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Wow you're really passionate about your cheese huh? :) Question - could your parents have afforded real cheese and not the plastic processed stuff? I grew up in

by neom 8y ago

Wow you're really passionate about your cheese huh? :) Question - could your parents have afforded real cheese and not the plastic processed stuff? I grew up in Scotland and you could only buy really real cheese, so when I'd go on summer holiday Cheese Whiz was such a treat and I envied anyone who got to eat it regularly.

dataanalyst1 8y ago
I grew up on kraft yellow cheese slices as well, my parents could've afforded better cheese however I think its more to the availability (much like the OP states) of better quality items. Grocery stores in America (well big cities at least) have changed massively in the past 30 years, and once you have some decent cheese, you wont buy single slices again.
rch 8y ago
My parents bought processed cheese because it was all my little brother would eat. I focused my complaining on dyes and sweeteners in order to get the the kind of food I preferred, but really I just like how simple foods taste. To this day, things that I buy or bring and leave on the shelf will still be there the next time I visit. It's probably a matter of different palates reinforced as culture.
ryanmercer 8y ago
>Question - could your parents have afforded real cheese and not the plastic processed stuff? Not the person you asked but I'm nearly 34 and 'real cheese' wasn't really a thing when I was growing up. You had shredded cheeses, Kraft, Velveeta and maybe up to 4 cheese rolls in the deli counter at the grocery that could be sliced. Now the non Whole Foods/Trader Joe's grocers are exactly the same with the exception of having small refrigerated sections, away from all the other cheese, with more 'fancy' cheeses at considerably higher costs for relatively small amounts. With several of those 'fancy' cheeses costing 10-20% of my weekly groceries I just don't see myself trying them anytime soon. I've never seen any of my friends or co-workers eating, or even discussing, 'fancy' cheeses either but I bet you can go to 90% of their houses and find Kraft-style individually wrapped slices and/or a block of Velveeta.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- excalibur 8y ago
  I have the orange wrapped slices in my fridge solely because the children (who have terrible taste) beg for them. For myself I buy better cheese, but it's still a pretty far cry from fancy. We're talking cojack, swiss, provalone, and cheddar slices, shredded cheddar and mozzarella, and the occasional block of pepper jack. Usually from Aldi, but they could easily be found at any discount grocer. I feel like this is a pretty common state of affairs in middle America.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  I'd bet it's correlated to socioeconomic class. Younger, college educated, higher income, urban, and coastal are all probably markers of someone who is willing to spend more for better cheese. But there is quite a gap between Kraft/Velveeta and fancy cheese. I wouldn't say Tillamook or Cabot are fancy, just that they're decent cheese brands. I also wouldn't classify Kraft slices or Velveeta as cheese, and the FDA doesn't either.
  - irrational 8y ago
    Where I live Tillamook is just the normal run of the mill cheese. Definitely nothing special (though I do think Tillamook ice cream is the best brand my grocery store carries). You have to go to a different area of the store to get the upscale cheeses.
  - ryanmercer 8y ago
    >I wouldn't say Tillamook Can't say I've ever even heard of/seen this brand although their product locator shows them at the grocery I shop at, looks like the only thing sold in my state is their shredded cheddar. >or Cabot are fancy, Again I've never seen this but my grocery also allegedly has 3 of their products, all 2lb bricks of cheddar. Looks like a store about 20 minutes away has 20 of their products, all cheddar but weird ones like horseradish, hot habanero, port whine spreadable. Most of the stores seem to have 0-3 of either brand's products. You'll see a lot of Sargento's 'snack bites' and packs of 11 slices of a few varieties though but every one I've ever tried was not worth the price and was often extremely dry/waxy. Other than that, and the fancy case, it's some store brand bricks of a few cheddars, store and kraft brand shredded cheeses, Kraft slices and Velveeta.
danans 8y ago
> Wow you're really passionate about your cheese huh? :) Living in the Bay Area makes foodies out of people ;) Don't get me started on my sustainable seafood, alt-milk or simulated meat preferences. > Question - could your parents have afforded real cheese and not the plastic processed stuff? Absolutely. They were solidly upper middle class. But they were also immigrants from India, a society that doesn't eat as much cheese beyond paneer (though a lot of dairy in other forms) so their first exposure to western style cheese was the dominant American cheese culture of the time, which was Kraft-style slices and powdered Parmesan in a can. They were also super-frugal, so perhaps there is some truth to what you are saying, but really, to this day, they have a very simple mental model of cheese, so they don't know (or care to know) what they are missing. Admittedly, cheese also formed a smaller portion of our diet - mostly on sandwiches.
- aznpwnzor 8y ago
  > Living in the Bay Area makes foodies out of people ;) Not trying to antagonize here, but mainly wondering if you have a nuanced reason? The consensus is generally that the Bay Area doesn't have very good food, without even adjusting for the cost of living.
  - davidgay 8y ago
    > The consensus is generally that the Bay Area doesn't have very good food What? Exhibit A: http://www.berkeleybowl.com/ http://www.berkeleybowl.com/ Exhibit B: http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ [exhibits C through Z on demand] I haven't seen better grocery or cheese stores anywhere else in the US, or in Switzerland (there's stores with some better cheeses, but nothing with the range and variety).
    - Fins 8y ago
      I've seen as good or better grocery or cheese shops in Chicago, but as much as I dislike SFBA for variuous reasons, there's no shortage of good (if usually vastly overpriced) restaurants.
    - 8y ago

by neom 8y ago

dataanalyst1 8y ago

I grew up on kraft yellow cheese slices as well, my parents could've afforded better cheese however I think its more to the availability (much like the OP states) of better quality items. Grocery stores in America (well big cities at least) have changed massively in the past 30 years, and once you have some decent cheese, you wont buy single slices again.

rch 8y ago

My parents bought processed cheese because it was all my little brother would eat. I focused my complaining on dyes and sweeteners in order to get the the kind of food I preferred, but really I just like how simple foods taste. To this day, things that I buy or bring and leave on the shelf will still be there the next time I visit. It's probably a matter of different palates reinforced as culture.

ryanmercer 8y ago

>Question - could your parents have afforded real cheese and not the plastic processed stuff? Not the person you asked but I'm nearly 34 and 'real cheese' wasn't really a thing when I was growing up. You had shredded cheeses, Kraft, Velveeta and maybe up to 4 cheese rolls in the deli counter at the grocery that could be sliced. Now the non Whole Foods/Trader Joe's grocers are exactly the same with the exception of having small refrigerated sections, away from all the other cheese, with more 'fancy' cheeses at considerably higher costs for relatively small amounts. With several of those 'fancy' cheeses costing 10-20% of my weekly groceries I just don't see myself trying them anytime soon. I've never seen any of my friends or co-workers eating, or even discussing, 'fancy' cheeses either but I bet you can go to 90% of their houses and find Kraft-style individually wrapped slices and/or a block of Velveeta.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
excalibur 8y ago
I have the orange wrapped slices in my fridge solely because the children (who have terrible taste) beg for them. For myself I buy better cheese, but it's still a pretty far cry from fancy. We're talking cojack, swiss, provalone, and cheddar slices, shredded cheddar and mozzarella, and the occasional block of pepper jack. Usually from Aldi, but they could easily be found at any discount grocer. I feel like this is a pretty common state of affairs in middle America.
lotsofpulp 8y ago
I'd bet it's correlated to socioeconomic class. Younger, college educated, higher income, urban, and coastal are all probably markers of someone who is willing to spend more for better cheese. But there is quite a gap between Kraft/Velveeta and fancy cheese. I wouldn't say Tillamook or Cabot are fancy, just that they're decent cheese brands. I also wouldn't classify Kraft slices or Velveeta as cheese, and the FDA doesn't either.
- irrational 8y ago
  Where I live Tillamook is just the normal run of the mill cheese. Definitely nothing special (though I do think Tillamook ice cream is the best brand my grocery store carries). You have to go to a different area of the store to get the upscale cheeses.
- ryanmercer 8y ago
  >I wouldn't say Tillamook Can't say I've ever even heard of/seen this brand although their product locator shows them at the grocery I shop at, looks like the only thing sold in my state is their shredded cheddar. >or Cabot are fancy, Again I've never seen this but my grocery also allegedly has 3 of their products, all 2lb bricks of cheddar. Looks like a store about 20 minutes away has 20 of their products, all cheddar but weird ones like horseradish, hot habanero, port whine spreadable. Most of the stores seem to have 0-3 of either brand's products. You'll see a lot of Sargento's 'snack bites' and packs of 11 slices of a few varieties though but every one I've ever tried was not worth the price and was often extremely dry/waxy. Other than that, and the fancy case, it's some store brand bricks of a few cheddars, store and kraft brand shredded cheeses, Kraft slices and Velveeta.

danans 8y ago

> Wow you're really passionate about your cheese huh? :) Living in the Bay Area makes foodies out of people ;) Don't get me started on my sustainable seafood, alt-milk or simulated meat preferences. > Question - could your parents have afforded real cheese and not the plastic processed stuff? Absolutely. They were solidly upper middle class. But they were also immigrants from India, a society that doesn't eat as much cheese beyond paneer (though a lot of dairy in other forms) so their first exposure to western style cheese was the dominant American cheese culture of the time, which was Kraft-style slices and powdered Parmesan in a can. They were also super-frugal, so perhaps there is some truth to what you are saying, but really, to this day, they have a very simple mental model of cheese, so they don't know (or care to know) what they are missing. Admittedly, cheese also formed a smaller portion of our diet - mostly on sandwiches.

aznpwnzor 8y ago
> Living in the Bay Area makes foodies out of people ;) Not trying to antagonize here, but mainly wondering if you have a nuanced reason? The consensus is generally that the Bay Area doesn't have very good food, without even adjusting for the cost of living.
- davidgay 8y ago
  > The consensus is generally that the Bay Area doesn't have very good food What? Exhibit A: http://www.berkeleybowl.com/ http://www.berkeleybowl.com/ Exhibit B: http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ [exhibits C through Z on demand] I haven't seen better grocery or cheese stores anywhere else in the US, or in Switzerland (there's stores with some better cheeses, but nothing with the range and variety).
  - Fins 8y ago
    I've seen as good or better grocery or cheese shops in Chicago, but as much as I dislike SFBA for variuous reasons, there's no shortage of good (if usually vastly overpriced) restaurants.
  - 8y ago