5 Reasons to Grate Your Own Cheese
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Grating your own cheese may seem like extra work. But, really grating your own cheese has major benefits, in more way than just one! Read on for 5 reasons to grate your own cheese.
If you're looking for more kitchen knowledge, check out some of my other posts like 10 Easy Food Swaps to Lower Inflammation, Easy Egg Replacers for Baking, or Can Bananas Ever Be Too Ripe for Baking?
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Save Money
Grated cheese costs more than blocks of cheese. As you know, you pay for convenience, and it is especially true in grated cheese! Think about it, you’re paying someone to grate the cheese for you as that price is reflected in the final product.
So, if you buy blocks of cheese, and grate it yourself then you are saving money. Not only that, but you’re getting an arm workout! Or you can ask your kids to help in the kitchen as grating cheese is something that is easy to do. It’s a great task that can be passed down to a little helper. I used to have to do this for my mom!
No Anti Caking Agent
Organic block cheese doesn’t contain any anti caking agents or preservatives. So, when you grate a block of cheese at home, you can be sure that you’re not eating any unnecessary additives. It’s just one of the many reasons why I buy organic cheese. At first, I bought it simply for taste, but this was something I learned more recently.
Sometimes we’d buy grated organic cheese at the store out of convenience, and I started to notice that when I would eat that grated cheese, my stomach would have a small ache in it. Nothing really bad, but it did affect me and made feel just not so great. And this is even true for organic grated cheeses, as that’s what I was eating. So I was surprised when I found that out that grated cheese use a non caking agent, most of the time it’s cellulose.
And in non organic versions there can be much worse ingredients. It may not affect you, so if you really want to continue buying grated cheese – at least opt for the organic versions. But, if you notice that your stomach gets upset when you eat cheese, try an organic version that isn’t grated and it may just be the difference maker you need to enjoy cheese again!
Melts More Smoothly
When you grate your own cheese, it’s fresher than if you buy grated cheese. Not to mention, it doesn’t have that anti caking agent or any preservatives or stabilizers in it. So, that in turn will make it melt more smoothly because it doesn’t have any additional ingredients. That smoother melt will result in a creamier and more cheesy experience when you bite into that grilled cheese sandwich or slice of pizza. You can equate that to better tasting, cheesier, meltier cheese. I think that’s a pretty damn good reason!
There’s Not Always Organic Versions
As we all know, there is not always organic versions of the cheese you wanted in grated form. And, while organic items are still making their way to the market, and choosing an organic grated cheese is much better than a non organic version – it’s still better to grate your own! You can find pretty much every kind of organic cheese you could want, thanks to Organic Valley (they make the best organic cheese, in my opinion!).
Whenever we go out of town, I bring a cooler and buy all the Organic Valley cheese I can, as they don’t always carry it up here in Mammoth. I even order cases online, that’s how obsessed I am. So, when I make pizza I buy the block of Organic Valley Mozzarella cheese and grate it myself. So, if you are eating organic and are making my Napoli Pizza recipe, then you’ll wan to buy that block of Organic Valley Mozzarella and grate it yourself.
Choose Your Own Size
If you grate your own cheese, you can actually choose what size you grate it. Sometimes having a finely grated cheese is better and sometimes having a larger grated cheese is better, depending on the recipe or what you are making. When you grate your own cheese, you can easily choose how you want to grate it. This also allows you to use the same cheese for multiple different recipes that may require different grated sizes. I have a box grater, as it has many different sizes, which I love! I also use it for vegetables like carrots or zucchini as well too, so this is an amazing kitchen tool to have.
And, lastly, if you really want to buy shredded cheese, then check out Raw Farm, as their Raw Farm Shredded Cheddar Cheese doesn't contain any stabilizers in it! While it is not organic, it is Non GMO and Certified Humane, so I give it my approval!
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