[gingerpale]

KYH, why do you say "American cheese isn't even cheese"?

American cheese is not made from oil and cheese byproducts.
American cheese is made from cheese. It is heated with emulsifiers, which allow it to melt without separating.

Technically and legally,
Cheddar cheese = 39% moisture (water) and 50% milkfat
American cheese = 43% moisture (water) and 47 % milkfat

Velveeta is different-- 60% moisture and 20% milkfat -- it can contain dry milk, whey -- which reduces the amount of cheese in the product.

American cheese--the flavor is mild, the texture is uniform, but I think it would be hard to find an American who hasn't really enjoyed many a cheeseburger or grilled cheese sandwich made with American cheese.

The French cheese that comes in the little triangles, The Laughing Cow brand, is also a processed cheese. I'm curious to know what the French think of this cheese.

[KYHeirloomer]

Ginger,

I might have been misinformed as to the precise ingredients (although I wonder what those emulsifiers are; normally they are eggs, oils, or random chemicals most of us wouldn't recognize as food). But the point is that it is legally classed as a processed cheese product by the Feds, which is different than being actual cheese.

In that regard, it is more akin to Cheese Whiz than it is to Cheddar. And, as I mentioned, Cheeze Whiz is an ingredient in one of the great, iconic American dishes.

FWIW, I never said I didn't eat American cheese. I have, as you note, enjoyed many a burger topped with it. And it's great melted into an omelet as well. And in a grilled-cheese sandwich. And.......

I was just trying to answer the posed question.

[Mmel'ours]

I have a recipe that should've gone in the vile thread--my grandmother made a salad called coins of gold. It had carrots sliced into coins, and a dressing of canned tomato soup and Wesson vegetable oil.

I think the PTSD from Grandma, an otherwise outstanding cook, making something like that blocked out the other ingredients.
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[David]

For that we shall all be forever greatful Mmel'ours!
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[David]

dory, I remember those Chun King sauces and the briny sprouts! Back in 1960 I thought it was quite exotic and adventurous. Mind you in 1960, if you ask me, they hadn't even invented broccolli yet! I swear I didn't see those little tree like vegies until I was about 15, mid 60s!
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[KYHeirloomer]

Mmel'ours, I wonder if something wasn't lost in translation somewhere.

There is an old dish, with numerous variations, called Copper Pennies, that has those ingredients as a base. But there are other ingredients as well. The end result is actually a nice cold dish---great for picnics, family gatherings, and the like.

FWIW, here's the recipe I have:

Copper Pennies

2 lb carrots, sliced
1 sm onion, chopped fine
1 sm bell pepper, chopped fine
3 celery stalks, chopped fine
1 10-oz can tomato soup
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tbls dry mustard
1 tbls worcestershire
Hot sauce to taste

Cook carrots in water ten minutes or until tender. Drain. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery. Mix well

Combine the soup, sugar, oil, vinegar, mustard, worcestershire, and hot sauce in a saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves. Pour over carrot mixture.

Marinate overnight in fridge.

When making this I like to use a corrugated cutter for the carrots, both because they are more visually pleasing, and because the ridges help maintain a tender-crisp texture.

[Judy]

For some reason, I'm visualising the Mystery Salad en gelée. Perhaps the sardine brine/water/whatever mixed with gelatin would enhance the true awfulness of the salad.
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[David]

Judy, I'm positively quivering at the thought! Ewwwwwww!
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[gingerpale]

I'm curious now-- is everybody opposed to everything jelled and "en gelee" no matter what, every time every dish? I could no more dislike such things than I could dislike colored eggs at Easter.

[KYHeirloomer]

I don't think so, Ginger. Most people here would say there's a time and place for everything, and that en gelee has a definate place.

In this case I think Judy was just trying to make the salad sound more gross.

While on this topic, how come "en gelee" is fully acceptible, but people stick up their noses at "in aspic?"

[dory]

I grew up with unpleasant looking things embedded in fluorescent colored jello-- especially at church suppers. Orange jello with cottage cheese (to a child it looked like vomit) and lime jello with canned pears (looking like babies' bottoms) were particularly memorable. I have a gustatory phobia about anything that quivers. I am sure there are some very nice aspics out there. My fear is completely irrational, but food is so much about memory and emotions that I have trouble finding it appetizing. However, I WILL eat custard, and also soufflées, so it is probably more the sight than the texture I am not accepting.

Dory

[David]

gingerpale, no, it's not everything, I like jellied meats and stuff, but I do quiver at brightly coloured jello with stuff floating in it, which is how I imagined Judy's suggestion of the sardines floating about, and I have an involuntary aversion to tomato aspic as the texture just makes my mouth do weird things.

Headcheese on the other hand is a delight!
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[Mmel'ours]

KYH--the recipe you posted sounds familiar. I just don't remember Grandma using the Worchester sauce or anything other than maybe the vinegar an sugar in the dressing. Had it been spiffed with those, I'm sure that I would have liked it much better.
Dory--my dad's aunt made a festive molded salad or lime Jell-o mixed with cottage cheese. The men in the family had the ritual of walking into the kitchen and asking, "Lena, just what the heck IS that?"
David--my dad had to be on a sodium restricted diet due to heart disease. He made headcheese one day when I was at school. I came home and looked in the fridge for a snack. Well, there was a covered opaque bowl, and I pulled the lid off, and that was good for getting one of my therapist's kids through college.
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[gingerpale]

I have a brother who won't/can't eat melted cheese because of the texture--a huge pity, n'est-ce pas?
And I remember my first pan bagnat sure didn't look appetizing. Of course it turned out to be the most delicious thing I ever put in my mouth!

[georgia]

Dory...David Lebovitz (in his "Room for Dessert") makes a lovely champagne "gelee" dessert. Serves it with fresh fruit in a tall parfait glass. A beautiful, perfect "adult" ending to a meal. Bet it would cure you of your jello aversion!
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