Five Facts About Cheese In America

Cheese of all types is popular in America, even not including the overly processed varieties such as “American cheese.” With so much cheese sold every day in the United States and the rest of North America, it can give you some important perspective to get basic facts on cheese in this part of the world.

Around A Billion Pounds Made A Month

According to statistics from 2016, the United States produces a massive amount of cheese each month: a billion pounds. Based on data from the National Agriculture Statistics Service in February of that year, 341 million pounds of mozzarella were produced, along with 258 million of cheddar.

Cheddar Isn’t Naturally Yellow

This cheese fact applies to almost all cheddar in the United States as well as around the world. Cheddar cheese isn’t actually yellow. Today, we use dye made from Annato, which is a pod-producing tree found in South and Central America. The practice of dying cheddar cheese to make it appear more yellow comes from English farmers in the 16^th century. As their cows’ diets changed in the winter, the cheese would go from yellow to white. The practice of dying cheese has continued around the world, including in America.

Leading Cheese Producers

As of earlier this year, Wisconsin was the largest producer of cheese in the United States. Its annual production is about three billion pounds. Next up is California, producing about 2.5 billion pounds, and followed by Idaho at 900 million pounds.

Mice Don’t Actually Eat Cheese

Another fact about cheese in America that also applies around the world is that mice don’t actually eat it. You would never know this is the case based on cartoons and movies. A researcher from Manchester Metropolitan University even found that mice actively try to avoid cheese because they find the odor strong and offensive. Instead, mice prefer to munch on fresh fruit or vegetables.

Convenience Cheese In America

When other countries in the world picture cheese in the United States, they imagine the overly processed convenience ones, such as processed American cheese. This cheese was the creation of J.L. Kraft, who founded Kraft foods, in 1915. His goal was to create an option with a longer shelf life than traditional cheese. While American cheese certainly lasts a long time, most will agree that it isn’t actually cheese, at least not as it is made today. A related fact about convenience cheese is that Sargento Cheese Company, from Plymouth, Wisconsin, was the first to introduce packaged shredded cheese, doing so in 1958. They were also the ones to introduce resealable bags for this cheese in 1986.