American cheese

[Darlene]

I had to have oral surgery yesterday and once that was done, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few easy to eat things...yogurt, Hawaiian rolls because they're super soft and a few other things.

 

As I went down the dairy isle I saw that they had American cheese on sale. Normally it's $5something a pack, on sale for 2 for $5. Not only that, but affixed to each package of American cheese was a $1 coupon that was redeemable when you bought 2 packs.

 

I bought 10 packs and saved alot of money because of the sale and the coupon and this morning I did a search on whether or not American cheese freezes well. Surprisingly, it appears that it does, so I think I'm going to go back to the grocery store and buy another (at least) 10 packs of American cheese and throw it in the freezer to use later down the road.

 

Most cheeses don't freeze well but apparently American cheese does. I don't know if y'all knew that, but I never did

[euphrasyne]

I freeze american all the time.  You should expect it to stick to the plastic wrapper and become brittle in the freezer similar to other cheeses.   I almost only use it for grilled cheese which melts so I do not care that it does this.  It doesn't crumble as bad as cheddar or such, but it absolutely does stick to the wrapper.  You can freeze any cheese that you plan on melting or crumbling up.  Shred it first to make life easier.  

 

I may or may not have over 50lb of cheese in the freezer.  

[Cricket]

I buy multiple packaged of American cheese at a time, but stack it in the back of the fridge. I don't get the individually wrapped slices. It usually has a "best buy" date at least six months out, and we go through a lot of American cheese. I do keep shredded cheeses in the freezer, primarily cheddar and mozzarella for cooking. 

[Jeepers]

2 hours ago, euphrasyne said:

I may or may not have over 50lb of cheese in the freezer.  

Only 50 pounds?

Newbie.  

[euphrasyne]

Well...I didn't say which freezer.  I have the one attached to the fridge and 2 uprights.  

[Jeepers]

Euphrasyne, I stand corrected.   

 

                  

[Littlesister]

I always freeze the shredded cheese but didn't know about the American cheese. I am so going to do that. Just need to watch for a good sale. And yes, my GS does not like grilled cheese sandwiches. That boy needs to learn to eat what's good for him. It's hard to feed picky eaters. And I don't do fish every night for him. He never tires of fish. For me once or twice a week is good enough. And I am looking at a second freezer for garage. I just have to get garage cleaned out after the construction workers get their mess out of there. Haven't been able to get car in garage now for 4 months. I need my garage back. It has been a process getting all this work done, but the 60's were calling and they wanted their house back with all the issues of this house. Glad to see it coming along now though. It will be fun for myself and GS to move a big heavy couch from living room to den. Will be interesting to say the least. But that won't happen till the fireplace is done. 

[Darlene]

I went back and bought 20 more packs. It cost me $40 vs $103something without the sale. 

[Homesteader]

Being an authentic Cheesehead, American cheese is generally not found in Wisconsin homes.      We do bring home lots of 'real' cheese and freeze it on a regular basis though. If thawed slowly in the refrig, it's not so crumbly. I have noticed that our cheese lasts longer if I bring it home already shredded. The house mouse can't cut off a big chunk of it during the night and doesn't like to deal with shredded cheese all over the countertop. 

[Cricket]

18 hours ago, euphrasyne said:

Well...I didn't say which freezer.  I have the one attached to the fridge and 2 uprights.  

 

 

LOL! I love this group! 

 

Maybe we should have a "Freezer Confessions" thread 

[Darlene]

20 hours ago, Homesteader said:

Being an authentic Cheesehead, American cheese is generally not found in Wisconsin homes.  

Yeah, I would rather store real cheese but the consequences of freezing it are just not something I like. 
 

My neighbor was telling me that they buy the big blocks of cheese, cut it into chunks and then vacuum seal the chunks. They said it dramatically increases the shelf life in the fridge so I’m going to try that and see if that might be a longer short term solution. 

[Ambergris]

Another reason to make cheese.

[Dee]

Quote

I went back and bought 20 more packs. It cost me $40 vs $103something without the sale. 

 

I do love a bargain and figuring up how much I saved.  I'm going to look today and see if we're having a cheese sale.  Like you, I'll stock up if we are.

[Mother]

I much prefer homemade cheese and other dairy products but the cost of milk to make it with is almost prohibitive.  Unless you have your own milk supply it is more cost effective to buy cheese on sale.  Home made cheese made from unpasteurized home produced milk will keep well in a cool place but will continue to ‘age’ as it is stored.  
 

I still make yogurt from store purchased milk.  If the milk is bought on sale it is still cost effective but it lacks the richness of yogurt made from whole home produced cow’s or goat’s milk.
 

I really miss my dairy animals.  

[Darlene]

3 hours ago, Ambergris said:

Another reason to make cheese.

Been there done that lol. It’s a lot of work but I’m sure if cheese would not be available, I’d reorganize my priorities and that would raise to the top. 

[Dee]

That's how I feel this year about canning green beans Darlene.  I'm planting them, just in case, but I've also bought a bunch of cans in case the world doesn't come to an end.  It's so much easier.

[euphrasyne]

4 hours ago, Mother said:

I still make yogurt from store purchased milk.  If the milk is bought on sale it is still cost effective but it lacks the richness of yogurt made from whole home produced cow’s or goat’s milk.

The richness is based on fat content.   You can make your homemade yogurt richer by increasing the fat content of your milk.  Add heavy cream or cooled melted butter to the purchased milk before you start.   You want to use your normal volume, so put the cream or butter in the measure first then add enough milk to your preferred measure.   Alternatively, you can add lecithin or plain gelatin to it to make it a bit firmer/ richer.  

[Mother]

Thanks for mentioning those, Euphrasyne.  It is true you can add all those things to yogurt and I have but they do increase the cost.  None of those are needed with fresh raw milk to obtain the rich taste.  You can also strain the yogurt to make labneh or a Greek type yogurt.  That increases the thickness and the left over whey can be used for dozens of purposes so nothing is wasted. That same can be said of home made hard and soft cheeses too.  The whey left from the making is a wonderfully healthy bi-product.  😋
 

 

[Littlesister]

I so need to stock cheese for freezer. American cheese has not been on sale for a while around my area. So, watching for that. Never made cheese before but would be a great learning curve for the future. I have made yogurt but has been a long while since I made it. Might need to start back into that when the construction is done. I was looking into those yogurt makers, but not sure about how they would do. Never heard of anyone that has tried using those. 

[Homesteader]

On 5/26/2022 at 5:56 PM, Littlesister said:

I was looking into those yogurt makers, but not sure about how they would do. Never heard of anyone that has tried using those. 

 

I used to use a yogurt maker. Then a friend asked why I didn't do it in quart jars in a small cooler?  Ever since then, after cooking the milk, cooling it, adding 1/2 existing yogurt (I use Stonyfield with all the active cultures), I just pop the jars into a cooler with 110F water (an inch over the top of the jars), and let it sit for 4 hours. Put it in the refrig and you have all the yogurt you'll ever want.   I can reuse a 1/2 cup yogurt a few times before getting another small carton of Stonyfield from the store.

[Mother]

I used two yogurt maker for years.  One to do pint containers and one to do cup sized containers.  I still use the small one when I want to culture my yogurt 24 hours to make it more digestible. The bigger one finally gave up after thirty or more years of use.   If I am making regular yogurt now I use  my insulated cooker.  it works in the same way as a cooler only holds it’s temp longer only without the need for water.  You can also make it in a wide mouthed thermos or a gas oven with only a pilot light burning, if it has one.  Most modern ones don’t.   I understand you can use an instant pot too. My old dehydrator has a yogurt setting.  The whole object is to keep the warm yogurt at about 100° for long enough to culture the milk.  An electric yogurt maker does that.  

[Jeepers]

Wish We2 would chime in. I think she uses a thermos bottle to make her yogurt? 

[euphrasyne]

I use a crockpot for yogurt.  

[Ambergris]

I make and use a lot of paneer etc.   I've done mozzarella and other very simple cheeses, although it's been years and years ... It's time to re-learn and learn more.  

Anyone have a favorite (or a strongly disliked) cheese-making book?  Or some comments?

[snapshotmiki]

I have the New England  cheese making book. I haven't made cheese in quite a while,  but I just bought  some cheddar  cultures and  rennet.