WTH: Grating Your Own Cheese

In this inaugural post of “Worth the Hassle” aka WTH, I’m sharing with you a kitchen tip that may add a few minutes to your prep but is very worth the outcome.

I’m busy. You’re probably busy, too. And if you’re anything like me, there are some nights when the most “cooking” you can imagine doing is tearing open packages to assemble pre-made food elements. On such nights, pre-shredded cheese used to be a staple for me. Shredded mozzarella + pasta + sauce = baked ziti base. Shredded pepper jack + flour tortillas + black beans = quesadilla base. And pre-shredded cheese seems to last forever in the fridge.

But ever since I switched to grating my own cheese, I really can’t go back to the bag stuff. Let me explain why.

Pre-shredded cheese has a powdery coating that you can avoid by shredding it yourself.

• This coating is generally cellulose, which helps absorb moisture and keep the cheese from caking. Cellulose is derived from plants—and has led to some clickbait headlines about “wood pulp” in your cheese—and is considered safe for eating. Personally, I just don’t like the feel of it. I don’t miss the powdery texture of taking pre-shredded cheese out of the bag and spreading it on food. Shred it yourself, no powdery residue.

You can get more bang for your buck by grating your own cheese.

• It’s not just that cellulose has a texture I don’t like. Cellulose can be used to pad cheese content, so you’re paying for cheaper fillers instead of real cheese. There have even been lawsuits over the mislabeling of shredded cheese. I’m all for convenience, but I really don’t have time to figure out which cheese is filler and which isn’t—another reason I prefer it straight from the block.

Shredding your own cheese means more varieties to choose from.

• Why limit yourself to the handful of cheese mixes that come in a bag? Many supermarkets sell at least half a dozen types of cheddar alone. I’d rather pour over the various varieties of cheese, picking one that sounds delicious, than be stuck with only mild pre-shredded cheddar. For example, I recently made an arugula/walnut/basil pesto pizza with sliced apples, fresh mozzarella, and Trader Joe’s cheddar and gruyere melange. The cheese melted like a charm and was subtle but a bit more interesting than standard bag fare.

In conclusion: get yourself a hand grater, or a box grater, or a rotary grater, or whatever, and shred cheese yourself. The extra few moments of work are probably minimal compared to the boost in quality you will get.