American cheese in alfredo sauce?

[TheNamesChuck]

Hi, I was wondering if I could substitute american cheese for parmesan in alfredo sauce. I cooked a meal that used only half a cup of heavy cream, but my dad bought a whole pint so he is making me use the rest of it. I figured that I could make alfredo sauce with it, but I only have about half a cup of parmesan cheese, but a whole pound of american cheese in my refrigerator.

So will american cheese work (I know it wont be "authentic" alfredo) or will it be a disaster?

[Bentley Green]

No.

American cheese won't work and besides, it is salty to boot! Too much salt, and it will only make the sauce taste like medicine, since American cheese to me, tastes more like wicked salty nasty-tasting medicine anyway. You'd probably have to use too much of it to even get it to taste CLOSE to what it would taste like with parm cheese.

And like you said, it WON'T be authentic. Yes, parmesan also has some salt in it, but if you're going to make alfredo sauce, you might just as well have the real thing. It'll taste much better in the long run.

I know this thread is about Alfredo sauce, but I've stopped using American cheese even on sandwiches because it's way too salty and it DOES taste like some nasty medicine!! I like Swiss cheese or Cheddar cheese better for sandwiches and burgers. Mainly Swiss!

[Barksdale]

NO!

You cannot make Alfredo sauce with American cheese.

[Bentley Green]

Absolutely NOT!

It just won't come out right. Please do not sacrifice quality for a cheap inferior product.

That would be like me making a pound cake with margerine instead of real pure creamery butter and with imitation vanilla or lemon instead of real pure vanilla or lemon extract. It just wouldn't taste the same!

There is absolutely NOTHING like the real thing!! You'll feel better yourself, knowing that you did it the right way! If you heart isn't in it, then the quality isn't in it.

[Semigourmet]

NO, you cannot use american cheese in Alfredo. Now you have it 4 times. LOL! It has completely the wrong flavor for alfredo. it should be nutty, creamy, and cheesy. But Cheddar or American will not taste right. you will have to use parm, at the very outside you MIGHT and that is a BIG Might, be able to sub, a Monterey Jack cheese, for part of the missing Parmesan, since it has a Very mild flavor. But you will lose a large amount of flavor if you skip out on the Parmesan cheese.

[Bentley Green]

Point well taken. There you have it. Might just as well make it 5 times and reiterate it once more.

You wouldn't use Linberg cheese to make mac & cheese, so why use American cheese to make Alfredo sauce? Neither belongs in the other!

You will NOT get the same results. Ziltch, zero, zippo, nata. Not one thin dime!

[Semigourmet]

Point well taken. There you have it. Might just as well make it 5 times and reiterate it once more.

You wouldn't use Linberg cheese to make mac & cheese, so why use American cheese to make Alfredo sauce? Neither belongs in the other!

You will NOT get the same results. Ziltch, zero, zippo, nata. Not one thin dime!

ROFLOL! Thanks for the chuckle Bently! That was Great!

[Bentley Green]

You're welcome!

Glad you likeed it. Haha!!

[retiredchef@42]

It would be a "cheese" sauce, if you can consider american cheese a real cheese. Def not alfredo. More like mac and cheese.
Now you have me thinking. What would that taste like? Gonna have to try it. lol
I think that this is one of the best things about cooking, try something different, it might be good. Or not,,,but you'll never know until you make it.

[Bentley Green]

Don't do it.

It would be a disaster. We just got done telling TheNameChuck not to try it, and now YOU want to?

[retiredchef@42]

Can't help it. lol. In all my years as a Chef, I have never made a cheese sauce with american cheese. Come to think of it,,,many of my restaurants didn't even have it. I'm thinking it would end up like boxed mac & cheese sauce,,,maybe.

[Bentley Green]

Can't help it. lol. In all my years as a Chef, I have never made a cheese sauce with american cheese. Come to think of it,,,many of my restaurants didn't even have it. I'm thinking it would end up like boxed mac & cheese sauce,,,maybe.



That's probably what would happen.

But to me, that's just a waste of time doing it with American cheese. I don't even like it any more and it tastes like nasty medicine!!

[retiredchef@42]

Lol, call it a character flaw. Never used american cheese in the retaurants much, some didn't even have it on hand. Just trying to think of what it would taste like. We know it would melt ok, but the high oil content worries me. I think it would lend a nice plastic flavor to any sauce. I think I'll feed it to my kids, they're teenagers and eat anything.

[Bentley Green]

Oh. Make the kids guini pigs, hey?

Let's also not forget that this cheese is very high in sodium, so if you make alfredo sauce using this type fo cheese, you run the risk of making it so salty that it might be unbearable to eat!