🫕 Processed cheese and cheese products

Processed cheese is a product made by melting one or more cheeses with emulsifying salts, often with butter, cream and water, into a smooth, even mass.

EU law guards the name closely. Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex VII, Part III, reserves the word "cheese" for milk products: other ingredients are allowed only if they do not replace any milk constituent. A product in which milk fat is replaced by palm or another vegetable fat therefore cannot be called cheese or processed cheese. The Codex General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms, CXS 206-1999, likewise keeps dairy terms for products in which milk or its constituents are not substituted. In the United States, federal standards (21 CFR Part 133) separate "pasteurized process cheese" from "process cheese food", which must contain at least 51% cheese.

How it is made. Hard or semi-hard cheese, most often cheddar, Gouda or Emmental, is shredded, mixed with emulsifying salts (sodium citrates or phosphates), heated and stirred. The salts bind calcium, so casein holds the fat and water and the mass does not separate. It is then shaped into blocks, slices, triangles or spreads; smoked processed cheese is formed into sausage-shaped rolls.

Plant-based alternatives made from coconut oil, starch or cashews are a separate group. In case C-422/16 (2017) the EU Court of Justice confirmed that purely plant-based products may not be sold in the EU as "cheese", even with the word "vegan".

How to choose and store. Read the ingredients: cheese should come first and the fat should be milk fat; vegetable fat means it is not cheese. Keep it in the fridge and reseal opened packs. Processed cheese melts evenly, so it suits sandwiches, toasties, burgers, sauces and cheese soups.

Why this matters to you: two slices that look the same can be cheese or a cheaper blend with vegetable fat. Knowing the naming rules, a ten-second look at the label tells you what you are buying and which one will really melt and taste of cheese.