Cheese sauce is a sauce made withcheese orprocessed cheese as a primary ingredient. Sometimes dried cheese orcheese powder is used.[2][3] Several varieties exist and it has many various culinary uses.Mass-produced commercial cheese sauces are also made by various companies, in both liquid and dry forms. These prepared sauces are used by consumers and restaurants, and commercial formulations are used in the production of various prepared foods, such as macaroni and cheese mixes and frozen meals.
Cheez Whiz is an American brand of processed cheese spread produced byKraft Foods since the 1950s. It was developed as an easy way to prepare the sauce forWelsh rarebit. It was initially sold in glass jars, and today is sold in jars and spray cans. Cheez Whiz is commonly used forPhiladelphia cheesesteak.[14]
Cream cheese is an American sauce originating inChester, New York. This sauce is a soft and mild cheese made from milk and cream.
Cheese sauce is commonly used as adip for various foods, such as chips and vegetables.[15] It is also used as an ingredient or topping for many various dishes and side dishes, such as sandwiches, roasted potatoes, casseroles, pasta dishes, egg, fish and meat dishes and in soups.[15][16]
Cheese sauce is amass-produced product in the United States and other countries, such as China and Switzerland.[27][28] In the U.S., commercial preparations are available to consumers in grocery stores and are used in family-style, casual and fast food restaurants.[1][29][30]
Mass-produced cheese sauce is typically preparedaseptically and then packaged in sterilecans, bottles and bag-in-box containers.[31][32] Some varieties are sold inaerosol cans.[33] Commercial cheese sauces may be prepared using natural cheese, processed cheese, or both.[a] Variousfood additives andpreservatives may be used in commercial preparations to create a uniform product that is consistent and stabilized in texture, consistency, color and flavor, to enhance flavor, and to ensure freshness.[16][35] Some additives and preservatives used may include carrageenan, citric acid, monosodium glutamate, sodium citrate, sorbic acid, and xanthan gum, among others.[16]
The industrial preparation and processing of liquid cheese sauces typically involve the shredding of bulk cheese products which is then placed en masse into a large processing container along with various dry ingredients andemulsifying salts.[16][36] The mixture is agitated to create a slurry, and is then aseptically treated using various machines to heat andsterilize the product and make it pourable, after which sterile bottles, jars or cans are filled with the product.[16] Such aseptically processed cheese sauces are typicallyshelf-stable, requiring no refrigeration until opened.[16]
Bag-in-box cheese sauces are typically used in retail environments and involve the use of connecting a bag of aseptically treated cheese sauce to a vessel that heats it and keeps it warm at a food-safe temperature.[32] A pump dispenser is used that delivers the sauce to various items, such as tortilla chips and sandwiches.[32][35]
Cheese sauces are also mass-produced in a powdered dry mix form.[37][38] These are produced as aninstant food and purveyed to consumers in sauce mix packets and jars.[39] Dry mix packets are also provided in some dry macaroni and cheese products.[40][41]
Commercial frozen cheese sauce is used as an ingredient in preparedfrozen meals and preparedfrozen vegetables.[42][43] In some instances, particularly when a sauce has a high-fat content, the product may requireemulsification to keep the product uniform and prevent it from separating.[42] Factors in frozen sauces such as their overall fat content and the size of particulates in them plays a role in how various frozen cheese sauces are formulated, cooked, treated and processed.[42]
Additionally, commercial cheese sauce formulations have been used as an ingredient in processed canned vegetables in the United States.[44][45]
Circa the later 2000s, theCampbell Soup Company began to modify its canned cheese sauce formulas based upon the company's perceived consumer preferences in various geographic regions in the United States.[46] The company concluded that the sauce was not considered hot enough (pungent) for average consumers in the American Southwest and West while being too hot for consumers in the Eastern United States.[46] At the time, to better serve its customer base, Campbell's began manufacturing a hotter product in their California and Texas plants compared to their other plants.[46]
In July 2018,Kraft Heinz issued a voluntary nationwideproduct recall in the United States of around 100,000 jars of cheese dip,[47][48] due to a potential for the growth ofClostridium botulinum because of ingredient separation.[48] It was only distributed in the United States, and consumers were advised not to eat it, even if it lacked signs of spoilage.[48][49]
Commercial cheese sauces
Apacket of mass-producedHeinz cheese sauce at a McDonald's restaurant in Moscow, Russia
Kraft Dinner is packaged with a processed powdered cheese sauce packet (Canada, 2018).
A serving of macaroni and cheese included as part of a frozen meal with frozen cheese sauce as an ingredient
Pretzel bites with a commercial cheese sauce at a movie theater in the United States
^Celigueta Torres, Isabel; Ispen, Richard Ipsen1; Kjær Beck, Tove (2008)."Rheology and Functionality of Cheese Powders".Annual Transactions of The Nordic Rheology Society. Vol. 16. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
^Guinee, Timothy P.; O'Brien, Niamh B.; Rawle, Donal F. (1994). "The viscosity of cheese sauces with different starch systems and cheese powders".International Journal of Dairy Technology.47 (4). Wiley:132–138.doi:10.1111/j.1471-0307.1994.tb01535.x.ISSN1364-727X.
^PeiPei, Wei; WeiFeng, Lin; Zhong, Chen (2009)."Preparation of Chinese cheese sauce".Modern Food Science and Technology.25 (10):1190–1192. Retrieved3 November 2021.
^USITC Publication. Annual report – United States International Trade Commission. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1982. p. 51. Retrieved3 November 2021.
^Szafrańska, Jagoda O.; Sołowiej, Bartosz G. (2020). "Cheese sauces: Characteristics of ingredients, manufacturing methods, microbiological and sensory aspects".Journal of Food Process Engineering.43 (4). Wiley.doi:10.1111/jfpe.13364.ISSN0145-8876.S2CID213369294.
^Weckel, K.G.; Huang, T.T. (1968).Processing Canned Vegetables in Butter and Cheese Sauces. Research report (University of Wisconsin—Madison. College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Research Division). Research Division, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin. Retrieved3 November 2021.
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