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It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018)

(www.thephcheese.com)
406 points ilikepi | 7 comments | 31 Mar 25 14:49 UTC | HN request time: 0.68s | source | bottom
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xattt ◴[31 Mar 25 15:20 UTC] No.43536057[source]▶
Tangential, but I recently noticed that natamycin, an antifungal agent, is being used in packages of shredded cheese as a preservative.

I was a little taken aback on seeing it, given that antibiotic stewardship has been pushed so much in the last decade.

I realize that natamycin is an antifungal and not an antibiotic, and that mechanisms of developing resistance are likely different between eukaryotes and prokaryotes. However, I’m still somewhat concerned what long-term low-level exposure will mean.

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0_____0 ◴[31 Mar 25 15:48 UTC] No.43536380[source]▶
Tangent on tangent - in addition to the antifungal there is also anticaking agent (nothing crazy, often some type of flour) that noticeably changes the mouthfeel of cheeses that come pre-shredded. If you notice a grainy texture in your food, try grating it off a brick instead!
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astura ◴[31 Mar 25 16:05 UTC] No.43536574[source]▶
People are super religious about this but I've never been able to tell pre-shredded cheese from cheese I've shredded myself and I don't think anyone else can tell the difference in a blind taste test.
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parliament32 ◴[31 Mar 25 16:27 UTC] No.43536839[source]▶
Perhaps the best example is parmesan. You should buy a small brick and shred it, then compare to the Kraft tube we all know -- the difference is massive.
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1. craftkiller ◴[31 Mar 25 17:00 UTC] No.43537204[source]▶
I've had both and I'm going to have to disagree with you here. For the other cheeses, buying a brick is always the right choice. For parmesan, if its going on pasta I'm picking the green plastic tube of presumably mostly filler 100% of the time. Brick parm lacks the proper texture and has too strong of a flavor. Green tube mystery powder I can pour onto my pasta in mounds that then absord the butter making a soft delicious wet sand. Sometimes if I'm looking for a snack I just pour the green tube mystery powder directly into my mouth.
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2. 0_____0 ◴[31 Mar 25 17:20 UTC] No.43537420[source]▶
This, I think, is a case of Different Thing Same Name.

The same way that coffee runs the gamut between the gnarliest of instant coffees to 3rd wave single-origin craft brews. Almost every step of the production chain is different, and while they're all technically coffee, they're basically different products, that get enjoyed in different contexts. Weirdly, I enjoy a 80s style black coffee when I'm at the greasy spoon around the corner - it just feels right.

Your Green Tube Mystery Powder is a product sold under a name that is probably technically correct (Parmesan) but the "real thing" is a product that behaves completely differently and doesn't meet your wants or needs.

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3. bigstrat2003 ◴[31 Mar 25 17:58 UTC] No.43537815[source]▶
> Brick parm lacks the proper texture and has too strong of a flavor.

That's exactly why I use Parmesan from a block of cheese. It has so much more flavor, and I find that far superior. That doesn't make you wrong, of course... taste is subjective. Just thought it was funny that we have opposite views on the stronger flavor.

4. ◴[31 Mar 25 18:07 UTC] No.43537905[source]▶
5. bityard ◴[31 Mar 25 18:49 UTC] No.43538361[source]▶
I'll buy parm wedges if I'm making a sauce or salad dressing, but where/when I grew up, you weren't living unless you dumped at least a half cup of Green Tube Mystery Powder on top of your plate of spaghetti.
6. kelnos ◴[31 Mar 25 19:03 UTC] No.43538526[source]▶
Huh, that's funny. I love the flavor and texture of parm from a brick. I am usually far too lazy to grate my own though, and do use the pre-grated stuff often. But on the occasion where I do grate my own, or am in a restaurant where it's done for me, I resolve to grate it myself more often.

This is all just a matter of taste, though. Sounds like maybe you grew up with the green tube mystery powder, and developed a liking for it, and that's "parm" for you. You never developed a taste for the "real" stuff, and that's fine! We all like what we like, and no one should tell us that we're liking it wrong. (I, too, grew up with the green tube mystery powder, but my tastes changed. It happens.)

> Sometimes if I'm looking for a snack I just pour the green tube mystery powder directly into my mouth.

This made me chuckle; I used to do the same thing when I was a kid (despite the disapproving look from my mother). I've tried it as an adult though, and now I don't like it (not quite "gross", but not something I enjoy).

7. crazygringo ◴[31 Mar 25 19:19 UTC] No.43538704[source]▶
Totally agree. Green tube powder is awesome on cheap pizza and cheap pasta.

Real parm is awesome shaved in salads, mixed in fancy pasta or risotto, etc.

But they are as different as cheddar and mozzarella. They taste nothing alike.