Do You Use Cheese Or A 'Cheese Product'?
What IS Cheese?
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms.
Cheese consists of proteins and fat from milk, whether from sheep ,cow or goat.
It takes on many forms, flavors, textures, and herbs.....
Did you notice, MILK?
The Making
milk, cultures, remnant, curds, straining, aging, pressing, aging, molding...........
hard, soft, sharp, mild, brick, slices, spreadable............
The cheese making is simple and old hat for the skilled and those in the know. For the novice, it is frightening.
Cheese making is a rewarding and valuable skill,l it can be done by the individual, but it is too in depth and too time consuming to begin here. Beside, I am a novice myself.
This is only a briefing, not an instructional.
Start smaller and grow into the detailed art of cheese making. It is a skill and an art. No artist begins in greatness.
We Back Away
If you are intimated by making cheese, as I am, it is easier to just go to the grocery store and purchase. In our modern world, that is acceptable and without ridicule.......but you do need to know what you are buying.
I shop carefully, compairing Del Monte, Revlon, Dr.Scholls, Libbys, Kraft, Lipton, Folgers.....to the store brands. Most of the time, the store brand is acceptable.......most of the time.
When it comes to bread, or cheese they are not.......bread or cheese, they warrant top dollar, I will count my pennys elsewhere. I simply will not buy cheap bread or cheese.
Too Numerous To Count
American, cheddar, ( mild or sharp) , cream, Parmesan, ( grated, dried, moist, shredded) Colby, ( sharp , mild, medium, hard) Swiss, mozzarella, ( sliced or string), Gouda, aged, dried, crumbled, diced, shredded, sliced, mixed, blended, whole fat, low fat, 2%, reduced calorie, cheese spread, velveeta, cheese soup, nacho cheese, cheese spread, pimento cheese, sandwich slices, and cheese product................no wonder you are confused.
Truthfully, if hurried, I am too.
This will take you to a list of my hubs
- onegoodwoman on HubPages
A small town southern girl, trying to learn from everyone I meet along the way, those who teach me about myself become my true friends. Some...
Buyer Beware
With so many choices, it really pays to do your research and be aware here. If you accept a cheese product over cheese, I leave you to your choosing.
Personally, I can not tolerate a 'cheaper' cheese. This is one area where you get what you pay for and what you deserve. Do not be rushed at the cheese counter........you will pay for it, in your macaroni, on your sandwich and with your eggs.
American processed cheese (wrapped slices) , in my opinion are not worth pennies. I prefer to do without.
Processed cheese, process cheese food, cheese slice, prepared cheese, or cheese food, ( study these terms) each of them, is a food product made from cheese and sometimes other dairy ingredients, plus emulsifiers, colorings, salt, and whey. Within the USofA the most common processed cheese is sold as : " American Cheese" , it has a legal definition as a type of pasteurized processed cheese.
That's a mouthful, a legal definition for food..............that should be our first clue!
PROCESSED.......wholesome, cheese, processed? Say, it ain't so..........
I will be as delicate and as discreet as I can, but I will spit cheap processed cheese into the nearest container, when it is served to me. As a paying customer, I will ask for a refund of my money, and the establishment should consider themselves fortunate, that I do not publicly call them to the carpet for serving me less than what I paid for.
Some of you may be content with a 'cheese product', my own husband is........but I know and will pay for the difference. I would not, under any circumstances, put something on the plate of my guest that I will not eat. Nor, do I buy it for my hubby, and I prefer that he leave the shopping and cooking to me.
A Bargain....
I am in total support of getting the most for my money, taking advantage of sales, making the most of aging produce, and many, many money saving techniques and ideas.
But we must be wise.........if it is inferior to begin with, there is no bargain to be had. If you want quality food, use quality ingredients.
You can cook down a tough piece of meat, but you can not marinate it enough to make it tender off of the grill.
You must know the difference first, then shop accordingly.
