I Washed My Cheese

[@internetshaquille]

Get your first bag free when you subscribe at drinktrade.com/shaquille (thx Trade Coffee for sponsoring xoxo)

[@D6isD6]

I don't use TikTok or Instagram and have KZbin Shorts as nuked from view as possible, so videos like this feel like an Animal Planet special about some obscure deep sea creature I've never heard of.

[@jamessaliba1096]

i use a browser extension that hides shorts altogether

[@Anarcho_Ingsoc]

​@@jamessaliba1096Revanced also has the same setting

[@alexs5394]

I had no idea that was an option! What extension is that?

[@_ten]

there's nothing to do for mobile, right? 😢

[@genjiglove6124]

Commenting here so if anyone does come up with a mobile way to block Shorts I'll know

[@synthiandrakon]

The thing about this is even if it works. I feel like it's no longer more convenient than grating cheese. Pre grated cheese is only convenient under the circumstances that it's in a bag in the fridge you can use instantly and don't have to wash your grater afterwards. The moment there is a second step and now you have wet cheese, and a sieve to clean you'll start wondering why you aren't just grating your own cheese

[@patrickdaitya7084]

Unless I guess, if you don't have a grater?

[@synthiandrakon]

@@patrickdaitya7084 A grater is a 1 or 2 dollar kitchen tool. Its just not worth having a conversation about not having one. they're also super versatile, a dirt cheap box grater can zest a lemon, grate cheese, grate vegtables, and they have a slit on them that does okay as a poor mans madonlin.

[@patrickdaitya7084]

@@synthiandrakon Ofc, but there are some situations where you're without one - temporary kitchen, moving, or as a guest in someone else's place 🤷 if this method did work, it would be a good additional way to achieve the desired end product

[@synthiandrakon]

@@patrickdaitya7084 the method literally needs a sieve, also bagged cheese isn't that bad in the first place, of you're in such a situation where you couldn't possibly have a grater you just use the bagged cheese like a normal person

[@BobbyHill26]

It takes basically as long to wash it and squeeze the water out as it would to grate the cheese, actually faster if you’re doing a big batch, and I don’t have to wash a cheese grater after, which is my least favorite task in the world.

[@morgantremble]

All of the footage of wet cheese is soooooo upsetting to me

[@blairhoughton7918]

It seems weird. But mozzarella is made by washing and forming cheese curd into balls in hot water. In fact, almost all cheese involves a step where it's floating in whey, which is mostly water.

[@W.E.B.DaBoys]

@@blairhoughton7918yeah but I didn’t see that part of the process so that means it didn’t happen

[@OhJustSomeRandomGuy]

So what you're saying is, you want big brands to start selling pre-soaked cheese, so it all comes to you shredded but in tofu-style packaging fully immersed in liquid? Awesome idea!

[@UndertheNeedle282]

😂😂

[@VPCh.]

The ironic part about the "sawdust in cheese" alarmists is that the same people often also claim that modern processed food are inherently dangerous and that we should eat foods closer to what pre-agricultural people ate. Pre-agricultural people would have eaten huge amounts of cellulose compared to us. It's a major component of foods like roots, nuts, fruit, shoots, berries, and similar foods. If anything, eating more insoluble fiber like cellulose is good for the average person eating a modern diet.

[@blairhoughton7918]

Post-agricultural people ate a ton of ground-up dirt in their bread, too. But humans didn't start living to 70+ years on the regular until we invented SPAM. I think the lesson is not to listen to people who rely on extrapolated correlation in lieu of proved causation.

[@DaiyaDoggo]

Shhh you're going to get them angry at you because they're defensive of eating nothing but red meat, saturated fat, and "not processed" refined white starches.

[@tatybara]

how much is big cheese paying you

[@kevinbroberg3504]

Fresh hot take: NEVER buy block cheese, ALWAYS go for the most finely-shredded you can find. It's necessary to support your modern diet with more cellulose like your ancestors ate 🙏

[@KainYusanagi]

@@blairhoughton7918 Someone who misuses age data! Average age of death was so low primarily because of child deaths at or shortly after birth that absolutely crashed it.

[@benbriggsmusic]

I literally put my thumb over the spoiler and giggled like a little kid watching Dora the explorer

[@carl493]

cute

[@1stdragon123]

i strive to embody the pure whimsy you exude.

[@benbriggsmusic]

@@1stdragon123 being creative is always just a split second decision away!!

[@evanboyd3847]

Spoiler no spoiling

[@andsterlastname7905]

Same!

[@americanbagel]

I appreciate that you always say your sponsor "payed to be at the end of this video." It just makes the business feel so much more transparent and obvious to the viewer.

[@shabustinkslol]

I worked at a couple of cheese factories. They made and shredded cheese, mostly for pizza chains but also for home consumers. Also string cheeses. The cellulose in any given recipe is .25% for 'premium' blends to .80% in a more typical cheese blend for a major pizza chain. You also have to add 'control' for dust control at the shredders, which is just regular filtered water. This was typically another .15%-.30%. So all in, you're looking at maybe 1.25% by weight of cellulose and control in your bag of shredded cheese at home. In a standard 8oz bag of cheese that 1/10th of an ounce of cellulose and control. You're really not going to taste or feel much of a difference with 1.25% added cellulose. It's not going to effect your melt either - every single pizza chain is using the cheese produced from like 3-4 companies produced at a couple dozen different mozzarella plants in the USA (assuming you live in the USA), and they all have EXTREMELY specific and tight standards for the melting and burning points for cheese that they use. If you have problems with the melt of your preshredded cheese, check to see what kinds of cheese are actually in it... cheddars for example don't melt as well as a mozz or a muenster (the two most common components of your standard pizza cheese). Whole milk vs part skim makes a difference too. Whole milk will melt faster because of the additional fat in the cheese, although I think in most cases people actually prefer the taste of part skim... the additional milk fat present in whole milk cheese kind of flattens some of the tangy notes that are in part skim. And for what it's worth, myself and most other people I worked with in different departments still used pre shredded cheese 9/10 times because it's just a lot more convenient and the difference in taste and melting properties was nearly indistinguishable. When I'm making something nice like a lasagna from scratch I might opt for the block and shred it myself though, just because I don't necessarily know the 'days in bag' of the preshredded stuff. If I'm going all out I want something as fresh as possible, but the cellulose doesn't really factor into that decision.

[@brianwelch1579]

Mozzarella is made with citric acid added to the milk, the resulting calcium citrate stays dissolved and keeps the cheese from separating the oil. This is why it melts so nicely compared to many other cheeses. If your mozza's moisture has all dried off in the bag (I never preshred) you can benefit from adding some but there seems to be a limit to how much you can rehydrate the cheese. Assuming your cheese is in fact cheese and not some adulterated product. It's too bad USA cheese package labelling is so shit, here in Canada they label the package with the (as packed) moisture and protein contents so you can pick a cheese that will work well. I find 52% / 28 % like the Saputo mozzarellisma is very good. But the cheap No Name light mozza works if you add a little moisture.

[@McShag420]

Maybe it's just the small amount of cellulose or other additives, but pre-shredded DEFINITELY cooks different on the stovetop different than regular cheese block cheese, IE making a grilled cheese sandwich trying to get a crust around it. It bubbles far more and doesn't stay cohesive while melting.

[@ElijsDima]

Maaan, food producers just LOVE adding sawdust to everything, don't they?

[@Megasteel32]

@@McShag420 skill issue

[@Megasteel32]

@@ElijsDima you misread the comment

[@coachsteve.]

I don't understand how buying shredded cheese and then washing it would ever be more convienient then just grating your own cheese.

[@ashleya3236]

For most people, yes. For the sake of spreading awareness... Aspects of a task that seem equivalent to most people can be very, very different to someone with executive dysfunction. It might not even be the act of shredding; it could be cleaning the grater or buying the cheese.

[@blairhoughton7918]

This. So the only corner-case left is, you're making emergency quesadillas and all you have is your wife's pre-shredded stash.

[@user-bz3kd2mt3u]

maybe if you can only find the cheese you want preshredded

[@locoben400]

Could have a lot of cheese to shred

[@DomWood]

@@ashleya3236 as someone who exists in a complex, fraught and sometimes intimate relationship with my cheese grater I must thank you for this post

[@glizzgoblin]

The journalism we needed thank you Shaquille

[@stefanristicmovies]

in britain, a company started making “pizza cheese”, which is just shredded mozzarella but in bigger chunks to reduce the caking agent, unfortunately i don’t think it’s been very popular because i’ve only seen it in shops maybe twice before the advertising across the country slowly disappeared, but that seemed to perfectly fill the gap and i was really excited to get a pack lol

[@IjeomaThePlantMama]

I already knew this vid was coming, but I still am very entertained. Pomodoro hive, rise up 🙌🏿🙌🏿

[@pdfbanana]

the only dairy rinsing i do is in fancy cocktails like papa shaq taught me

[@siiiiiiiiiimo]

❤ papa shaq Boyyyy

[@kieran.grant_]

I thought that's what this video was going to be about, never in a thousand years would I have thought it was about actually putting your cheese through the spin cycle

[@stpyramids]

The "cellulose = sawdust" thing is especially ridiculous because it's not like we don't eat other things made from trees. Cinnamon is tree bark! I firmly believe that 1) cheese quality 2) moisture content and 3) shred size are far bigger influences on the melting quality of bagged cheese than the presence of anti-clumping powder. I've had crappy super fine shred "Mexican blend" cheese that absolutely refused to melt properly. It wasn't dustier than similar cheese that melted well, but it was noticeably drier and chewier. Online food talkers sometimes act like bagged cheese will never melt! It's especially strange when they say this in the context of a cheese sauce that uses a starch (e.g. mornay sauce). The biggest problem with bagged cheese isn't the powder, it's just that it limits you to a pretty narrow range of low-moisture cheeses. I will never hand shred mild cheddar or jack for a late-night quesadilla, but if I'm making a grilled cheese or a mac and cheese I want more options.

[@alexh4935]

Yes, that is the annoying thing about most food influencers. “Ditch this convenient, cheap thing you do to give yourself sustenance and swap it for these expensive ingredients and time-consuming preparations! It’s sooo much better!” No duh. You can put more time and money into recipes and they will taste better. And I do for special occasions. But sawdust shredded cheese is fine for my kid’s quesadilla that will probably be dipped in ketchup. Microwave sausage is fine for a breakfast that I will be eating before my taste buds have even come online for the day. And bottled dressing on bagged salad is better than not eating a vegetable at all. Sometimes meals are feasts and the goal is conviviality and delight. Sometimes food is just a means of getting energy into your body.

[@kinseylise8595]

@@alexh4935 Your mention of salad dressing reminded me, we truly are living in a great era for prepared foods in some ways. I have a lot of non negotiable dietary needs (my medical issues are probably a major source of people claiming vegetable oils are always poison lol) and I've been finding more and more things I can eat in stores over time. As a kid I was constantly vomiting every time my mom bought premade ANYTHING and the soy/vegetable oil/miscellaneous other ingredient would be in here for no reason and cause me a problem. Most prepared foods still have this issue but I keep discovering new options. There are TWO brands of avocado oil based dressings in my cheap chain grocery store now. They have packaged spring mix that doesn't rot for a week! Their jars of unflavored instant oats don't have any additives that make me sick, just processed oats! They even have A2 milk AND an A2 yogurt (not a dietary requirement, I just want to support the industry moving in that direction). I really hope people continue to show interest in alternatives like this. It has been so nice to be able to replace making every single thing from raw ingredients with a few convenient mixes. I'll still cook my own meals for the most part, but I really do not miss making to make salad dressings or only having one option for bread.

[@aolson1111]

@@alexh4935 Bagged shredded cheese is more expensive than the block.

[@loganswafford]

Even if washing cheese got it back to the level of hand-grated, the major benefit of pre-bagged is convenience. If I'm going to have to add a step and wash something in order to enjoy cheese, grating it will always win out.

[@derekiscool]

one of your best vids in a while. you’ve been on a hot streak recently but i really like this one. it’s a healthy mix of “scripted shaq sermon” and your unscripted personality. i’m a self-shred head til death but that thick cut stuff for burritos or what-have you is the certified netshaq tip you keep coming back for.

[@eashanshenai4980]

Why I Wash My Cheese, NOT My Cutting Board

[@jessl1934]

Rising your pre-grated bagged cheese is a perfect technique for people who want convenience but not *that* much convenience 🤭

[@jordanloux3883]

No. Because you still need to wait for it all to dry, and that means separating all the shreds after they've been washed together, and making sure that none of the cheese sticks to whatever surface you put it on to let it dry. And you can't use an oven or anything because that would just pre-melt everything. It is SO much more time consuming.

[@blairhoughton7918]

I think trying to clean cheese crust out of a strainer is going to be 10 times the trouble cleaning cheese crust out of a grater is. Plus now I have to wash a towel and explain my bizarre behavior to the missus. "But Shaq said..."

[@Zegathra]

5:45 honestly, if I shred my own cheese it's going to pickup some wood dust from my beloved and beat up wood cutting board. Kind of a wash for me on the saw dust issue.

[@toddman22410]

Get a new cutting board man

[@maxpagan635]

all those pomodoro streams paid off, new shaq vid lets go

[@timseguine2]

Even though I can tell the difference, I still use bagged cheese when I am feeling lazy AF. And even being in the target audience for this "hack", washing pre-grated cheese seems like more work than grating cheese. Also even thinking about the texture of wet cheese makes me gag a little.

[@blairhoughton7918]

Just pretend it's in a really light salad dressing.

[@TheRupertmcgee]

I always get pre-shredded just because that's what works for me right now and for the most part or works just fine. If it gets mixed into any kind of wet ingredients before cooking or baking it usually works perfectly. I sometimes mix it with a small amount of ricotta for certain recipes, like a cheese melt on top of a chicken parm or the crust of a stuffed crust or cheesey bread or the top of lasagna. Might not work for everyone but works for me! And i tend to mix it with a little milk when I'm going to make mac which works like washing but less work. I've been curious about straight up washing it but that felt like a lot of extra steps and dishes compared to just doing what i already do. Glad to know it's not worth it!

[@Sugar3Glider]

4:10 the experience of the food goes a long way

[@srivatsajoshi4028]

should I be proud that I didn't get the baby head thing you said at the end?

[@internetshaquille]

Absolutely

[@blairhoughton7918]

This is a club I'm happy to be in.

[@ALIVE-Company]

Another banger, good work shaq

[@hanflingch]

Imho the only potential difference may come when you actually use the cheese on top, so it gets browned. Starch, which is common as anti caking agent will speed up browing and gets off a bit of an off taste when browned. Either way, I don't see how washing and drying cheese is in any way faster or less work compared to grating.

[@comradeolive]

loved the video as per usual, my only gripe is that grating your own cheese isn't necessarily cheaper. i spend about half as much on cheese as when i used to grate my own simply because i can buy the cheapest stuff possible. if i'm buying a block, i find the great value stuff way too soft to slice or grate so i end up buying tillamook because its actually grate-able. now that i buy pre sliced and pre bagged i can tolerate the great value stuff which is still cheaper than a block of cheese i could stand to grate myself

[@bryanliang3232]

the tragic thing about misinformation is that its quicker to lie than to disprove said lie. but thanks for doing your part, shaq!

[@gingganggoolie]

We always used to grate cheese into a big tub, and use it through the week. I'd definitely recommend it, no anti-caking powder, low effort. You do have to keep an eye out for condensation though, wet cheese is revolting

[@evanbelcher]

The one thing I will say (as a non-cheese-washer) is I feel like a Quesadilla is a pretty bad use case for washing. I feel like the sweet spot is something like mac & cheese where you would often add water anyway (in the form of milk & pasta water) and would have time to cook off any extra moisture. So like washing cheese and using it in mac & cheese with evaporated milk could make some sense to me. That would be a more interesting test imo - I feel like bagged un-washed might perform worse there as well.

[@KaitouKaiju]

If you're adding water and starch anyway there's no point in washing because the starch will emulsify everything

[@realitymuzic357]

Love your content brotha. So articulate, informative, genuine and clever!

[@ASBooysen]

You can also grate a big chunk at once and keep it in a container in the fridge, it doesn't actually stick together too much I find and will keep a few days/a week!

[@Furluge]

Thanks for the video. I used to be all about shredding, got the food processor, but for me I've found it's been easier to freeze shredded cheese for most of my purposes. And when I need cheese I go and buy it in large 5 pound bags at Restraunt Depot. That's been very good for mozzarella as I can find a better quality mozz there than at the local grocery. Speaking of for pizzas, I'm pretty sure A LOT of pizzerias are using the bagged stuff. That Restraunt Depot has to be selling all his bagged mozz designed for pizza to someone. They do have some block cheese there, but it's all more expensive than the pre-shredded and it's there is not as much availability. (BTW if you ever go there for pizza cheese I recommend their blend of mozzarella and provolone. I a sampling of all the cheese they had, including some saputo brand cheese, but their house brand mozz prov proved to be my favorite. I'm still going through all that cheese....)

[@reallyreason6354]

When I grate cheddar, swiss, or monterey jack from a block I almost never use the hand grater, but use the grating attachment for my food processor and grate a whole block at a time. I'll dust what I'm not using right away with a small amount of potato or corn starch before storing in the refrigerator so that it doesn't cake together. Basically making the bagged product from the remainder of the block. I've never been able to notice a difference from the small amount of starch in the cheese when using it a second or third time. This does save a small amount of money but I do it mostly because I just kind of like doing it, and maybe just to psychologically justify not buying bagged cheese I feel you get a slightly better product from blocks of cheese than you do from pre-shredded cheese.

[@mandobrownie]

This is the one and only time in my whole span of watching cooking content that I can truthfully say I’ve discovered everything in this video on my own years ago. Still a great video for those who don’t wanna try and fail like I did!

[@heidimorlock496]

I happily watch all the way through to the end of the ads for the privilege of enjoying such solid content. Thank you!

[@lucagacy]

I've used this trick in exactly one scenario: making pizza when I only have pre shredded mozz. I did my own control test between not washing and washing from the same bag, and while it doesn't really impact the flavor, although there was a slightly burnt starchy flavor from the unwashed, the main impact was it melting evenly. The unwashed look like that cafeteria pizza you got in high school where you still see the individual strands while the washed looked like a normal pizza. I also much prefer shredding/slicing my own but sometimes you gotta use what you have available.

[@steveandrews6635]

This is the only channel I still find myself coming back to regularly, thank you for not selling out

[@mattholwood]

Came for the Burrito tricks, stayed for down to earth wholesome and awesome cooking guides.

[@clownform]

i'm glad you did it shaq. phimosis is a big potential issue especially if you regularly come within 5 feet of seed oil auras

[@jxslayz6663]

You are authentic and evolving dude. Good stuff.

[@blairhoughton7918]

Fourth choice: Block cheese, but you grate and bag it yourself when you get the chance (like first time you need grated, you just do the whole thing). Haven't tested it, but I suspect a fridge standing still doesn't make it clump as bad as truck transport in a big pile in a box plus frequent temperature changes.

[@synthiandrakon]

I don't do this specifically, but i grate cheese often and will have more than i need and so put the leftovers in a tub in the fridge and it doesn't keep very long once grated compared to the bagged stuff. Like if you grate cheese and put it in the fridge, the second day its in there it'll already taste funky.

[@stpyramids]

I would be very surprised if this didn't spoil faster. Cheese molds on the surface. More surface area = quicker spoilage.

[@thequietpart_]

SO glad this was some weird trend and not a clickbait based on a… pun using innuendo that I don’t understand? Idk what I was expecting, but this was great! I loved the change to form (or at least according to my experience of the typical IS video), and what a great sell that you took the due diligence several steps past the debunking article!

[@nomaloney]

I have a sensitivity to a mold inhibitor that's on most pre-shredded cheese but rinsing it sounds like more effort than just grating a block

[@saiforos7928]

I'd consider a sprinkle of sodium citrate, which makes the cheese melt and overcoming the caking agent. It's just a salt, no effect on taste, works extremely well

[@cyndrick7373]

I made a big batch of mac & cheese for a gathering and had to use pre shredded cheese to get it done in time, it melts just fine as is every time and the entire 2-gallon pot was nearly emptied in an hour

[@hannahv7846]

The fact that other people are aware of baby head and goblin head and it’s not just some obscure part of the internet I’ve found myself on is crazy

[@blairhoughton7918]

I'm already regretting hearing that they exist.

[@derpzbruh]

i didnt know the names but ive seen some crazy people who think everything is poison in the grocery stores on tiktok

[@iykury]

i've never heard of them before watching this, fwiw :P

[@gregraj]

​@@iykurysame

[@Nswix]

Also don't know what it is, which as I get older I now count as a win...

[@taryn295]

Solution for convenience!! Shred and freeze it. Buy a block of cheese (cheaper), keep it in the fridge until you have some free time, then sit down w/ tv or a podcast or whatever and shred the whole thing. Keep it in an airtight bag in the freezer and it'll last forever (no mold), be ready whenever (just whack the bag to break it apart if it clumps), and its not... wet.

[@flcon16]

Grocery brand brick, shredded, and sliced cheeses are often the same price per pound. I usually go for slices. I can use them for sandwiches, or I can tear or crumble them based on hardness as a replacement for shredded. I've also found them less mold prone than shredded. Best of all worlds.

[@anthonys1070]

It makes a noticeable difference when you actually need the cheese to dissolve or melt quickly. Nuking cheddar in the microwave to make a quesadilla is a pretty generous test, if that's your use case it should be fine. It's extremely noticeable if you're using a hard cheese like parmesan and you want need it to melt into a smooth sauce.

[@UndertheNeedle282]

The whole point of using pre-shredding bagged cheese is easy of use. So if I have to wash it and let it dry then what's the point. As for mac and cheese you melt the cheese in the milk. So the cellular shouldn't be an issue. If you're sprinkling grated cheese in your mac and cheese then you're doing it wrong.

[@remainingembers]

I never had the melting issue with shredded Sargento cheese. I did when we got the super cheap store brand cheese, which clearly had more of a powdery appearance than the Sargento we get. Washing it is wild to me haha.

[@Jeff-tt7wj]

I didn’t know this was a thing, would never have considered doing it, and still would never consider doing it after watching this video regardless of the outcome. 10/10 quality content.

[@allonszenfantsjones]

Totally off topic but I love to keep shredded butter in the freezer. It makes great pie dough or whatever else you need bits o butter for 🤪

[@chilljess]

so glad i found this channel! thank u Drew Gooden. now we gotta get this guy on Mythical

[@tom_something]

Without going through this trial myself, I can still see how the added water from rinsing might undermine the cellulose rinsing intention. There's so much surface area. Maybe you can rinse the shredded cheese and then pat it down or centrifuge to get the water off, but then you'd've undermined the convenience margin of pre-shredded cheese. Time- and money-wise, you'd be better off shredding your own cheaper block cheese and cleaning the grater while the quesadilla cooks.

[@sandwich2473]

Non grated is cheaper where you are? I buy my cheese at the supermarket and for each type of cheese, it's the same price per 100g regardless if it's block, sliced, or grated

[@Khyrberos]

Huh! Thanks for this; hadn't heard of the trend, but I am definitely struggling with the "block/bagged" debate in my home so this helps.

[@Prospitfox]

Idk if quesadillas are a good test for this at all - the real difference that i have personally seen is when making cheese sauces, the unrinsed cheese does not fully incorporate. Quesadillas wouldn’t have that issue.

[@BobbyHill26]

I came up with this idea on my own years ago and only ever did it for my pizzas, it made them prettier, the cheese was more gooey and melted, and I got better caramelization. I never saw a difference worth the effort for anything else and it only added maybe 30 seconds to the process which is about as long as it would take to grate the cheese, but I don’t have to wash a cheese grater, which is the worst thing in the world imo. Now I just buy a nice fresh mozzarella only for pizzas, it’s a bit more money but it tastes better and is more convenient. Everything else gets Kroger preshredded mozz though

[@MereZen]

For the experiment you didn't use much cheese which could have made the bagged and fresh grated taste similar. But I definitely notice a difference if you were say to make an entire pizza with preshredded. It's more tough than fresh grated.

[@grape_salad]

Thank you for not making the taste test/experiment/explanation take 45+ minutes, seriously!

[@internetshaquille]

What would I even say for that long??

[@mattruscio]

I personally use both bagged and shred my own depending on the use. Isn’t the point of bagged cheese the convenience? So, for me, washing removes the whole point of convenience by adding a step

[@JacobTemplar]

The vegetable oils scaremongering online is insane

[@blackomega34]

It's actually part of the right wing disinfo sphere, an evolution of the whole 'soy has estrogen in it it will make your pp small' nonsense. It caters to mens' anxiety and doesn't meaningfully address the problem of ultra-processed foods.

[@Fralleee]

I think the biggest issue with pre-shredded cheese is when it’s used on pizza. Since it's drier, it tends to burn before the dough has a chance to fully cook. You don't really have this issue with a quesadilla.

[@stpyramids]

Yeah, pizza is the one use where I've really noticed bagged cheese being noticeably worse than non-bagged. I hate shredding mozzarella, though, I just slice it.

[@bloodgain]

The cellulose in pre-shredded cheese is almost entirely a red herring. People claim it'll ruin your cheese sauce, then in their instructions, the step after shredding the cheese is to toss it with some kind of starch. As you found in your own blind test, it's very difficult to find any difference even in a lot of uses where the cheese is a main player, like a quesadilla (cheese/queso is in the name!). Most people can't tell even on something like nachos where the cheese is on full display. Pre-shredded cheese is bad on pizza, but that has little to do with the cellulose. Low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella is just not a good pizza cheese -- or in my opinion, good for anything. But for most good uses of low moisture cheeses, you'll find little difference in the end product compared to grating your own off the block of the same brand and style of cheese. When cheese is the star, you should be using better cheese, period. Use Gruyere or Emmental, not a block of generic "Swiss cheese". The main reason to shred your own grocery store grade cheese is because it's often cheaper by the block when you need a lot of it at once. Another reason to buy pre-shredded cheese is that it usually contains a food-safe mold inhibitor. If you don't expect to use it up right away, it'll stay good weeks longer than a block once opened. That multiplies the convenience factor.

[@zachpw]

Well I wonder if washing the cheese would make a bigger difference in something like mac and cheese. On second thought, why is a little cellulose so bad in a cheese sauce? I feel like at worst it would be nominally grainy, but I don’t think it would interfere with emulsion.

[@gooseum]

hahahah the post-sponsor block "Subscribe." right at the end was so funy

[@Tychades]

6:13 Level Head is my hero (nice, _tonypindc fist pump, thanks Shaq)

[@doctaflo]

6:07 - okay, someone let the rest of us in on “baby head” and “goblin head”

[@blairhoughton7918]

No clue. But have you heard of this new trend called "googling"?

[@eashanshenai4980]

Yes please

[@durden1563]

They are just these “influencers” who go to places like Costco and tell you what not to get and a better substitute for that item. They are both goofy looking and people started calling them those names. They don’t care though, they just lean into it for the engagement. Be aware though that isn’t completely what they are called. There is a word that starts with an N that follows head, so if you go look them up you will see them referred to as BHN not BH most of the time. As they have gotten more popular it’s common to drop the last part so that they can be referred to more casually.

[@durden1563]

Also, they are the types that basically say, never eat a seed oil, only eat grass fed meat and raw cheese, blah blah blah. Baby Head might still be in high school but looks like she hasn’t had a gram of protein in her life..

[@doctaflo]

@@durden1563 thankyoumuch!

[@jessisanchez8150]

A manager at a restaurant I used to work at used to add cornstarch to shredded cheese to "add" volume and be cost-efficient, but the end product was terrible, the cheese was dry and had no stretch.

[@fizz0514]

Not that I agree with it as a practice, I've never washed cheese. But the only time I've seen people recommend washing cheese (and the only time it has potentially made sense to me) is as it pertains to something like mac and cheese, where you're trying to make a cheese sauce. I've tried to make a cheese sauce with pre shred because I had it on hand, and it was a complete failure. Maybe I was doing something wrong in my own process, but I'd be more interested to see you test these in a sauce environment rather than just a plain cheese on tortilla. Love your videos though, thanks for the info!

[@katiakominski432]

In my country they grate the cheese in place at the store, so it's going to be "fresh" grated cheese anyways. Idk maybe it clumps a little but I never had a problem just pulling it apart with my hands.

[@generalreign3483]

didn't need to watch more than 15 seconds, but I did. Well done sir. Love that you're not a snob and still say you're gonsta use bagged cheese. I get it's not as good, but the snobs who are like YOU SHOUJLD NEVER like bruh im just tryna get a quick 30g for my scrambie i don't wanna make a mess, tastes cheesy enough for me

[@ramelchilds7416]

My gf and I are the same way about cheese, she likes shredded for ease, I like block bc i like cutting it and its better for melting

[@KingSulley]

I don't buy bagged cheese anymore because the cost per gram is just too high compared to a big block, but washing it is just madness

[@lexotansteele2755]

I think the anti-caking agent really makes a difference when you're supposed to brown the cheese (like on pizza), not just melting it.

[@elliotkamper]

Sick burn Thank you for providing an oasis among the chaos of food on the web

[@batesjernigan1773]

This is why I subscribe. This is the promise of clickbait made manifest. Never change Shaq

[@SuperDarkerSonic]

wow I was not expecting a baby head and goblin head call out this is the content I subscribed for

[@DeRien8]

I get so frustrated that where I live, bagged cheese is cheaper per pound than block cheese. Growing up, block cheese was totally cheaper. It also doesn't spoil as fully or easily. If there's a spot of mold on a block, you can cut it off pretty easily. If you get mold in bagged shredded, it will be so spread throughout you can't really get it out.

[@thechicken1477]

What if you're making a mornay? Would it stop the sauce from becoming grainy if you washed it?

[@O2life]

In my opinion the natamycin in most shredded cheese is the main reason to avoid it. Natamycin is an antifungal that would be perfectly fine, except for the fact that its overuse has led to natamycin-resistant strains of two common and several less common types of infectious fungus. We should keep natamycin out of the food supply and out of our bodies unless we need it to combat a nasty infection.

[@stefanristicmovies]

loved this video, really channeling your inner j kenji lopez alt approach to cooking instruction lol

[@dressmaking]

yes except Shaq *edits* his videos

[@Marklar3]

What if you're making a queso dip though? It seems like the anti-caking might hinder that process more, and if it behaves more like American cheese, wouldn't that be good for a queso?

[@jixs4v]

I'm sure it might interfere with stuff like browning though, right? Like, of course if you're just melting cheese it won't matter but my understanding is that when you're making something like pizza, the main problem with pre-shredded is that the anti-caking agents in it don't let it brown properly. I can't actually get low-moisture block mozzarella here so being able to use pre-shredded would be nice.

[@river_brook]

given that the primary debate is over washing cheese with water, the primary question to consider is whether waterlogged cheese would also have issues with browning heh from a cursory search, i found a paper suggesting that starch-based anticaking agents make cheese brown faster compared to cellulose and no anticaking agents; does "properly" mean "consistently" maybe?

[@BobbyHill26]

@@river_brookI washed my cheese for pizzas for years before I started buying a nice fresh mozzarella and it definitely melted more smoothly and looked prettier and caramelized better if I washed my cheese instead of using it straight from the bag

[@jixs4v]

@@river_brook yeah, to avoid burning and such. You could probably leave waterlogged cheese to dry but i guess it kind of defeats the purpose.

[@whatahoot1185]

Lovin the presentation on this one big dog

[@antongunther3977]

if you are taking the time to wash cheese you might as well just shred normal cheese. I mean the amount of things you have to clean after is going to be the same anyways (strainer vs grater).

[@sarahdaestrela6098]

I'd be curious if this experiment would play out similarly if you're using shredded cheese in, say, a cheese sauce, where the starch might play more of an active role in the chemistry of the recipe?

[@chaal_upaa]

I believe block cheese has more time and area to oxidize, which could lead to that twang?

[@blairhoughton7918]

Most likely it's just that the bag cheese and the block cheese weren't from the same original block of cheese, so they're not the same intrinsically, and would have tasted different regardless of further processing.

[@Thee_Sinner]

I’m so glad I despise the new short form content.. thank you for being the way you are.

[@MultiDan112]

Is the anti caking in America something super fake/gross? In England It’s just potato starch I believe which doesn’t reaaally make much difference to anything

[@James-ek3mb]

This was a weird little detour but I'm glad I can continue on my merry way. Thanks Shaq!

[@TehPwnographer]

Hit that whisky whisky!

[@salli4588]

I shred my own b/c I like using better tasting cheese. It's the difference in taste that matters.

[@whyattn]

Thanks again Shaq. Respect.

[@ddewittfulton]

If the point of preshreds is convenience, i.e. not working as much on food prep, doesn't washing cheese add a time consuming step? Among other things, there is now another cleanup step as you have to commit to. (It makes me wonder if now now if the life hack folks who started this will recommended washing the shreds in milk now!). Another problem with the bagged stuff is that it is a bit more challenging to note when there is mold growth. With a block you instantly see if and can cut it off. But in a bag it could be pretty well-mixed in, and if you are buying one of those CostCo pillowcases of shreds I would think that would be more exponential issue. Nonetheless, I appreciate our host's pragmatism. I suspect if I had to make a party's work of a food time wherein cheese was in the repertoire rather than the featured cast, I go for the bag 'o moz.

[@vexxecon]

Pick your battles. If I'm making a quesadilla in my boxers at 2am, bagged cheese is great! If I'm making a Mac and cheese from scratch? Shredded by hand every time.

[@jonahrichardson582]

If people are worried about wood pulp in cheese wait till they find out where cinnamon comes from

[@PokeBallerLuke]

MY IRONIC COMMENT MADE IT INTO THE VIDEO!!!! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[@PokeBallerLuke]

I hope it was obvious it was a joke, I don’t want to be associated with the seed oil meal prep alarmist fake alpha bros

[@Leto_0]

You probably mean sarcastic

[@PokeBallerLuke]

@@Leto_0 tru