Mozarella Cheese and the Ultimate Mandoline

[emiscookin]

I know I am not the only one who has noticed this and been a little frustrated by it, so I wanted to see what ya'll's thoughts were and suggestions.

Twice now (almost three times) I have done recipes which have required Mozarella Cheese (MC from now on) and they suggest I use it with the Ultimate Mandoline (UM from now on) and no problem! I agreed with that. But...

Every time so far when I would use MC with the UM it always made a HUGE mess! It grates fine, but then a bunch of other chunks fall off the sides of the Mandoline (and stick to the Mandoline above and below the blade!) and it looks like the UM is not very effective in grating.

One recipe suggested I put the MC in the freezer for 15 mins before use. Did that, and the guest that tried to grate it had a VERY hard time!! Basically it was too stiff to grate. Then when the MC is fresh out of the refridgerator and at room temperature it's easy to grate but makes a super, chunky mess and it just...doesn't make the UM look good to the guests in my opinion.

Perhaps it's just how the cheese is and I need to deal with it.

But if any of you have had similar problems with MC and came up with a grate (get it? ) solution, let me know. Thanks in advance!

Oh...and I used MC with the Rotary Grater the other night and yeeah...don't think I will be doing that again! It came out like spaghetti, looked funny and it was a PAIN to clean the blade!! Think I will just stick with Parmesian Cheese for that one!

 

[MLinAZ]

This is not helpful but I will say that cheese is one thing I absolutely do NOT like the UM for. And I'm pretty open about that when I'm talking about the UM at my shows.

I do know a lot of people here say they will use the UM for cheese without the food holder (it's the only blade you can do that with), but I have a handheld grater that is smaller and easier to handle if I'm gonna just do that!

I haven't done mozzarella in the rotary grater since I just got it for kit enhancement, but I have used it for cheddar cheese. It is really stringy!

 

[robochick84]

I'm not a "cheese" person, but DH is a connoisseur of sorts with his European roots. I hate all of our graters the UM, the rotary, and the "black one" haha.... omg (memory fail, need my coffee!).

He happens to love all three of them, and knows what cheese goes into each one of them. :grumpy:

If I remember correctly, he does MC on the UM not with the grating blade but with the straight slicing blade. I can't imagine grating MC! You would definitely want it to be as cold/stiff as possible and that would be for all of them parm, MC, etc.

 

[Ginger428]

MC is THE biggest pain to grate! Just an idea though, If you are going to use the UM to grate it, maybe lightly coat the blade with some oil & it might help it from sticking....HTH

 

[etteluap70PC]

I do MC on my rotary grater all the time. If it is room temp (or if straight out of the fridge I nuke a hunk for 6 seconds it works well but will look a bit stringy. If you don't have a dishwasher you may not enjoy the experience. This also works well if you purchase cheese when it is on sale and freeze it. After freezing it is naturally crumbly anyway.

I do not enjoy doing cheese on the UM but if I do it must be fresh (never frozen) and again a bit warmed (not cold out of the fridge).

 

[babywings76]

I usually have the hosts buy the preshredded kind. :blushing: I know, I'm bad. But I hate to grate cheeses. At my stores, the grated kind is the same price, if not cheaper, than the block. I LOVE to grate parmesan by the block on our Microplane Adj. Grater, though. Now that baby is my favorite thing! But...if I have to, I'll just grate MC with the UM without the food holder. Then it's easier. I grate it just straight from the fridge, so it's cold. If it's too warm, it crumbles. At least for me, it does.

 

[lesliec]

Don't know if you are doing the 3 Cheese Garden Pizza, but here is what I do......
Have the MC grated before guests arrive. Use the UM for slicing the veggies. Use the Rotary grater for the Cheddar (althought I go ahead and do about half before the show too), and use the Microplane for the parmasean.

The ammount of cheese you have to grate for this takes a lot of time to demo, and the MC is a pain no matter how you do it. I was glad that my director suggested this to me b/c at one of the shows, the hostess actually bought the gourmet MC that is packed in water (not just the Kraft stuff). I couldn't even begin to imagine how that would've gone over at the show.

 

[BethCooks4U]

When using the Rotary Grater, turn the crank backwards every so often. That will cut the string to make it less "stringy". Works great that way. I agree that if you're doing more than a garnish it's best to pre-shred most of the cheese.

 

[emiscookin]

Thanks for the comments everyone! Yeah, I think in the future I won't use the UM for grating cheese cause it is a real pain! Or, I may just grate it without the food holder.

Don't know if you are doing the 3 Cheese Garden Pizza, but here is what I do......
Have the MC grated before guests arrive. Use the UM for slicing the veggies. Use the Rotary grater for the Cheddar (althought I go ahead and do about half before the show too), and use the Microplane for the parmasean.

The ammount of cheese you have to grate for this takes a lot of time to demo, and the MC is a pain no matter how you do it. I was glad that my director suggested this to me b/c at one of the shows, the hostess actually bought the gourmet MC that is packed in water (not just the Kraft stuff). I couldn't even begin to imagine how that would've gone over at the show.

I'm doing the Mexican Chicken Lasagna recipe in the DCB.
Yeah, my Director taught me to have a lot of the ingredients already prepped to make the demonstration shorter.

When using the Rotary Grater, turn the crank backwards every so often. That will cut the string to make it less "stringy". Works great that way. I agree that if you're doing more than a garnish it's best to pre-shred most of the cheese.

Good idea! :thumbup: I will have to remember that one.

 

[etteluap70PC]

Almost forgot... Do NOT use the food holder when doing Cheese! It just makes a mess...

 

[baychef]

I will not use cheese with the UM. Love the UM but not with cheese. If it is a small amount of MC, I will used the grater but probably will have the host just buy the shredded.

We probably should ask the Test Kitchens how to solve this problem.

 

[cookingwithdawn]

I really don't like either one for MC. The UM makes a mess and the Rotary makes it too stringy and it seems to stick together. I try to do MC before people get there. But I've noticed most hosts get the shredded anyway because they are used to making things easy.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I really don't like either one for MC. The UM makes a mess and the Rotary makes it too stringy and it seems to stick together. I try to do MC before people get there. But I've noticed most hosts get the shredded anyway because they are used to making things easy.

I tell my hosts not to bother with block cheese, unless that's what they usually buy. I know at home I don't. i buy shredded cheese in 5 lb bags at Costco, and repackage into 1/2 lb bags for the freezer.

The only exception would be Parmesan - I always encourage them to get a block of Parm...or I bring it with me.

 

[shelly.nurse]

If the MC is fresh, it won't grate at all!!! It works best with slicing or crumbling with your fingers. for the other cheese, I agree that it doesn't shred well. I usually buy bagged for that, but like Becky said, I always buy blocks of parm!!! Tastes so much better than the pre shredded stuff!!

 

[chefheidi2003]

I do MC on my rotary grater all the time. If it is room temp (or if straight out of the fridge I nuke a hunk for 6 seconds it works well but will look a bit stringy. If you don't have a dishwasher you may not enjoy the experience. This also works well if you purchase cheese when it is on sale and freeze it. After freezing it is naturally crumbly anyway.

I do not enjoy doing cheese on the UM but if I do it must be fresh (never frozen) and again a bit warmed (not cold out of the fridge).

we don't have a dishwasher. but I love the grater. I use the Easy Clean Kitchen Brush to clean it. But I do use a toothpick to clean out just where the metal and plastic come together on the drum part. It cleans up fine. much better than the old one.