To Shred or Not to Shred

I am not sure why my first blog is going to be about shredded cheese, but it is. And I want to see how this newsletter feature works for the 3 of you that have signed up so far. Thanks Mom and my two besties:)

I will never forget the first time I read a recipe that told me to shred my own cheese. I was making the Pioneer Woman’s “Simple Perfect Enchiladas.” It was the middle one’s birthday dinner and I let my kids pick their favorite meal. She knows this meal is delicious and a pain in the A double S, so birthday dinner it is.

The steps and the mess, oh my! So, I guess I figured why not at this point. What does it matter? But in the back of my head, I thought this is going to be no different and a total waste of time.

Oh was I proven wrong, it really is WAY better. I mean the cheese is just creamier and melts so much better. And I am not sure if it is an optical illusion, but you seem to get more cheese when you shred yourself.

Then it got me thinking, why is this the case? Well, if you flip to the back of your shredded cheese bag you will see it contains potato starch and natamycin. The potato starch keeps it from clumping. Which once you have shredded your own cheese you will notice it does clump. So probably a necessary ingredient for pre-shredded cheese. And the natamycin is a mold inhibitor. It is an antifungal ingredient that is produced naturally by soil bacteria. And nobody got time for moldy cheese. Unless it is Blue Cheese stuffed in an olive in my NC-17 rated martini.

Who knew that shredded cheese contained all this?!?! OK most of us do, I am probably not sharing some new fact. And let’s be honest bags of pre-shredded cheese are so much simpler. And who is passing up the Teeter’s buy 2 get 3 free, like nobody. But if it a special occasion (like a 10-year old’s birthday), maybe shred it yourself. It really is WAY better. I mean it will help with the triceps too.