There actually is shredded American cheese.
Examples of shredded American cheese include Land O Lakes Extra Melt Shredded American Cheese and Dutch Farms Fancy Shredded American & Cheddar.
However, it’s fair to say that shredded American cheese isn’t popular. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it at grocery stores near me. It’s probably the same situation where you live. But, why is that?
Logically, we could assume that the demand for this type of cheese just isn’t there to justify why it isn’t commonly stocked on store shelves. There probably is some truth to that given American’s reputation as an inferior cheese.
However, the lack of shredded American cheese is certainly deeper than mediocre demand and the unwillingness of manufacturers to produce it.
One of the primary reason why we don’t see more shredded American cheese is its moisture content.
American cheese is moist. The popular Kraft singles, for example, can have up to 44% moisture content per regulations.
The problem with moist cheese is that it is difficult to shred. The cheese sticks to the shredding device because of the moisture. It also provides problems with caking in the bag, although, anti-caking ingredients can help with this problem.
All of the above creates extra labor and expenses that most manufacturers don’t want to deal with to sell a cheese that doesn’t warrant a high sales price and high profit margins.
Furthermore, American cheese has superior melting properties. It doesn’t really need to be shredded to melt evenly over foods. You can even quickly melt it the microwave for the ultimate convenience.
