383216 Tue Mar 20 15:47:43 -0700 2007 32 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2405149 Wondering about shredded cheese - very convenient, but I thought I read, that there is some preservative added for packaging. Anyone know for sure? Thx. Tue Mar 20 15:47:43 -0700 2007 48366 ChefGirl412 1 2405450 I was told by a cheese purveyor that they do. Tue Mar 20 17:26:17 -0700 2007 2405149 48370 PastaFace123 1 2405454 If you have sulfite allergies you can't eat pre-shredded cheese. I think they coat it with potato starch. Tue Mar 20 17:27:34 -0700 2007 2405149 82182 izzizzi 1 2405464 Different brands do different things. Check the ingredients. Tue Mar 20 17:32:09 -0700 2007 2405149 76025 mojoeater 1 2405498 But why bother? Buying pre-shredded you're limited to the blandest of the bland generic varieties, and really, how much work is it to rub a chunk of good cheese against the side of a shredder? Tue Mar 20 17:44:51 -0700 2007 2405149 14386 BobB 2 2405520 You're right; what was I thinking ;) Sometimes it just seems like it would be such a time saver. Thanks for the "slap in the face." :) Tue Mar 20 17:55:31 -0700 2007 2405498 48366 ChefGirl412 3 2405586 Thank you ma'am! Jus' doin' mah job to preserve the taste buds of America! ;-) Tue Mar 20 18:16:15 -0700 2007 2405520 14386 BobB 4 2407694 I have to admit. When making pizza or lasagna I usually buy PS because on top of all the other stuff to do, I just don't feel like it. I'll try to do better in future. Sorry hounds. DT Wed Mar 21 11:38:38 -0700 2007 2405586 11291 Davwud 5 2407780 I'm the same way. When dealing with a lot of ingredients, the last thing I want to clean up is my cheese grater. I know it's not real mozzarella, but when I am using fresh parmesan, ricotta, and other cheeses, it works just fine. Wed Mar 21 12:00:05 -0700 2007 2407694 76025 mojoeater 6 2407804 Put me in the "willing to use when convenient" camp also. I also tend to buy more pre-shredded cheese blends than straight cheddar or mozzarella. I usually have a bag of the Mexican blend and Italian blend in the cheese drawer. Wed Mar 21 12:04:26 -0700 2007 2407780 11990 Janet from Richmond 6 2409474 I grant you that the cleanup (by hand) of a cheese grater/shredder is a lot more work than the actual shredding. Guess I'm just spoiled by my dishwasher! Wed Mar 21 20:01:51 -0700 2007 2407780 14386 BobB 7 2410001 spray the grater with pam before you shred anything and it rinses clean like a dream. Thu Mar 22 04:45:42 -0700 2007 2409474 30273 hotoynoodle 8 2410261 THANK YOU for that tip! I don't know why I never thought of that. I don't have a dishwasher and I dread to high heaven getting all the cheese out of those stupid, little, sharp holes (which grates my cheese wonderfully) Thu Mar 22 07:03:17 -0700 2007 2410001 14209 lbs 8 2412430 Does your cheese not turn out a clumpy, pammy glob?? DT Thu Mar 22 16:52:34 -0700 2007 2410001 11291 Davwud 5 2413371 I use it too for making baked pastas in bulk for the freezer, and my hubby uses it for his pizzas. My main issue with it is that it goes moldy quite easily and it's not always immediately obvious either. Fri Mar 23 05:54:10 -0700 2007 2407694 12120 julesrules 2 2428584 The preshredded cheese taste is dulled by whatever they put on it to make it not clump. If you do a side by side taste test (I did) you can really tell. So I do not buy the preshredded any more. I shred it with my food processor grating disc and then it keeps for a while in the fridge or I throw it in the freezer if I'm not going to use it up soon enough. Wed Mar 28 09:12:02 -0700 2007 2405498 17878 Budser1228 3 2431252 I burned out the motor of my fp with mozza before. It's so soft and gums up and that's what did it. DT Thu Mar 29 04:17:48 -0700 2007 2428584 11291 Davwud 4 2431300 I shred mozzerella all the time with my Cuisinart and have never had a problem. Thu Mar 29 05:17:51 -0700 2007 2431252 10027 Chris VR 4 2446913 Put the mozz in the freezer to stiffen up before you grate it. Doesn't need to be a solid block - 10 minutes or so. Tue Apr 03 12:52:34 -0700 2007 2431252 17878 Budser1228 1 2406843 shredding your own is also far more cost-effective, and you get much fresher cheese. Wed Mar 21 08:16:17 -0700 2007 2405149 30273 hotoynoodle 1 2407715 I think I remember hearing that they put something in it to keep it from clumping together -- something like cellulose? Wed Mar 21 11:42:04 -0700 2007 2405149 56815 pemma 1 2408561 Besides the low quality of packaged shredded cheese is the price. I think I saw Kraft shredded cheddar the other day at a price that came to around $17 a pound! The same cheese that unshredded costs $4 lb. Wed Mar 21 14:57:50 -0700 2007 2405149 10732 JMF 2 2408580 I have a 16oz bag of Kraft shredded mozz that I got for $4. Where are you shopping? Wed Mar 21 15:00:57 -0700 2007 2408561 76025 mojoeater 3 2409995 I wondered the same thing. The 8 oz. bags are generally about $2 each. Thu Mar 22 04:41:55 -0700 2007 2408580 11990 Janet from Richmond 4 2410048 I live in Westchester County, NYC suburbs. I saw the price by pound for one Kraft shredded cheese item at $17.98 a lb. I thought it was pretty crazy. After this thread I looked at the price last night and saw the shelf tag was mislabeled and I told the store manager. The correct price is $7.98 a pound. Thu Mar 22 05:28:55 -0700 2007 2409995 10732 JMF 1 2409856 First, you've really gotta watch out that there's even cheese in the cheese.. some is made with awful non-dairy I-don't-know-whats. I usually prefer preservative-free whatever, given an easy option. However, not long ago I ordered some brand of shredded cheddar that I think was Safeway. It stayed fresh and decent in the fridge for EONS. So much so that I wondered what the heck was in it. I googled the ingredients list and one thing was some novel preservative - I'm recalling it as maybe an enzyme but am not certain. In this case, I'd actually go search out that cheese preferentially again because of it. Wed Mar 21 23:58:37 -0700 2007 2405149 40486 Cinnamon 2 2412645 Interesting thread with a lot of mea culpas after the Shredded Cheese Police spoke. I confess, I use it (Sharp Cheddar) in omelets and on salads. What $17 a lb? I routinely pay $2 or less for an 8-oz package. Thu Mar 22 18:18:14 -0700 2007 2409856 15521 Querencia 3 2414824 Thanks for the tip on spraying PAM.. Can you do this when grating lemon zest? Fri Mar 23 12:54:52 -0700 2007 2412645 78502 diane419 3 2427979 Shredded Cheese Police - I like that! I think I'll get me some business cards printed up and patrol the local mini-mart! Wed Mar 28 04:46:34 -0700 2007 2412645 14386 BobB 1 2447481 Ease, cost, taste, ingredients (as per OP's request), cleanup... While I once considered sitting for the Sergeant's Exam for the Shredded Cheese Police, I eased up during the kids' teenager years. Teens are pretty good at re-closing a ziploc bag, but less adept at opening the chunk/spraying the grater/grating the cheese/washing the grater/policing stray shreds. Cost: Albertson's puts sliced cheddar etc (even sharp) on sale 3-4 times a year for 99 cents for 8 oz = 1.98/pound. It freezes well. They also sell block cheddar on sale for 99 cents, but if frozen it crumbles upon thawed slicing. Other stores offer it as a loss leader, too, and Walmart comps their ads. Taste. Of course it is inferior. If eaten cold, the anti-clumping ingredients are noticeable, but if used in cooked lasagna/quesadill/macNcheese, the inferiority is lessened. No way is it ever gonna make it into pimento cheese, but it has its place. Ingredients (Additives): Varies subtly by brand, but Kraft uses several. 1) potato starch, which we treasure as the variable ingredient in the perfect potato latke. I am personally able to perfectly co-exist with potato starch. 2) microcrystalline cellulose. Since cellulose is the dominant polymer in every single cell wall of plants, I'm pretty cool with that, too. Sure, the engineers have played with it to yield a machinable dust. 3) Natamycin, a natural antifungal (bacterial derived), that's been used on cheese surfaces for many years. More on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natamycin or here, maybe even more reassuring: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/wholebody/ingredients/natamycin.html I'm pretty committed to running a "no over-processed foods" kitchen, but shredded cheese has a niche. Plus, the bags are easy to recycle. Yours truly, Sergeant FoodFuser, SCP. Tue Apr 03 15:05:32 -0700 2007 2405149 17562 FoodFuser 2 2447736 Wow. Thanks for that. DT Tue Apr 03 16:26:31 -0700 2007 2447481 11291 Davwud 1 2455178 Update on additives, and mold inhibition. I was in Albertson's this afternoon. Those rascals were featuring Borden shredded cheese for $.99 again, so I figured the timing was congruent with this thread, and snagged a few bags. Borden uses cornstarch (instead of Kraft's potato stach), "powdered cellulose", and natamycin. FDA labeling requirements probably mandate a distinction between "powdered" and "microcrystaline" cellulose. I did a quick check of the Kraft, Borden, and Albertson's bags, and there were no further bad-boy ingredients in any of them. The stuff called "toppings" and "shreds" were not cheese, but rather a whey/partially hydrogenated oil" cheese mimic which should be avoided. It also shows up (labeled) in cheaper frozen pizzas. Whey is a good thing, but partially hydro'd oil is something the FDA shrouds in cloaked disclosure. re Mold inhibition: especially for folks who prefer to grate their own cheese and store in the fridge: If you have mold problems due to long holding time, try putting some rolled paper towels in there to absorb humidity. Better yet, a paper towel wrapped silica gel paper package, such as comes as a drying agent in bags of nori or shiitake. They can be microwaved to renew their absorptive power. Thu Apr 05 16:28:29 -0700 2007 2405149 17562 FoodFuser 2 2480986 All great information - thank you! More than answered all my questions. Sat Apr 14 13:40:56 -0700 2007 2455178 48366 ChefGirl412