Homemade mac-and-cheese does indeed rock. It's not really even in the same category as the Kraft stuff, since the boxed mac-and-cheese professes to be made of that nebulous "Process American Cheese Food" substance. Speaking of, we buy a lot of those individually wrapped slices of Process American Cheese Food because The Boys seem to enjoy it. Every time I go to the grocery store and pick up a package of the stuff, I'm disturbed by its implications. My brain starts automatically deconstructing the verbage (damn side effect of having studied too much English), and I've come to several conclusions regarding its unsettling implications: 1. The term "cheese food" is perplexing because it implies that the substance is not, in fact, cheese. The catch-all use of the word "food" is like the manufacturer saying, "Look. This stuff's not cheese. We don't know what the hell it is, but we're certain it's food because you can eat it. Don't ask any more questions." In other news, Bill and I leave bright and early tomorrow morning to begin our 13+ - hour pilgrimage to Maine. Wish us luck and good travel, and remind me to check assorted engine fluids before we leave.
2. Why is it "Process" instead of "Processed"? Is this merely a grammatical snafu, or are there deep-seated reasons why the word is not quite an adjective?
3. If the word "Process" is really supposed to be an adjective, I have trouble with the structure of the name. "Process American Cheese Food." Sounds more to me like "this is cheese food comprising a processed American" (Conspiracy Theory! Mass cannibalism being forced upon hapless cheese consumers! IT'S PEOPLE! AMERICAN CHEESE IS MADE OF PEOPLE!) rather than "this is some variation of American cheese that has been processed."
posted by Kate at 9:34 AM link/comments
