Several years ago, Francis Porretto published an essay on cheese (more specifically, the sort used in macaroni and cheese). It first appeared on his previous blog back in 2007. He linked to it the other day, which is what recalled it to mind.
I think it's essential reading for all cheese lovers; and if you have "finicky eater" kids, who think that off-the-shelf cardboard-box macaroni and cheese is all she wrote, this will hopefully educate them. I've no idea what flavoring is applied to cardboard-box cheese, but the reality of the food underlying it is truly ghastly!
Peter
16 comments:
Unfortunately even the so-called "traditional" cheese products, like Parmigiano, Pecorino, Gruyere, Manchego, Roquefort, Stilton or any other well-known brand are stuffed full of those damned chemicals! You want real cheese? Then do get some full milk (organic preferably) from the diary farmer and make your own cheese - it may not be comparable with one of those brands, but at least you know what you eat!
There are so many things in the food world that come from places you don't want to know about. If it tastes good just eat it and don't worry about where it came from..
I like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese...and I'd much rather eat that than the bugs they're trying to force on us.
Agree with Rob
just think about what goes into a sausage
Macaroni and cheese from a box was one of my least favorites as a child. It still is, and now I have all I need to show those that think it's so wonderful why my discerning taste is based on more than a dislike.
A step grandmother married a man who owned a cottage cheese factory. One Sunday he took the entire family to show us his facility. The smell make some of us gag and one had to leave. Have never eaten cottage cheese since that day.
I grew up on .gov cheese, so I don't have a dog in this fight... sigh
Every bit as horrifying as I remembered it. I still recall standing in the grocery store 30 “what the hell is cheese food? What happened to the cheese?” It was California so I wondered.
OMG. Thanks for reposting. I’ve been looking for this essay but couldn’t remember the name
I happily ate hot dogs while reading Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle", so this tale will not dissuade me from consuming my favorite comfort food - Kraft Mac & Cheese (with a side of pickled beets).
It's amusing that some restaurants touted their real mac and cheese on their children's menu only to switch to the box because kids didn't like the real thing. They'd all been conditioned to expect the taste of the boxed product. As I recall, my mother didn't scrimp and made hers with actual Velveeta cheese.
I don't recall exactly what kind of cheese my mother used, but when we had Mac and Cheese, it was shell noodles, and real cheese. I loved it, but she's been gone 52 years now, so, yeah, I don't remember the details.
Sam
Government cheddar got sold by the pound in the military commissaries when I was active-duty. I thought it was perfectly OK cheddar - a bit bland, compared to (say) sharp cheddar Tillamook - but it made the most divine from-scratch mac and cheese.
Pro tip - add a bit of mustard and paprika to the basic milk béchamel. Undercook the macaroni shells, and make the cheese sauce a bit thin. It will all combine beautifully, when combined and baked.
I have never willingly consumed Kraft Mac and Cheese.
I love Mac-and-Cheese! I've had many different varieties, even including the cardboard box stuff. And considering how some of the "White Box" stuff tastes, I think there are ever lower grades they use for the "White Box" products.
And I love REAL cheese, complete with strange odors and tastes some of it has. I've been near one wheel of cheese I wouldn't even sample, but some people who'd grown up with it were scarfing it down....
One of my first (and best) mac & cheese dishes was done in an Instant Pot. I also learned that, when given a choice, hamsters much prefer Gruyere over cheddar and will even leave the cheddar behind and not hoard it for later.
Cheese is not the only product like this. Look at meats, especially hamburger and sausage. The more you cook from scratch, the healthier you will be.
Look at Farm to Fork, skip the big business in between. Pasture raised meat does have a different taste than you expect, it tastes like meat should taste. If nothing else get a few backyard chickens. Look at the difference in the eggs from the store bought eggs.
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