Additives in grated Cheese

[19Sandy]

I don't eat a lot of dairy foods since I am lactose intolerant but having grated cheese to sprinkle a bit on vegetables is convenient. But, they are also putting junk in the grated cheese to keep it fresh. Part of the reason for doing this is so that supermarkets can keep the foods stacked in stock rooms and on trucks without it going bad. They can also keep their utility costs down by not keeping coolers at a lower temperature. One of the ingredients they use is an antifungal agent to stop mold growth. It is the same thing used for when someone has a fungal infection in their body or on their skin but you are ingesting it frequently. This makes me wonder if someone did get a fungal infection if they would be resistant to this chemical in the same way that people are becoming resistant to antibiotics. I am going to see if this stuff is on blocks of cheese. I have a grater but it is harder for me to use with arthritis.

[sweetana3]

You can use a food processor, large or small, to grate cheese. A sharp microplane is also easier. Sharp is your friend when arthritis is present. Hand grater is hard on my hand, wrist and thumb issues.

[Rogar]

When my mother had Celiac I seem to remember that they dust the grated cheese with flour to keep it from sticking together, so she had to grate her cheese.

[19Sandy]

A food processor isn't in my budget, but I bought a block of cheese instead of the pregrated stuff. I should see if there is a gadget for grating small amounts of cheese quickly. Usually, I just use a tiny amount. My handheld grater is getting dull and harder to use anyway.

[sweetana3]

Amazon has all kinds of cheese graters and the nice thing is you can read the reviews and check if any are considered hard to use or dull fast. A sharp grater will be easier to use.

[Oddball]

If you freeze cheese, you can cut off small chunks with a knife and easily crumble it over food. I have a nice grater but never use it.

[CathyA]

Yeah, I've noticed that with frozen cheese too....although some types seem to crumble better than others. I never liked pre-packaged shredded cheeses. I routinely keep cheese in the freezer. It's always good.

[MaryHu]

Do away with pre-shredded cheese, make America grate again!

[jp1]

https://www.kcet.org/food/pre-shredd...the-difference

Curious about this I used the google and found the above link. Although I'm not especially concerned about the three additives I will admit noticing the issue of grated cheese not cooking as well as block cheese. And it makes sense. The use of desiccant makes it cook up 'dryer'.

[CathyA]

Do away with pre-shredded cheese, make America grate again!