pampchefsarah
Gold Member
- 2,203
There has been discussion on this board about brick cheese v packaged shredded for recipes. I have told my guests and hosts for years not to purchase pre-shredded cheese, as it contains wax for the anti-caking. :yuck: So many of you insisted, however, that cellulose is fine because it's a plant extract, and natural, etc., that for our family dinner tonight I decided to give it a try (particularly since the drum for my Rotary Grater is broken, and I am not a fan of either the Microplane Grater or the Mandolin). I even bought a well-respected brand name, even though it meant paying slightly more, since it is 'all-natural'.
When I opened the package and started sprinkling it over the recipe, out came a clump* of moldy* cheese. Ok, not a big deal, I'll pull it out and use the rest of the bag. Out came a BIGGER and MOLDIER clump, and in examining the bag (which, by the way, has an expiration date of 10/01/10) I found that more than half of it is moldy (AND clumped). Fortunately, I had other cheese on hand, which worked in a pinch.
I was really hoping I'd be able to tell my customers that, while brick cheese is better and cheaper overall, pre-shredded cheese is fine once in awhile, but now I have a totally different story.
Ok, I vented, now off to write an e-mail to the cheese company.
*I emphasize this because besides cellulose the cheese also contains an 'natural anti-mold' ingredient.
When I opened the package and started sprinkling it over the recipe, out came a clump* of moldy* cheese. Ok, not a big deal, I'll pull it out and use the rest of the bag. Out came a BIGGER and MOLDIER clump, and in examining the bag (which, by the way, has an expiration date of 10/01/10) I found that more than half of it is moldy (AND clumped). Fortunately, I had other cheese on hand, which worked in a pinch.
I was really hoping I'd be able to tell my customers that, while brick cheese is better and cheaper overall, pre-shredded cheese is fine once in awhile, but now I have a totally different story.
Ok, I vented, now off to write an e-mail to the cheese company.
*I emphasize this because besides cellulose the cheese also contains an 'natural anti-mold' ingredient.