The latest bizarre food trend has people washing their shredded cheese to remove anti-caking agents. But is this cheesy hack necessary?
Why Are You Washing Your Cheese?
The internet is a wild place, and the latest trend to hit our social media feeds might be one of the weirdest yet - washing shredded cheese. Yes, you read that right. Some poor misguided souls got it in their heads that rinsing their store-bought shredded cheese under tap water was a good idea, and we're left scratching our heads.
The Cheesy Origins of This Bizarre Hack
The madness started when TikTok videos went viral, showing pre-shredded cheese being rinsed in a colander. Their reasoning? To remove the anti-caking agents that manufacturers add to keep the cheese from clumping together in the package. Now, we get it - those anti-caking agents might not sound too appetizing, but here's the thing - they're perfectly safe to consume. And more importantly, do we really want soggy, water-logged cheese shreds? That's a big fon-don't in our book.
How Do I Avoid Anti-Caking Agents?
Of course, we understand the allure of pre-shredded cheese when you're short on time or feeling a little lazy, (no judgment here) but in case you really want to avoid those pesky anti-caking chemicals, we recommend opting for higher-quality shredded fromage, which tend to have fewer anti-caking agents. Or he's a novel idea - there are these things called "graters". You rub a piece of cheese across one, and magically shreds appear! Voila.
The Verdict: Let Cheese Be Cheese
Rinsing your cheese won't hurt you but a golden rule of cooking is that moisture is the enemy to many meals. If you don't dry your cheese to its original state, the water left on it will boil, then steam, and make for a less-than-appealing melt. So, unless you enjoy a lot of fruitless labor and sloppy pizza, leave the cheese washing to the cheesemakers.
