Unfortunately American cheese can’t technically be called “cheese” because of all the fillers and how it’s processed. So they use terms like “cheese product” or “cheese food.”
Determined to change the game, Sargento has spent 10 years developing a truly natural American cheese—one without unhealthy salts or excessive processing, yet still maintaining that signature meltyness. The result? Sargento Natural American Cheese, made with just five ingredients: milk, salt, enzymes, rennet, and annatto (a natural food coloring used in cheddar).
“It is made just like natural cheese,” says Rod Hogan, Sargento vice president of innovation. “But it also has the melt, taste, and texture that consumers love about American cheese. This is not natural processed. This isn’t organic processed. This is making natural cheese like we do, but giving it the performance characteristics of taste, texture, and melt [that American cheese has].”
While Sargento is keeping its exact formula under wraps, Hogan admits the journey wasn’t easy. “It’s been a labor of love,” he says, recalling how the company paused production multiple times to better understand the science behind creating a natural cheese with the same properties as processed American cheese.
The Sargento Natural American Cheese will come individually sliced in zippered packs of 12 and 24 slices, each separated by paper. Instead of hanging in the deli aisle with other Sargento sliced products, it will likely be placed next to other American cheeses in your local grocery store.
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