Cheeze Graters?

[GWN7]

With the revelation that most powdered Parmesan cheese in North America is mixed with wood fibers I've started to grate my own. I've got the standard 4 sided stainless one, but it's not very good. Who recommends what for grating?

[dafischer]

The four sided stainless one works great when you need to grate a mass quantity of cheese for a recipe you're making, but for serving at the table, one of these does the job.



We've had one for about 15 yrs., and it works well. Load it up with some fresh cut Parmesan or Romano, and bring it to the table so everyone can dispense as much cheese as they want, with no mess.

What is this pre-grated cheese you speak of?

[Cooper911SC]

^^^^^^What he said. 😁
We have a great Italian Mom and Pop grocery 3 blocks down the street. Grate our own at the table regularly.

Cooper

[sailchef]

You might like a microplane, it gets the parm really fine.

[wdfifteen]

Grating your own gives you a lot more options. Good move. I have one like the one in the post above. They are available everywhere.

I also have one that has a chamber that will hold about a cup of grated cheese. Got it at IKEA. It has a number of different size grates that you put on the box. I use it for shredding large amounts of cheese.

[GWN7]

See where it says "Cellulose powder"?

That's why I want to grate my own.

[wdfifteen]

^^ Just as I suspected. Rat poison.

[cashflyer]

I like real, fresh cheese - but the "cellulose fiber" is not going to hurt you.

Cellulose is the fiber that that gives all plant matter structural integrity. Not just wood, but also the fruits and vegetables that we eat. Cellulose is one of the dietary fibers that aid good digestion.

Cellulose fiber is common in many processed foods - especially many of those labeled as reduced-fat or high-fiber. Products like these:

Pepsico uses cellulose in the following products:
Aunt Jemima Frozen Blueberry Pancakes
Aunt Jemima Original Syrup
Aunt Jemima Original Syrup

Kellogg uses cellulose in the following products:
MorningStar Farms Chik'n Nuggets
MorningStar Farms Chik Patties Original
MorningStar Farms Buffalo Wings Veggie Wings
Eggo Nutri-Grain Blueberry waffles
Eggo Strawberry Waffles
Eggo Blueberry Waffles
Cinnabon Pancakes Original
Cinnabon Pancakes Caramel
Cinnabon Snack Bars Original
Cinnabon Snack Bars Baked Cinnamon Apple

Weight Watchers International uses cellulose in the following products:
Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich
English Toffee Crunch Ice Cream Bar
Giant Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Bar

General Mills uses cellulose in the following products:
Fiber One Ready-To-Eat Muffins (Wild Blueberry & Oats; Mixed Fruit, Nuts & Honey; Apple Cinnamon Bun, Banana Chocolate Chip)
Fiber One Original cereal
Fiber One Chewy Bars (90 Calorie Chocolate, 90 Calorie Chocolate Peanut Butter)
Fiber One baking products (Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix, Banana Nut Muffin Mix, Blueberry Muffin Mix)
Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Cake Mix
Pillsbury Mozzarella and Pepperoni Pastry Puffs
Pillsbury Cheese and Spinach Crescent Pastry Puffs
Pillsbury Artichoke and Spinach Bread Bowl Bites
Pillsbury Buffalo Chicken Crescent Pastry Puffs
Pillsbury Cream Cheese and Jalapeno Bread Bowl Bites
Betty Crocker whipped frostings (Strawberry Mist, Chocolate, Cream Cheese)
Betty Crocker Vanilla Amazing Glazes
Duncan Hines Cake Mixes (Devil's Food Cake Mix, Dark Chocolate Fudge, Strawberry Supreme, Fudge Marble, Classic Yellow, French Vanilla)

McDonald's uses cellulose in the following products:
Fish Filet Patty
McRib
Premium Caesar Salad
Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap
Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken
Southern Style Chicken Biscuit
Strawberry Sundae
Natural Swiss Cheese (used in McRib, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Angus Mushroom & Swiss, Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich, Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich, Angus Mushroom & Swiss Snack Wrap)
Shredded Cheddar/Jack Cheese (used in Ranch Snack Wrap (Crispy and Grilled), Honey Mustard Snack Wrap (Crispy and Grilled), Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap (Crispy and Grilled), Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken, Premium Southwest Salad with/without Crispy/Grilled Chicken, Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with/without Crispy/Grilled Chicken, McSkillet Burrito with Sausage)
Barbeque Sauce
Sweet 'N Sour Sauce
Shredded Parmesan Cheese (used in Premium Caesar Salad with/without Crispy/Grilled Chicken)
Biscuit (Large and Regular) (used to make Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit, Sausage Biscuit with Egg, Sausage Biscuit, Southern Style Chicken Biscuit, Big Breakfast with/without Hotcakes)
Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream (used in Strawberry Sundae, Hot Caramel Sundae, Hot Fudge Sundae, McFlurry with M&M'S Candies, McFlurry with OREO Cookies, Chocolate Triple Thick Shake, Strawberry Triple Thick Shake, Vanilla Triple Thick Shake)
Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup (used in Premium Roast Coffee, Espresso)

Many, many more: 2011 LINK

[javadog]

Nothing personal, but there's nothing in the above list that I'll put in my body.

"Parmesan" in the green can is a blasphemy. It's not the cellulose that bothers me, it's what they call the "cheese." It tastes nothing like the real thing. Buy cheese marked Parmigiano-Reggiano, keep it properly wrapped and stored and use it soon after buying.

I have a half dozen different graters. They all do different things, spend a few bucks and experiment.

JR

[motion]

Not only that, but since its listed at the end, the % content is very, very small.

Proof of wood filler? Link?

[motion]

We have this one from Williams Sonoma, but prefer to buy parmesan and romano pre-grated in the little plastic tubs. The graters are a pain to keep clean.

[javadog]

Motion, If you don't have a dishwasher, buy your wife a nice, colorful apron and a case of dishwashing liquid for her birthday.

For the OP, lots of the rotary graters disassemble into three pieces for cleaning, in less time than it took to type this.

For Motion's wife, if you rinse a grater immediately after use, cleaning it takes all of 5 or 6 seconds.



JR

[masraum]

Originally Posted by javadog

Nothing personal, but there's nothing in the above list that I'll put in my body.

Ditto. I haven't purchased or eaten anything like any of that stuff in a very, very long time.

Originally Posted by motion

Not only that, but since its listed at the end, the % content is very, very small.

Proof of wood filler? Link?

It's not really that far down the list. If you look at the list, it's really only got 3 ingredients: parmesan cheese, cellulose fiber, potassium sorbate. The reason that it looks so long is that next to the parmesan cheese entry there's a breakdown of what's in the cheese. So it's parmesan cheese (ingredients of cheese) cellulose fiber, potassium sorbate.

[tabs]

I always wondered why Termites love that shyte.

[GWN7]

Originally Posted by motion

Not only that, but since its listed at the end, the % content is very, very small.

Proof of wood filler? Link?

So your store-bought parmesan cheese is made with wood pulp. Is that so bad? | Life and style | The Guardian

[wayner]

I prefer to pay a bit extra and get carbon fiber or optic fiber

[scottmandue]

I presume you guys only eat your caviar with a wood spoon too?

[javadog]

For those of you that know nothing of food, read this:

Forbes Welcome

Most Americans and Canadians are woefully ignorant about food, as our two cultures, for decades, all but eliminated any good ingredients from our diets and our grocery shelves. Thankfully, that trend is starting to reverse, but you still have to be careful. Lots of companies are getting smarter about making **** look like real food.

Most of what we get is better than it used to be, but it still pales in comparison to what you can get in countries that worship food, like France and Italy.

JR

[javadog]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

I presume you guys only eat your caviar with a wood spoon too?

Hell, no. That's too plebeian. Were you born in a chicken coop?

Vermeil, baby.

JR

[Charles Freeborn]

Originally Posted by dafischer

The four sided stainless one works great when you need to grate a mass quantity of cheese for a recipe you're making, but for serving at the table, one of these does the job.



We've had one for about 15 yrs., and it works well. Load it up with some fresh cut Parmesan or Romano, and bring it to the table so everyone can dispense as much cheese as they want, with no mess.

What is this pre-grated cheese you speak of?

These are sweet.