Faux fromage - sorting the good from the bad

OK, so the title of this post is a little misleading, as I think all fake cheese is essentially “bad”. Nutritionally it’s inferior, and taste-wise it’s lacking to say the least. But the stuff is cheap and it’s in every supermarket in this country. Don’t get me wrong—there are moments when it is appropriate to take out the fake stuff. Hamburgers and American cheese singles go hand in hand, and those pre-shredded cheese packs are handy for making nachos in under five minutes (the packets can be fiddly).

So what’s my beef with fake cheese? Preservatives, and the food industry’s apparent need to mess with nature. Can you imagine a meat-lover opting to buy a beef-flavored slab of tofu over a hunk of real meat? It may taste like beef, and the texture may have been manipulated to make you feel like you’re eating meat. But is it any substitute for a dry-aged porterhouse?

Nutritionally speaking, most manufacturers of fake cheese are wise enough to match the benefits of real cheese (pumping their product with protein and calcium). But deconstructing a great food product and reassembling it for marketability is something that really ruffles my feathers. Especially when the properties of the original product are manipulated (extending shelf life is usually the primary goal). To mention just one other undesirable characteristic—try browning a Kraft single and you’ll go from the pale yellow to pitch black without even a hint of golden brown in between. Nothing natural about that…

So keep your body health and opt for the real deal. If you don’t have access to a good cheese shop, I encourage you to try an online retailer. Some of the best in the country are:

-Murray’s Cheese Shop

-Artisanal Premium Cheese

-Zingerman’s

And if you do crave the fake stuff, just acknowledge that it is junk food—and like all junk food eat it in moderation.

Comments

[JennDZ]

I agree with you completely. I admit - I am a total cheese-o-holic as well as a cheese snob and I am totally fine with that! A little GOOD cheese goes a long way! It takes a lot of BAD cheese to get anywhere near the flavor - and the texture can be so gross.

[Tout Un Fromage]

I agree with you ! I agree, I agree !

[Anna]

I agree with you. Fake cheese is awful. I was never as terrified as when I went into an American supermarket for the first time and saw cheese in a jar, cheese in a tube and even cheese in a whip cream canister. I don't even want to buy cream in those canisters let alone cheese! And it's fluorescent orange. That's not cheese, that's ear wax! I couldn't believe that it existed, let alone that people ingested it. But having said that, I'm an Australian and I eat vegemite (with cheese), and if anyone knows what vegemite is they know I shouldn't be turning my nose up at cheese whiz. We all have our vices :) By the way, love the blog. Cheese, cheese, cheese.

[Dave!]

I have a soft spot in my heart for cheese spreads... like Boursin. Recently, though, I found some really great *actual* cheese spreads from Brunkow Farms (in Wisconsin). They don't have any preservatives, and several are actually made from unpasteurized (raw) milk--so they are very flavorful and delicious.

[Lea]

Great post!

I recently had a conversation with my (older!) sister, where I had to explain to her that her plastic shrink wrapped crackel barrel cheddar is not real cheese.... then I had to try my hardest to explain to her what real cheese is... it was futile, and in the end she said she'd prefer the "normal stuff"