Velveeta is a shelf-stable cheese product made from substances including whey, milk, milk protein concentrate, modified starch, canola oil, and cheese culture. It has a smooth consistency, mild taste, and vivid orange hue. Velveeta triumps in its ability to melt, making it a great base for dips.

Kraft Foods lists Velveeta's ingredients as: milk, water, whey, milk protein concentrate, milkfat, whey protein concentrate, sodium phosphate, and 2% or less of salt, calcium phosphate, lactic acid, sorbic acid, sodium citrate, sodium alginate, enzymes, apocarotenal, annatto, and cheese culture.

Craveable and flavorful, our 32 oz solid cheese block for melting contains real milk. When your drip is as smooth as ours, you don't waste time when it comes to delicious, melty indulgence. For instant cheesy gratification, carve off a generous slice to melt in a crisp, buttery grilled cheese sandwich.

Originally Velveeta was made from real cheese. Today, it's mainly whey protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, milk, fat, and preservatives. By the Food and Drug Administration's standards, that's not real cheese - which is why the FDA forced Kraft to change its label from "cheese spread" to "cheese product."

"We as a culture have tended to gravitate toward foods that were - and are - predictable, unchanging and relatively bland," Werlin explains. "Processed cheese fit the bill, and it is also easy to use." Advertising campaigns from the 1950s touted Velveeta's mild flavor, ease of use and nutritional value.

Since the key characteristic of Velveeta is its smooth melting quality, if you're looking to substitute something else for Velveeta, it will have to be something that melts just as well.

Why is velveeta cheese so expensive? Cheese is minimally processed before being strained and solidified, and is then allowed to ripen and develop its flavor. Velveeta takes more processing, before being packaged. Velveeta's main features are its soft consistency, and easy melting and mixing.

Though it may not technically be cheese, Velveeta is officially a gluten-free processed cheese product. Its ingredient list does not include wheat or any other source of gluten, so it is perfectly safe to consume as part of a gluten-free diet.

Block cheese has a longer shelf life than shredded cheese! But one of the times I think it's most beneficial to choose block cheese over shredded cheese is when you're adding it to pasta or a roux - especially mac and cheese!

Velveeta isn't exactly American cheese, but it's pretty close. Much like the Kraft Singles, it's a processed cheese product made with whey, milk solids, and emulsifying agents that give it that perfect meltiness.

Velveeta's popularity increased throughout the '30s, '40s and into the '50s--studies of consumer preference done in the 1930s found that two-thirds of Americans preferred processed cheese to natural cheese. But it wasn't just the product's advertised nutritional advantage that kept consumers interested.

According to the FDA, Velveeta is technically not real cheese, but rather, a "processed cheese product," although the regulations state that it must contain at least 51 percent cheese, as well as prescribing the minimum moisture content, fat content and the temperature (at least 70 F) at which is must be spreadable.

Ingredients. Cheddar cheese 60% (made from cow's milk, salt, starter culture, microbial rennet), emulsifiers (E331, 3339), butter, non fat milk solids, salt, acidity regulator (E270), natural salt flavor, preservatives (E200, E234), color (E160B), water added. Minimum fat DB 45%. Allergen source: Contains milk.

Block cheese has no added ingredients. When you purchase pre-shredded cheese, the only way to prevent it from clumping and molding is to add potato starch, corn starch, powdered cellulose, and Natamycin. Block cheese remains a whole food without additives or preservatives.

Originally Velveeta was made from real cheese. Today, it's mainly whey protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, milk, fat, and preservatives. By the Food and Drug Administration's standards, that's not real cheese - which is why the FDA forced Kraft to change its label from "cheese spread" to "cheese product."

Velveeta was invented in 1918 by Emil Frey, an employee at the Monroe Cheese Factory. He created it as a way to conserve the runoff waste of their imperfect cheese wheels. Its name is meant to convey its velvety meltability.