When you're dumping mozzarella onto a pizza or lasagna, you might be tempted to say, "You can never have too much cheese." But that's not actually true. Cheese can quickly become overpowering, because it's often the most assertive and boldest flavor in a given dish. There is definitely such a thing as too much cheese.
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00:00When cooking or meal prepping with cheese in the past, you may have learned that too
00:05much of a good thing is not just something people say.
00:08There are plenty of mistakes everyone makes with cheese.
00:11Here's a look at some of the worst offenders.
00:15For many Americans, a plastic can or tub of grated cheese is the only Parmesan cheese
00:19they've ever known.
00:21But next time you're at the grocery store, think twice before reaching for that familiar
00:24plastic container.
00:26Grated Parmesan cheese sold in America is not even real Parmesan, according to Forbes,
00:32because genuine Parmigiano-Reggiano is really expensive.
00:36A single wheel can cost more than $1,000.
00:39In short, don't trust a wedge of Parmesan cheese sold at most grocery stores in the
00:44United States, and definitely do not trust the pre-shredded stuff.
00:49Bloomberg News tested store-bought, pre-grated Parmesan cheese in an independent lab and
00:54found that some brands contained higher percentages of cellulose, a cheap filler also known as
00:59wood pulp, than is deemed safe.
01:01In addition to the horrifying thought of sprinkling in excess of 2 to 4 percent of, quote, powdered
01:06cellulose over your food, consider that cheese, once grated, will dry out.
01:12Even though Parmesan is a dry cheese, pre-grated Parmesan is drier and lacking in flavor relative
01:17to freshly grated.
01:20Pre-shredded cheese is convenient, of course.
01:22Even pet birds won't disagree.
01:24But what you get for that convenience you sacrifice in taste, ooey-gooey meltiness,
01:29and savings.
01:30With pre-shredded cheese, potato starch and cellulose work together to prevent clumping,
01:35and natamycin is added as an anti-mold agent.
01:39Freshly grated cheese lacks these preservatives, so it tends to taste better and melt more
01:43smoothly.
01:44You also get more bang for your buck.
01:46As Taste of Home explained, an 8-ounce block of cheese will yield more volume of grated
01:51cheese than an 8-ounce bag of pre-shredded cheese.
01:54When you grate your own cheese, you also have more choices available to you.
01:58If you want grated cheddar cheese, at most supermarkets, there might be two or three
02:02varieties at most.
02:04If you're grating your own cheddar cheese, the world is your cheesy, delicious oyster.
02:08And this is what we mean when we say, there's a first time for everything.
02:12Grate away, cheeseheads!
02:13I'm gonna give you some cheese.
02:19That's a lot of cheese.
02:22At this point, you're probably thinking that the box grater is your new BFF.
02:27But before you get too comfortable, just remember the cheese you're using, specifically the
02:32temperature of that cheese, matters too.
02:35Although you should serve cheese at room temperature, it's best to shred cheese when it's cold.
02:39This means you should begin grating immediately after taking the cheese from the fridge.
02:43If you try to shred cheese that is too warm, it will become a mushy mess.
02:47This rule also applies to hard cheeses like Parmesan.
02:51Even if it seems solid at room temperature, put it back in the refrigerator for a few
02:54minutes.
02:55Soft and or fresh cheese may not need to be grated at all, but you should still wait to
03:00crumble or cut it until it's sufficiently cold.
03:03You can freeze cheese and then grate it, but there are some definite drawbacks to letting
03:07cheese anywhere near your freezer.
03:09I can tell by the gross weight I'm not gonna like it.
03:12I like my cheeses in the ounces.
03:13When they weigh as much as a Fiat, I get worried.
03:17There are types of cheese that should never be frozen, such as fresh cheese and cheese
03:20with holes or air pockets.
03:22But even with cheese that can be frozen, bear in mind that freezing can affect flavor and
03:27dry out the cheese.
03:29Cheese comes into your home with its moisture content carefully balanced, and you're going
03:33to want to replicate its ideal storage conditions as much as possible.
03:37That means covering it completely and not leaving it exposed in the fridge to dry out.
03:42Exposed cheese in the refrigerator will also start to take on the taste of food it's being
03:46stored next to.
03:47So unless you want your cheese to taste like leftover salad greens, sausages, and even
03:52cake, you should probably cover it up.
03:55But not with plastic wrap.
03:56Cheese is a living, breathing thing, which means completely closing it off from air will
04:01suffocate its flavor.
04:02Moreover, plastic wrap's artificial, plasticky taste will start to absorb into cheese after
04:07a day or two.
04:08The best way to store cheese is in cheese paper, but if you don't have cheese paper
04:12handy, The Splendid Table recommends wrapping your cheese in wax paper or even aluminum
04:17foil.
04:19Some people say you should put mayonnaise on the outside of a grilled cheese, while
04:22others say you should put butter on the outside.
04:25Regardless of your method, don't forget to also pay attention to what goes inside the
04:29sandwich, the cheese.
04:31"...I'll cut off the crust."
04:32"...Yeah, well I don't…"
04:33The ideal grilled cheese sandwich is crispy on the outside and melted on the inside.
04:38While it seems like that shouldn't be too hard, if you've ever had a grilled cheese
04:42that was ultimately just a slice of unmelted cheese between two slices of burnt bread,
04:46you know that it is, in fact, possible to mess up something that seems so simple.
04:51First, remember that good things, like a delicious grilled cheese sandwich, come to those who
04:56wait.
04:57Spread your butter or mayo all the way to the edges.
04:59Even on slightly toasted bread, just depends on how you like to make your grilled cheese.
05:04Be sure to use bread with a tight crumb so cheese doesn't get all over your pan.
05:08Next, use a cheese that melts well.
05:11While cheese aficionados may scoff at American cheese, it really is the best for this sandwich.
05:16Lastly, grill your grilled cheese low and slow.
05:19High heat is not your friend here, especially if you're using, say, an iron for the melting,
05:24which we don't really recommend.
05:27It's okay to stray from the classic cheeseburger, but there's no point in putting cheese on
05:31a burger if it isn't going to melt, right?
05:33Sorry to crush your Greek cheeseburger dreams, but feta is incapable of melting.
05:38Mozzarella and provolone, or provolone, as a lot of people say it, it's really supposed
05:43to be provolone, but let's not get too sidetracked here.
05:47Both have a high water content and will turn into a messy mess on a burger.
05:51While halloumi, not to be confused with Houdini, doesn't melt and is meant to be put directly
05:57on a grill.
05:58If you're going to have a cheeseburger, stick with one of the classics, like American Kraft
06:02Singles.
06:03Kraft cannot technically call this product cheese, per FDA regulations, but it's America's
06:08favorite, quote, pasteurized cheese product.
06:11And what other cheese melts over the top of a burger so perfectly?
06:15If you insist on eating real cheese, though, cheddar, Swiss, or blue cheese all taste really
06:20nice on top of a burger.
06:22Have you ever had really fresh mozzarella?
06:25It's creamy, delicious, and very, very moist.
06:28The best mozzarella is made from buffalo milk, and this type of mozzarella is ideal for the
06:33slightly soggy-in-the-middle, thin-crust, Neapolitan-style margherita pizza, which calls
06:38for generous splotches of melted mozzarella on top.
06:41It is less than ideal, however, for an American-style slice due to its moisture content.
06:46Low-moisture mozzarella, on the other hand, will melt and stretch, but remain dry enough
06:50for a pizza crust to stay nice and crispy.
06:53Additionally, low-moisture mozzarella has a much longer shelf life than fresh mozzarella.
06:57It doesn't taste great at room temperature, but it is the type of cheese that really comes
07:01alive under heat.
07:03If you want a snack on mozzarella that isn't melted, get yourself some fresh mozzarella
07:07di bufala.
07:09Avoid sticking it in the refrigerator, and simply slice up the fresh cheese and serve
07:13at room temperature.
07:14"...pour the double cheese and sausage, right here, dude."
07:19This is an Italian tradition that has more or less become accepted as a rule around the
07:23world.
07:24Thou shalt not mix seafood and cheese.
07:27One Italian chef in London was so offended that a customer requested parmesan to sprinkle
07:31on his crab ravioli that he denied the request.
07:35In response to the customer's bad review on TripAdvisor, the irate chef replied,
07:39"...try parmesan on cow dung, it should taste fine for you."
07:43Where does this rule come from?
07:44You could argue that it is because most seafood has a delicate flavor profile and a bold,
07:49assertive cheese could easily overpower that.
07:52In Italy, this taboo might be a product of geography.
07:55Italy's major cheesemaking regions are generally landlocked, and given their distance from
07:59the sea, their historic cuisines developed without an emphasis on seafood.
08:04Italy is also a largely Catholic country, and, for centuries, Catholics were forbidden
08:08from consuming meat and dairy on Fridays.
08:11Even if you follow this rule, you don't even have to look outside Italian cuisine to find
08:15an exception or two.
08:17Anchovy pizza.
08:18Clam pizza.
08:19Once you look beyond Italy, the exceptions multiply.
08:22For example, you can get a tuna melt at any deli in New York City.
08:26Some rules are made to be broken, sometimes, but proceed with caution.
08:31Is there anything as kitschy fun as fondue?
08:34Some people might say that fondue is making a comeback, but, really, has sharing a melted
08:38pot of cheese ever actually gone out of style?
08:42If you have a fondue set gathering dust because the idea of fondue is intimidating, it's time
08:47to think again.
08:49You should know that getting the perfect consistency of fondue is more art than science, and you
08:53can absolutely adjust as you go.
08:56Of course, the absolute worst feeling is watching your nearly perfect sauce break or split.
09:02So remember, just like with your grilled cheese, you need to go low and slow.
09:07Heat up some white wine, toss your grated cheese of choice with cornstarch, and slowly
09:12add the cheese to the not-too-hot wine.
09:15Let the cheese melt before adding more, but don't let the cheese get above its melting
09:19point.
09:20If the liquid comes to a boil, the protein in the cheese will coagulate and pull out
09:24the fat, leaving you with a lumping, unappealing sauce.
09:28If you find the sauce is getting too hot, take it off the stove for a minute or two.
09:33Temperature is the only tricky thing about fondue, or, really, any other cheese sauce.