Last year, reader Maggi wrote in a comment:
> But please, if you were comped something, and you feed it to your dog/wouldn’t give it to your worst enemy then do tell us as well. We (as readers) really want to know the good, the bad and the ugly.
So I want to tell you about some free cheese I got.
I’m a big fan of Tillamook cheese. Sure, it’s made in industrial quantities, but it’s from the Oregon coast, and once when I was a kid I visited the factory and spent an hour with my nose pressed against the glass, watching them curdle milk and press the curds together. We keep a two-pound “baby loaf” of Tillamook sharp (or, when we’re feeling flush, white extra sharp) in the fridge at all times and go through it fast.
When Tillamook offered to send me some free cheese, then, I was all over it. Last week, a box arrived with bags of their pre-grated Classic Cheddar Blend and Italian cheeses.
I’ve tried both of them–on English muffin pizzas, grilled cheese, quesadillas, enchiladas, and probably other things I’ve forgotten–and I can’t recommend these cheese blends at all. The flavor is practically nonexistent, and because the shredded cheese is treated with an anticaking agent, the cheese doesn’t cohere and bits fall off a sandwich and onto the hot pan. None of this is worth saving the 60 seconds it takes to grate cheese.
So, to sum up: Tillamook factory tour, recommended. Tillamook Baby Loaf, recommended. Tillamook shredded cheese blends, not recommended.
How do you store your baby loaf? We almost always have one or two in the refrigerator also (sometimes we have local cheese instead), and I store it in gallon ziplocs, which I can only use once–the cheese doesn’t seem to wash off well, and if I don’t wash them the tiny cheese particles from the previous loaf get moldy. So I’m looking for less trashy alternatives.
OhmigoshIloveTillamookCheese.
We used to sell hay to ranchers in that area and they’d bring over the huge 5lb loaves.
It is the ONLY thing to put on grilled cheese, or to use for Mac & Cheese. (Still converting the hubby, who is a ‘blue box’ city-boy)
Wooops!. Now that I see it (six months later) it was supposed to say wouldn’t feed it to your dog. Darn it!
But I am glad you decided to tell us about the Tillamook shredded cheese. See, I’ve been coming over here for a while now and I have come to trust your judgment on such things based on the other pieces written. So even if your review was the complete opposite; I still would have concluded that you were writing your opinion on your own volition and not because it was comped.
So, what did Iris think of it? Most kids I know (mine included) don’t really get too picky over melted cheese…
That extra sharp white cheddar really is quite good… Also, their ice cream is very very good. I had some strawberry at their factory, after the tour.. best I’ve ever had.
Wendy, I store it in a Ziploc. I’m a major Ziploc waster.
I talked to some scientifically-minded folks today who hypothesized that the reason pre-grated cheese is flavorless is that the vastly increased surface area gives it a chance to oxidize. The surface of cut cheese tends to get weird in general, and this is basically all surface.
Ana, I used to get Tillamook ice cream at their ice cream shop in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Great stuff.
We made spicy cream of cheddar last week with a full pound of the aged white. Came out incredible. Also, I combine the “blue box” with the Tilla-mac. Add about a 1/3 cup to your Kraft spiral mac and cheese (while still including the powder). It is really quite good.
I disagree — I actually like the Italian cheese blend. I also dislike grating cheese, though, so that probably makes a difference. I do have a fondness for freshly grated parmigiano reggiano (or however you spell it), but I usually grate that in very small amounts directly onto the food.
Wendy, I use plastic wrap and a rubber band. I like the wider rubber bands, like the ones that come on a bundle of asparagus. The only problem is that my family likes to lose the rubber bands.
Tupperware was selling a cheese keeper a while ago, but they discontinued it before I managed to buy one.
Kathleen, they have like three Italian cheese blends, so it’s possible we’re comparing provolones and mozzarellas.
I store my cheese in large ziplock also, but I wrap it in paper foodwrap first. That seems to contain the cheese bits and allow for ziploc reuse.
Hm, yes, I was thinking of the one in the green bag — which seems to have been discontinued now.