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

Post by robocat » Mon, Mar 31, 2025, 5:41 PM UTC

hart_russell wrote: post #20

xattt wrote: post #10

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…

"True, fungi cannot survive if its host's internal temperature is over 94 degrees," says Neuman. "Currently, there are no reasons for fungi to evolve to withstand higher temperatures. But what if that were to change? What if, for instance, the world were to get slightly warmer? Now there is reason to evolve."

Post by kube-system » Mon, Mar 31, 2025, 5:45 PM UTC

Suppafly wrote: post #77

0_____0 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if there's a confounding factor here, because that's precisely where I tend to notice it the most. The anticaking agent lends a grainyness to an otherwise smooth foodstuff. Are you thinking more of a cheese sauce, or cheese that gets melted into e.g. a burrito?

My family eats a lot of shredded cheese, pre and home shredded, I've never noticed in anything melted nor in anything where it's only half melted like tacos. Any graininess that might be present would be far offset by the other ingredients, but honestly I've never tasted any graininess. The anticaking stuff isn't even grainy, so why would the resulting cheese be grainy? You can lick a piece of pre-shredded cheese and…

Post by oangemangut » Mon, Mar 31, 2025, 5:47 PM UTC

xattt wrote: post #30

0_____0 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

I have been shredding my own for a while, since it's typically cheaper. It just happened to be that I was feeling lazy one particular day and bags of shredded cheese were on sale.

Post by kube-system » Mon, Mar 31, 2025, 5:50 PM UTC

Suppafly wrote: post #82

kube-system wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> when it's melted in a dish (the thing people typically use it for) There are plenty of dishes that include unmelted shredded cheese. Salads and tacos are extremely common uses of shredded cheese here in the US.

Sure, and I also doubt people's ability to tell the difference in a blind taste comparison. People claiming to do so visually see the anti-caking agent, they don't taste it. It doesn't taste grainy. You can taste a bit of corn starch or cellulose directly and tell that it doesn't taste 'grainy' or even have much of a flavor at all.

Post by bigstrat2003 » Mon, Mar 31, 2025, 5:53 PM UTC

kadoban wrote: post #31

0_____0 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

Yeah, especially for things like cheese sauces I find that it's better to just grate it yourself. It will _not_ melt correctly otherwise, and the additives mess with sauces more than you'd think.