5 ms·
Cheese Crystals (2019)
- Frotag 1y ago> Actually, all cheese making produces quite a bit of wastage. On average, if a dairy starts with ten-thousand pounds of milk, they’ll end up with only a thousand pounds of cheese. The remaining nine-thousand pounds ends up as whey while the curd is formed. > That’s right: if you run the numbers on cheese manufacturing, the percent yield is only about 10%. Yogurt-making produces a lot of whey too, though probably closer to ~50% whey rather than 90% (when made at home). The only difference between greek yogurt and regular yogurt is that greek yogurt is strained to remove the whey, making it thicker / creamier. Though most commercial brands try to cheat and thicken it with something like pectin (which usually makes it kind of jello-y). Anyways all that to say my favorite yogurt is the one where the only ingredient is milk + yogurt culture. No thickeners, added sugars, flavoring, I like to add those myself.
- FuriouslyAdrift 1y agoWhey goes to make protein powder, whey butter, animal feed, etc. The Ag industry is so competitive that usually every little bit gets used for something.
- carlob 1y agoAnd ricotta, how can you forget ricotta!
- NetMageSCW 1y agoI have a sad that most lasagna from restaurants here don’t seem to have enough Ricotta - I had to get my fix from cheese Manicotti.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- kragen 1y agoI usually make my yogurt with powdered milk so that I can have less water in it. I don't add thickeners or sugar.
- colechristensen 1y ago>> That’s right: if you run the numbers on cheese manufacturing, the percent yield is only about 10%. Percent yield is an odd choice of words when the "waste" product is 90-95% water.
- IAmBroom 1y agoThe waste is not useful as water. You can get the runs from drinking it. It won't clean your car bumper well. Etc. Urine is mostly water as well, but I'd still classify it as a waste product.
- IAmBroom 1y ago> Yogurt-making produces a lot of whey too, though probably closer to ~50% whey rather than 90% (when made at home). The only difference between greek yogurt and regular yogurt is that greek yogurt is strained to remove the whey, making it thicker / creamier. If you don't strain the whey, yogurt-making produces 0% whey. And I make it at home, so I know I'm not missing anything. Your math is wrong.
- pinewurst 1y agoAged Gouda from the Netherlands (my favorite!) is riddled with these crystals.
- temp0826 1y agoI'm picturing the author as Ratatouille, sniff-testing all the food for poison for his family
- flobosg 1y agoRelated, from a few months ago: It’s not mold, it’s calcium lactate (2018) – https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43535688 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43535688
- pak9rabid 1y agoThe Coastal aged cheddar that Costco sells has these. And she's right, it makes the cheese much more enjoyable.
- ribs 1y agoRight about the calcium lactate crystals, though wrong about lactic acid causing muscle pain; this has been debunked.
- r4ge 1y agoMy favorite super market bought cheese is mainland tasty cheddar, the best tasting blocks always have crystals.
- carterschonwald 1y agoAged Cabot Brand cheese often has these crystals. It’s like a little salty crunch in every bite.
- barbegal 1y agoIs it just me or does this have a familiar "edited by Chat GPT" feel to it? I can only take this chatty writing style in moderation but it seems everyone is using Chat GPT to edit their work in the same way.
- gus_massa 1y agoThe article is dated in 2019, and the wayback machina has a version saved in 2020 [1] but ChatGPT was launched in 2022. [1] https://snipettemag.com/cheese-crystals/ https://snipettemag.com/cheese-crystals/
- barbegal 1y agoThanks, good to know that I'm wrong!
- NetMageSCW 1y agoIf you see AI everywhere you are most likely wrong.
- IAmBroom 1y agoJust what I'd expect an AI-powered bot like you to say.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- jhaile 1y agoI enjoyed reading the article, but really wish it had photos to help educate the reader on how to distinguish between crystals and mold.
- deeg 1y agoThe article is from 2019 and I think it originally had photos.
- bigiain 1y agoThere's a bunch of broken images there (at least I see them in Safari). Sadly, the wayback machine has snapshots of the article going back to 2020, but doesn't seem to have archived those broken image links.
- the__alchemist 1y agoThis is a bit confusing: "The crystals are soft, white, and sometimes appear damp." The rule of thumb I've heard is hard white: crystal. Soft white: mold. If you can't tell, I would dump it.
- IAmBroom 1y agoMold on cheese is rarely pathogenic. In fact, fermented foods in general are often quite safe, even in areas with unsafe water supplies. Now, that doesn't mean rando-mold doesn't ruin the cheese's flavor...
- nlawalker 1y agoTotally agree - interesting info but nothing of practical use, especially because white spots can be mold. See https://www.eatortoss.com/how-to-tell-if-white-stuff-on-cheese-is-mold/ https://www.eatortoss.com/how-to-tell-if-white-stuff-on-chee..., https://www.eatortoss.com/aged-cheddar-with-a-crusty-white-smear/ https://www.eatortoss.com/aged-cheddar-with-a-crusty-white-s....
- bfkwlfkjf 1y ago
- skinwill 1y agoThere is an error on that page. src="https://www.media.snipettemag.com/wp-uploads/2019/09/cheese-streaks-700x525.jpg https://www.media.snipettemag.com/wp-uploads/2019/09/cheese-..." should be src="https://media.snipettemag.com/wp-uploads/2019/09/cheese-streaks-700x525.jpg https://media.snipettemag.com/wp-uploads/2019/09/cheese-stre..." There is an extra "www." which breaks the link.
- tomcam 1y agoIf you like sharp cheddar, the best cheese in the world is "Cougar Gold" from WSU Creamery in eastern Washington, USA, a region not known to be a hotbed of find cheeses. It comes in a can, also not thought of as a delivery vector for a great cheese, but there you have it. Tastes great out of the can or you can age it for a few years in the refrigerator. Five or 6 years is fine. I absolutely love the crystals. No mold forms unless you open the can. WSU's other cheeses are okay but do not stand out to me. Nothing from England or France has delivered the sharp cheddar experience like Cougar Gold.
- msuniverse2026 1y agoI remember hearing about that cheese in the past. Does it need a cold chain to be shipped overseas?
- tomcam 1y agoNot sure what a "cold chain" is but yes, it's shipped ice-filled styrofoam containers. Without it the cheese would sweat, which freaks people out.
- tbrownaw 1y ago"chain" as in "supply chain".
- SideburnsOfDoom 1y ago> Not sure what a "cold chain" is Why do you choose that over looking it up? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_chain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_chain
- tomcam 1y agoBecause I’m an idiot and assumed it was a typo. Thanks—had no idea that was a thing. Enthusiastically upvoted your comment.
- omnicognate 1y ago
- president_zippy 1y agoHard calcium-lactate crystals are an intentional feature of Belvitano cheese. They add a great texture and add tanginess to parmesan-esque taste.
- FumblingBear 1y agoLOVE Bellavitano! I'm a huge fan of most of their cheeses, but especially the Garlic & Herb—it's like a delicious pizza :)
- chrisweekly 1y agoSame! The Merlot is my go-to, but the "Herbs de Provence" was my all-time fave (can't seem to find it in local grocers these days)
- president_zippy 1y agoThanks for catching my typo, I hope more people discover their cheese. I love every variety of their cheese, but the Merlot and Tennessee Whiskey cheeses are on another level.
- supportengineer 1y agoRum Runner is one of my favorites https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/product/sartori-cheese-rum-runner-b0787w7j2m https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/product/sartori-cheese-rum-...