Where was processed cheese invented?

Processed cheese may be looked down upon by some today, but it does have advantages over natural cheese: longer shelf life, no “separating” when melted, and a uniform look and taste. Being mass-produced, it also costs less, for both the producer and the consumer.

Contrary to expectations, processed cheese was first developed in Switzerland (not America) in 1911. Cheese alchemists Walter Gerber and Fritz Stettler heated up shredded emmental (a hard, Swiss cheese) and added sodium citrate as an emulsifier and preservative, in an attempt to create a softer, easily meltable, cheese with a longer-standing shelf life. As it turned out, not only did the sodium citrate achieve their goals, it also made for a smoother, velvety texture.

Meanwhile in North America, Canadian-born American businessman James L. Kraft was buying cheese wholesale in bulk, re-packaging it in smaller sections, and distributing it to grocers. Shelf life was also an issue for him, so Kraft began experimenting with a similar process: shredding leftover bits of cheddar, then re-pasteurizing it, using sodium phosphate as his preservative. His end result was a softer cheese with the same qualities as that of Gerber & Stettler - easy to slice, velvety texture and longer shelf life.

In June of 1916, Kraft became the first to patent “the process of sterilizing cheese and an improved product produced by such process” (i.e. processed cheese). The “improved product” became known as Kraft cheese or American cheese.