What is processed cheese?

Processed cheese is typically a mix of blended natural cheese and emulsifying agents, oil, salt, sweeteners, colouring agents and/or flavourings depending on product category and legislation. They are produced by blending and heating the mix to a temperature of about 75-80 °C for about 4 to 8 min until a smooth molten blend is obtained, which is packed into various size portions and cooled.

There are three categories of processed cheese products, including processed cheese, processed cheese spread and processed cheese food. Cheese is the major constituent ranging from a minimum level of 51 % in spreads and foods to about 98 % in processed cheeses. Cheese of different varieties and different degrees of maturity can be used, as well as other dairy ingredients such as skim milk powder and whey.

Processed cheese comes in a variety of flavours, colours, consistencies, shapes and sizes. A good processed cheese should be uniform in colour with a smooth texture and should melt uniformly. Processed cheese is more stable during storage compared to natural cheese.