogan, and on the state quarter.
Commercial cheesemaking in Wisconsin dates back to the nineteenth century. Early cheesemaking operations began on farmsteads in the Michigan and Wisconsin territories, with large-scale production starting in the mid-1800s. Wisconsin became the largest producer of cheese in the United States in the early 1900s, and in 2019 produced 3.36 billion pounds of cheese in more than 600 varieties, accounting for 27% of all cheese made in the country that year.