I've started to grate my own cheese again. I don't remember when bags of pre-grated cheese became popular - the 90s? I remember thinking how cool it was that I no longer had to grate my own cheese - imagine the time I would save shredding and washing that grater! Then I got a cheese grater from IKEA this summer. I reasoned that, if the cheese could be grated into an enclosed container, maybe grating wouldn't be so bad. Seriously, I can't believe how lazy I am sometimes.
What I didn't realize was how much better the cheese tastes. What was I thinking all these years buying bags of grated cheese? Last night, I made some tortillas with pureed black beans, tomatoes, shredded mozzarella and some leftover steak and I could really tell the difference with the cheese. (thanks to my friend, Kari, for the tortilla and black beans idea - we eat it all the time). Oh, and in case you are wondering, I got some nice white flour tortillas at the store - I have not mastered making my own tortillas yet and I love the processed white tortillas from the store.
What does pre-grated cheese have in it that might affect the taste? Cellulose to prevent caking and natamycin, "a natural mold inhibitor." Or maybe the difference is that it wasn't grated a few minutes before eating.
This is such a good point, Leslie. I'm so lazy when it comes to grating cheese. But, it does taste so much better when it's freshly grated. And, you can grate it to exactly the size you need for that dish. Hmmm, I see a big block of cheddar in my next Costco cart...-Danielle
ReplyDeleteI really had to hunt for that block cheese at Costco. It is by the shredded cheese and I think they only had 3 kinds. I plan on using my food processor to grate this weekend since we are having a big crowd here.
ReplyDelete