My mom told me that her nutritionist told her that the shredded cheese has chemicals in it to keep it from sticking together so to always buy bar cheese and shred it herself. I had never heard that before so was wondering if anyone else does this?

Shredded cheese has cellulose in it. I always buy block cheese and shred myself. It has a better texture and it's a little cheaper.

I didn't know that. I have some shredded cheese in my refrigerator and it does list cellulose (to prevent caking).t is way down on the list of ingredients so guess there is not much, but still, it is there. Guess that is my last purchase of shredded cheese.

Often, they'll include potato starch as well. It's a very small amount, but enough to trigger a food allergy if someone isn't aware.

Makes sense to me. For years I have refused to buy sliced singles cheese.

If you look at any package of individually wrapped s sliced cheese it says "Cheese Product" the sliced cheese that is not individually wrapped is labeled "Cheese" I never wanted a cheese product, I want cheese.

Now I will have to closely read shredded cheese packages to see what is in them. The makers are sneaky they never tell us all the facts.

Larry

At some point good enough is good enough. Are you willing to take the extra step of shredding the cheese yourself? (Remember, not all of us live in the land of big kitchens and dishwashers. Some of us ARE the dishwashers.) Would you eat more if the cheese were cut-able into a chunk to munch on?

That explains a lot of things that go wrong with delicate cheese sauces when made with pre-packaged shreds - thanks!

Shishkeberry - I LOVE the Hyperbole blog! "Sneaky Hate Spiral" is my favorite entry.

I also have sliced cheese in my refrigerator I just checked it out, I don't see anywhere that it says chese product, it says cheese, maybe it depends on the brand , I use Sargento, and I think Kraft is not worth buying.
My shredded cheese is Sargento, also and it does admit to adding cellulose. I think I can rely on Sargento to be realtively truthful.

You won't find any major pre-shredded cheese brand without SOMETHING to keep it from clumping. I shred my own cheese from blocks, and it clumps up within a day or two.

If you want non-clumpy, starch free shredded cheese, you pretty much have to shred it yourself as needed.

Isn't it crazy how we never knew these things? Makes me feel a little dumb.

THIS! Yeah, I don't have time to continuously shred my own cheese. I'll continue to buy my shredded cheese and American cheese slices and other chemically-enhanced food. Thank you very much.

Is yours individually wrapped? Those are the ones that say cheese product.

Larry

The little wrapped processed cheese slices are what you're referring to.

Real cheese does come in slices too - at the deli, sargento, etc. I shred my own cheese, but I don't buy blocks to slice for sandwiches because my cutting skills are shoddy

Not individually wrapped.

Yes. And I do. The cellulose makes the cheese feel gross in my mouth.