For better and worse, Americans are masters of invention. We brought the world airplanes, assembly lines, pacemakers, dental floss, electric guitars, nuclear bombs, microwaves, telephones—the list goes on.
One quintessentially American invention is getting dragged for filth online: Kraft Singles. And it’s all thanks to a TikTok by creator Marcus (@marcusallen6280) in which he takes a lighter to a slice.
The results have him warning people against ever eating the popular cheese product.
“I’m telling y’all, stay away from Kraft single cheese. This stuff ain’t nothing but plastic,” Marcus says in the post.
(The product is not made of plastic.)
Marcus’s post has 257,000 views as of this writing.
Kraft did not respond to an email sent Thursday morning. Marcus didn’t reply to an inquiry sent via TikTok direct message.
Kraft Single versus open flame
Marcus begins his TikTok praising Kraft Singles.
“I like this cheese myself, personally,” he says. “They’ve been killing me for a long time.”
He says someone told him that it’s not actually cheese. So he does an experiment.
Marcus unwraps a Kraft Single and holds it with one hand while he flicks a lighter with the other.
He then applies the flame to a corner of the slice. Much to his surprise, it doesn’t melt.
“Look what the cheese do. It turning black,” he says.
Even after several seconds of having a direct flame applied to it, the Kraft Single retains its form.
“Not one drip drop. All it did was just burn black,” Marcus says, showing the scorched slice to the camera.
Why didn’t it melt?
There have been rumors that Kraft Singles won’t melt floating around online for years.
Last year, this claim generated 100 comments on the Cheese Subreddit.
“I purchased three packs of American singles 2% milk. It doesn’t melt anymore?!” the original poster said. “I used to eat it on eggs, burgers etc and now nothing! I emailed Kraft and they said nothing has changed?!”
Many people replied that the low-fat or fat-free varieties specifically don’t melt.
Others have pushed back, saying that they’ve been using Kraft Singles for years and have no trouble getting it to melt. It’s among the most popular products for making grilled cheese sandwiches, after all.
“Dude, it melts just fine on burgers, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc.,” one commented on Marcus’s TikTok.
Another offered an explanation for why it didn’t melt. “It’s called pasteurizing processed,” they wrote. “It’s not just Kraft. Virtually all your American cheese is that way.”
Real or not real?
Kraft Singles are not, in fact, cheese, as many pointed out.
“Most of the cheese people buy says cheese product on it, which means it’s not real cheese,” one wrote.
It is in the cheese family, however. The package describes Kraft Singles as a “pasteurized prepared cheese product.”
On its website, Kraft says the product contains “[c]heddar cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), skim milk, milkfat, milk protein concentrate, whey, calcium phosphate, sodium phosphate, contains less than 2% of modified food starch, salt, lactic acid, milk, annatto and paprika extract (color), natamycin (a natural mold inhibitor), enzymes, cheese culture, vitamin D3.”
Real cheese, on the other hand, comprises just three basic ingredients: milk, cultures, and rennet. Rennet is an enzyme that causes coagulation.
So while Marcus may be right that Kraft Singles aren’t exactly cheese in the strictest sense, that doesn’t mean you have to stop eating them. Like all things, even highly processed foods like Kraft Singles, moderation is key.
@marcusallen6280 THIS IS SCARY PLEASE BE AWARE #wow #beaware ♬ original sound – marcusallen6280
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
