7 ms·

It's like how americans call mozzarella any soft white cheese that isn't brie and cheddar is anything yellow and firm.

by anon4 11y ago

nkozyra 11y ago
I have never encountered this. I wouldn't argue the Americans are particularly interested in the specifics of cheese culture (pun intended), but the level of ignorance you're suggesting is hyperbolic.
- mikeash 11y ago
  It amuses me (and somewhat frustrates me, as an American) how Americans are the last acceptable target for national stereotypes.
  - matwood 11y ago
    The problem is that America is so diverse that national stereotyping is hard. It is more akin to saying all Europeans.
    - mikeash 11y ago
      That doesn't stop people from saying Americans don't know geography, or don't speak more than one language, or think a $10 hamburger is the height of cuisine. Stereotypes don't have to match reality.
  - venomsnake 11y ago
    Depends - in Europe every stereotype is free game. Of course we tend to treat hurt feelings with polite amusement. So you are able to hear all kinds of fun and offensive stuff here.
  - aidenn0 11y ago
    In this case the statement is in-line with labeling laws; as in you legally are not lying if you sell cheese labeled in this manner.
    - mikeash 11y ago
      The requirements for labeling "mozarella" and "cheddar" look fairly precise to me (noting that I am not very knowledgeable about cheese, just more knowledgeable than the presented stereotype) based on the regulations I found here: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?CFRPart=133 http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRS...
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- logfromblammo 11y ago
  Californians, Wisconsinites, and New Yorkers are somewhat more knowledgeable regarding cheeses than, for instance, Floridians. Nevertheless, you can still sell individually wrapped American "pasteurized processed cheese food" slices in all states, even those with well-developed dairy herds. As far as I know, those things are produced with petroleum distillates and plasticizer chemicals. It's sort of sad that the stuff colloquially known as "American cheese" is not even allowed to be marketed as cheese according to the U.S. government definition of cheese. It may surprise you to know that some Americans actually do know the difference between mozzarella made from buffalo (not bison) milk, mozzarella made from whole cow milk, and mozzarella made from part-skim cow milk. We just can't afford the premium to buy the good stuff, so supermarkets don't carry very much whole cow milk cheese, and never the imported buffalo milk stuff. It's not that we can't tell the difference between Colby, Cheshire, Gloucester, mild Cheddar, and extra-sharp Cheddar. We just usually don't care enough to pay more for one in preference to another.
  - maxerickson 11y ago
    As far as I know, those things are produced with petroleum distillates and plasticizer chemicals. The key addition is an emulsifier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Processed_cheese#Advantages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Processed_cheese#Advantages (cue tptacek raving about sodium citrate) I guess such things might be derived from petroleum, but in that case it would be highly purified and identifiable by a single chemical name (so no need to give it a more general label like petroleum distillates). The emulsifier does enable the addition of other milk byproducts and oil and such, but there's no reason to suggest that the bulk of the material in processed cheese is anything other than milk products.
    - logfromblammo 11y ago
      For the record, that was hyperbole, extrapolated from my opinion that the stuff tastes like plastic, and my other opinion that it is so far removed in taste and texture from any of the cheeses I like that it might as well not contain any cheese in the first place.
    - 11y ago
- MagnumOpus 11y ago
  Just because you haven't encountered it doesn't mean it is not true. Most "cheddar" at your average US supermarket isn't even cheddared (but undergoes a washed-curd process instead, and optionally addition of annato to re-add colour and "flavor").
  - nkozyra 11y ago
    Keep in mind, we're talking about generalizations; my experience doesn't serve as definitive proof against a wide and lazy generalization of Americans and their cheese knowledge.

It's like how americans call mozzarella any soft white cheese that isn't brie and cheddar is anything yellow and firm.

by anon4 11y ago

It's like how americans call mozzarella any soft white cheese that isn't brie and cheddar is anything yellow and firm.

I have never encountered this. I wouldn't argue the Americans are particularly interested in the specifics of cheese culture (pun intended), but the level of ignorance you're suggesting is hyperbolic.

mikeash 11y ago
It amuses me (and somewhat frustrates me, as an American) how Americans are the last acceptable target for national stereotypes.
- matwood 11y ago
  The problem is that America is so diverse that national stereotyping is hard. It is more akin to saying all Europeans.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    That doesn't stop people from saying Americans don't know geography, or don't speak more than one language, or think a $10 hamburger is the height of cuisine. Stereotypes don't have to match reality.
- venomsnake 11y ago
  Depends - in Europe every stereotype is free game. Of course we tend to treat hurt feelings with polite amusement. So you are able to hear all kinds of fun and offensive stuff here.
- aidenn0 11y ago
  In this case the statement is in-line with labeling laws; as in you legally are not lying if you sell cheese labeled in this manner.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    The requirements for labeling "mozarella" and "cheddar" look fairly precise to me (noting that I am not very knowledgeable about cheese, just more knowledgeable than the presented stereotype) based on the regulations I found here: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?CFRPart=133 http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRS...
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
logfromblammo 11y ago
Californians, Wisconsinites, and New Yorkers are somewhat more knowledgeable regarding cheeses than, for instance, Floridians. Nevertheless, you can still sell individually wrapped American "pasteurized processed cheese food" slices in all states, even those with well-developed dairy herds. As far as I know, those things are produced with petroleum distillates and plasticizer chemicals. It's sort of sad that the stuff colloquially known as "American cheese" is not even allowed to be marketed as cheese according to the U.S. government definition of cheese. It may surprise you to know that some Americans actually do know the difference between mozzarella made from buffalo (not bison) milk, mozzarella made from whole cow milk, and mozzarella made from part-skim cow milk. We just can't afford the premium to buy the good stuff, so supermarkets don't carry very much whole cow milk cheese, and never the imported buffalo milk stuff. It's not that we can't tell the difference between Colby, Cheshire, Gloucester, mild Cheddar, and extra-sharp Cheddar. We just usually don't care enough to pay more for one in preference to another.
- maxerickson 11y ago
  As far as I know, those things are produced with petroleum distillates and plasticizer chemicals. The key addition is an emulsifier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Processed_cheese#Advantages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Processed_cheese#Advantages (cue tptacek raving about sodium citrate) I guess such things might be derived from petroleum, but in that case it would be highly purified and identifiable by a single chemical name (so no need to give it a more general label like petroleum distillates). The emulsifier does enable the addition of other milk byproducts and oil and such, but there's no reason to suggest that the bulk of the material in processed cheese is anything other than milk products.
  - logfromblammo 11y ago
    For the record, that was hyperbole, extrapolated from my opinion that the stuff tastes like plastic, and my other opinion that it is so far removed in taste and texture from any of the cheeses I like that it might as well not contain any cheese in the first place.
  - 11y ago
MagnumOpus 11y ago
Just because you haven't encountered it doesn't mean it is not true. Most "cheddar" at your average US supermarket isn't even cheddared (but undergoes a washed-curd process instead, and optionally addition of annato to re-add colour and "flavor").
- nkozyra 11y ago
  Keep in mind, we're talking about generalizations; my experience doesn't serve as definitive proof against a wide and lazy generalization of Americans and their cheese knowledge.