WTF is American cheese?

Why do some cheeses melt into ooey gooey deliciousness, while others end up a clumpy mess (and WTF is going on with American cheese)? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘁𝘆-𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝘆: -Fox PF, Guinee TP, Cogan TM, McSweeney, PLH (2017). Fundamentals of Cheese Science || Cheese as an Ingredient: p 629–679. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1874-558X(04)80053-8 -Fox PF, Guinee TP, Cogan TM, McSweeney, PLH (2017). Fundamentals of Cheese Science || Processed Cheese and Substitute/Imitation Cheese Products: p 589–627. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7681-9_17 -Kapoor R, Metzger LE, Biswas AC, Muthukummarappan K (2007). Effect of Natural Cheese Characteristics on Process Cheese Properties. Journal of Dairy Science, 90(4), 1625–1634. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2006-746 -Pastorino J, Hansen CL, McMahon DJ (2003). Effect of Sodium Citrate on Structure-Function Relationships of Cheddar Cheese. Journal of Dairy Science 86 (10): 3113 - 3121. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(03)73912-5 -Sözeri AD, Huppertz T. (2023) Melting of natural cheese: A review. InternationaI Dairy Journal 142, 105648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idairyj.2023.105648 -Templeton HL, Sommer HH. Some observations on processed cheese. Journal of Dairy Science 1930; 13:203-220. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(30)93519-9 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 (𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲) 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀: https://www.seriouseats.com/whats-really-in-american-cheese https://www.chemistryislife.com/the-chemistry-of-american-cheese https://themolecularcircus.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/kitchen-science-melting-cheese/ https://www.cheesescience.org/melt.html#acid https://cheesescientist.com/rants/processed-cheeses/ https://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/7806sci2.html https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/11/17964100/american-cheese-dying-millennials-chefs https://www.factmr.com/report/157/processed-cheese-market https://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-iq/separation-anxiety/ https://www.cdr.wisc.edu/assets/pipeline-pdfs/Dairy-Pipeline-Vol33-No3_2.pdf https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/how_tos/6679-why-young-cheese-melts-better-than-aged-cheese 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝘀: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGCA9FcgKX4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMpClVWHTY4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlIkYhPPV04 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KKG-LznoJJo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZfMKGNiFo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoD_S_YEHLI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAk8InX-R2A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rttkpPFNkmY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aGNAxN5Z-o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV0Wq-aYAeY 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄-𝘁𝗼'𝘀: https://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/silky-smooth-macaroni-and-cheese/ https://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/melty-queso-dip/ https://www.seriouseats.com/sodium-citrate-baked-mac-and-cheese https://www.seriouseats.com/alka-seltzer-cheese-sauce-recipe-8643844 https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/9491-grown-up-stovetop-macaroni-and-cheese 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰: Dean Sommer. Cheese & Food Technologist at the Center for Dairy Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison MinuteFood is created by Kate Yoshida, Arcadi Garcia & Leonardo Souza, and produced by Neptune Studios LLC. Youtube | https://youtube.com/minutefood TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minutefood_ Twitter | https://twitter.com/minutefood Instagram | https://instagram.com/minutefood_ Facebook | https://facebook.com/minutefood