Confession of a (Shake) Cheeseaholic

It’s a well known fact that packaged grated cheese contains wood pulp. Wood pulp keeps the cheese from clumping and is probably labeled as ‘extra fiber’ or something. Gross but true. Admittedly, I have used it in my cooking classes and my home but no more. I do not purchase packaged grated cheese. What do I use instead? Blocks or chunks of cheese that I willing either break up and crumble or risk loosing part of a finger to manually grate. I use a very sharp handheld grater or my food processor for larger jobs. That said, there is one exception to the whole ‘no buying packaged grated cheese’ statement and if you promise not to judge, Dear Readers, I will share my family’s secret addiction. My family loves shake cheese. (The type that comes in a jar.) There. I said it. Whew! This confession of a cheeseaholic feels as though a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but there is nothing like the sharp and salty, granular goodness of shake cheese liberally sprinkled over pizza or pasta or even croutons. Remember, there is never any judging at Mary’s Kitchen.