A Poll about Cheese

[barnwife]

This thread is non-COVID19 related. I need a break. It's inspired by a recent conversation.

A friend's husband was surprised by the 6 kinds of cheese on the grocery list. I, like her, thought that 6 was rather normal. So, here is my completely scientific poll to learn about where my family's cheese consumption habits fall on the spectrum.

Edited June 1, 2020 by barnwife

[Farrar]

And I thought we had variety with 5 or 6 cheeses. But 7 or more is a nice number. If I have that many, it's usually around a holiday or entertaining time and I've had fun, nice cheeses out with appetizers.

Right now there's...

mozzarella
babybells
cheddar
gruyere
monterey jack
parmesan

[barnwife]

2 minutes ago, Danae said:

I said yes to the cheese drawer, but it’s really a deli drawer — we also keep deli meats there when we have them.  It’s mostly cheese, though.

Well, technically ours is also the deli drawer, except that only rarely would deli meats fit in there as well. Mostly the drawer is full of cheese, as well as part of another shelf. I think it's that we usually have many types of cheese. Add in the fact that we are a family of 6 (soon to be 7), and it takes a lot of cheese to feed our cheese habit. 

I mean, how does one live without a choice of mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, colby, colby jack, pepperjack, shaky Parmesan, fresh grated Parmesan, and feta? We haven't even gotten to the "unusual" kinds yet...

[prairiewindmomma]

Current holdings: cotija, feta, shredded Swiss (for a quiche probably today), block Swiss, block of sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack slices, shredded mozzarella, shredded Mexican cheeses blend, Parmesan, and Havarti. That’s our usual lineup—I don’t consider that special.

[Ailaena]

I thought 6 was a lot and then I realized I had mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan, Romano, cheddar, pepperjack, goat, slices of Swiss and a fancy snacking cheese, so....  

Soon after I met MIL she asked me to cook her enchiladas at her house.  I showed up with a stack of ingredients and went to shred cheese while my sauce was cooking and she did not have a cheese grater.  I was so confused.  I don’t have much in my kitchen, but that’s like a fork for me.  We had to run to the store and buy one 😛

[Kassia]

7 minutes ago, barnwife said:

I mean, how does one live without a choice of mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, colby, colby jack, pepperjack, shaky Parmesan, fresh grated Parmesan, and feta? We haven't even gotten to the "unusual" kinds yet...

 

Shoot, I forgot about Parmesan - that would have changed my answer to 7 or more.  I don't think I can change it now.  

We also keep ours in the deli drawer.  Yum - we love cheese! 

[TheReader]

We have a cheese drawer and use it wisely. We right now have block (sharp) cheddar, sliced swiss, shredded "Italian blend" for something or other, a (very small) block of pecorino romano, some Queso Fresco, some crumbled blue cheese (bleu cheese? how do you actually spell it...?), possibly some shredded other types, some sliced Colby Jack (I think...), a thing of cream cheese, and some Parmesan in the shaker thing. If it were up to me, we'd probably have more (and definitely we'd have mostly better quality; dh is fine with whatever brand of cheese.....). 

But, in our family, when we lived in Brazil, a tiny block of real cheddar has been a Valentine's gift and a birthday gift before, so.....

[Junie]

We have a deli drawer for lunch meat and sliced cheese.  Shredded cheeses are kept in a different drawer in the fridge.

Cheeses that we usually have:  slices -- yellow American, white American. mozzarella, provolone  shredded/grated -- Parmesan, mozzarella, cheese blend (for tacos, etc)  cubes/sticks -- mozzarella, cheddar

We also often have at least one other kind of sliced cheese, such as Swiss or pepperjack, 

[KathyBC]

Pretty conservative for cheese, but still adds up to a few: shredded mozza, medium cheddar block, shaved parmesan, and then ricotta or feta as required. Christmas/New Year's there are often some others.

[Laura Corin]

Five or six, but that's partly because of duplicates - Hobbes is vegetarian, so we might have two kinds of cheddar, for example: one that we prefer and one that he can eat.

[Arcadia]

16 minutes ago, Ailaena said:

 

Soon after I met MIL she asked me to cook her enchiladas at her house.  I showed up with a stack of ingredients and went to shred cheese while my sauce was cooking and she did not have a cheese grater.  I was so confused.

We do not have a cheese grater. We buy grated parmesan cheese when required. My kids and I love cheese but DS14 love cheese slices to make sandwiches and DS15 love to cut his chess (mainly Brie). We rarely eat dishes that requires shredded cheese and we just buy a pack when needed. My supermarket is a short walk down the street. We also buy Philadelphia Cream Cheese from time to time.

[Sherry in OH]

The refrigerator manufacturer may refer to a deli drawer, but in our house it is the cheese drawer.  We currently have sliced provolone, mozzarella sticks, sliced cheddar, sliced Swiss, block cheddar, block Jarlsberg, block gruyere, shredded Italian blend, grated Parmesan (bag), grated Parmesan (shaker jar), ricotta, cottage cheese, and cream cheese.  Other cheese we commonly have are Feta, block mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, Babybel, assorted shredded cheeses, and any other cheese that looked especially good.   We eat a lot of cheese.  

We have a cheese grater and a cheese slicer.     

[barnwife]

13 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

We do not have a cheese grater. We buy grated parmesan cheese when required. My kids and I love cheese but DS14 love cheese slices to make sandwiches and DS15 love to cut his chess (mainly Brie). We rarely eat dishes that requires shredded cheese and we just buy a pack when needed. My supermarket is a short walk down the street. We also buy Philadelphia Cream Cheese from time to time.

Oh crud...do I need to confess that we own more than one cheese grater? I think we only own three...

ETA: another poster reminded me that I do sometimes use our food processor for shredding cheese. So I guess we own at least four graters/slicers.

Edited June 1, 2020 by barnwife

[Selkie]

We don't eat cheese, but we do have a deli drawer that is currently full of tofu, miso, tortillas, and flatbreads.

[Emba]

I always have mild or medium cheddar, mozzarella, and at least one other, which could be a grated Mexican blend, American sandwich slices, provolone slices, Swiss slices, or extremely sharp cheddar. Also Parmesan “shakey cheese”. Right now I think I have at least 6 - medium cheddar, spreadable Swiss, mozarella, block Parmesan, Munster, and cotija. I’m really the only one who likes the extra sharp chess and cotija, so I have them less than I’d ideally like.

Edited June 1, 2020 by emba56

[ikslo]

Currently 4 kinds, though some are of multiple preparations (block, slices, shredded, string).  We do often have more, but regularly it is just mozzarella, cheddar, pepper jack and Parmesan. Around the holidays we tend to have more, or for a specific recipe.

Also the deli drawer (deli meats/bacon)

Cream cheese and shaker parm go in the door not the drawer at our house. Cream cheese is with the butter.

Edited June 1, 2020 by ikslo

[Spryte]

Oops!  I underestimated, should have put 7+.

On any given day:

parmesan

cheddar

mozzarella

sartori Merlot (this is a staple here)

aged cheddar of some sort 

smoked gouda

We usually have one or two extras, as fun cheese, or for recipes, but these vary.

And we often have snack packs to grab and go with cheese and charcuterie.

We used to keep a selection of goat and sheep cheeses, but DD is anaphylactic to those now, so alas, only cow’s milk cheeses here now.

Also, do these count?  We keep a selection of dairy free cheeses for the two allergy kids.  Usually:

Daiya shredded cheddar, shredded mozzarella, sliced cheddar, and sometimes cheese sticks.

Did any other cheese lovers see the holiday cheese advent calendars at Aldo last year?  Those were fun!

 

 

[sweet2ndchance]

We regularly have fiesta blend (cheddar colby and pepper jack blend), american slices, shredded parmesan (none of us like the powdery crumbed parmesan), velveeta if you count that as cheese lol, and I just threw out a half used bag of mozzerella yesterday that had taken on a funky smell so I sadly tossed it. Oh and Provolone slices for cheesesteaks.

Thought of one more, ds and dh like string cheese for snacks so we often have those too.

Edited June 1, 2020 by sweet2ndchance

[73349]

I voted 2 (and neither contains milk), but we currently have another one left over from a recipe. I'm better off with little to no dairy. We keep tortillas in that drawer, and deli turkey when we have it on hand (or other meats when we have company).

It would be unusual for me to use the box grater for cheese--I normally just slice the (vegan) mozz for pizza. The other cheese I keep on hand is a chive-flavored soft cheese (same brand). The grater is mostly for carrots and zucchini.

4+ kinds of cheese would be for Thanksgiving or similar festivities. ETA: I really wish the interior design of refrigerators were more modular and flexible. I would definitely rearrange things.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Carolina Wren

[KathyBC]

Cream cheese! Totally forgot that one.

[alisoncooks]

We are big on cheese here. Currently there's feta and blue (both in the freezer because I stocked up when they were super cheap). Then cheddar, parm, cream cheese, mozzarella, a couple of cheddar mixes (double cheddar, Mex blend). And velveeta but idk if that counts. 😉

[Scarlett]

I underestimated too.  ;/   I put 1-2 but 3-4 is more accurate.  We love cheese. I would have more, but the kinds I love are often expensive.  

[Noreen Claire]

Right now, we have in the house

sliced: american, provolone, muenster

wedges: parmesan, romano 

shredded: cheddar, mozzarella/provolone mix (for pizza), mexican blend (for burritos)

powdered: parmesan/romano shaker

sticks: mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, provolone

misc: cream cheese, ricotta

[PrincessMommy]

We love cheese!  But you didn't have "other" as a choice.

I do have a cheese drawer, but it also serves as an easy access drawer so things we use like luncheon meat or hummus, etc.

Right now I have 

Gouda

Swiss

Provolone

mozzarella

Parmesan

bread cheese (which I can't eat anymore- hrumph)

cheddar

cream cheese

Munster

and my favorite: BellaVittano - cracked pepper.

 

 

[Carrie12345]

Generally, there’s always extra sharp cheddar, pepper jack, Swiss, Munster, provolone, American, Parmesan, mozzarella, and Asiago. Then there are the things that rotate depending on my mood, or my dds’ moods.

[Pippen]

I voted 5-6 but I have 7 or more

Paremesan

Swiss

Vermont White Cheddar

Colby 

Sharp Cheddar

Montery Jack

Medium Cheddar 

Cream Cheese

Mozerella

[Sneezyone]

Sheesh, I voted wrong!

• Pepper jack
• Smoked Gouda
• Monterey jack
• mozzarella
• Mild/Sharp cheddar
• goat cheese
• Parmesan
• cream cheese
• blue cheese
• cotija

[Bambam]

Does it count if my cheese drawer (it is really is for deli meats but we don't have any of those!) is full and I have to put other cheeses on other shelves? And I voted 5-6, but apparently I have more. 

-Extra Sharp Cheddar
-Dubliner (Kerrygold)
-Parmesan
-Goat cheese (Blueberry chipotle flavored)
-Feta
-pepper jack
-Colby
-Medium cheddar
-Shredded Mexican
-Shredded Italian
-Shredded mozzarella
-Shredded 4 State Cheddar 
-American Cheese (yes, I do keep this processed cheese in my house!)
-Do you count Ricotta? 
-If you count cream cheese, I have three different flavors right now - one regular, and one strawberry, and one mixed berry)

[MrsMommy]

I started going through my fridge to see how much I have...I knew I had quite a few varieties, but I wasn't expecting to come up with 12 different kinds! And honestly, there may be a few more, because my fridge is pretty full right now, and I kind of gave up. What can I say? We really like cheese! 🙂 

[Noreen Claire]

1 hour ago, Bambam said:

Dubliner (Kerrygold)

Oh. This is my favorite! Yum!

[AmandaVT]

I have a lot of cheese - more now that we joined a CSA that offers a "cheese of the week". 

Current cheese stock: 

Cottage cheese
Sliced cheddar
Sliced swiss
block of extra sharp cheddar
block of gouda
block of a happy cheese with a bloomy rind and creamy goodness inside
a container of "dipping cheese" that I'm excited to try (last week's CSA share)
mozzarella sticks
shredded cabot sharp cheddar
goat cheese
feta cheese
parmesan wedge

I just realized that's 12 cheeses....that feels like a lot. 

[QueenCat]

I voted  5-6 but then counted... but then counted 11.

Snacking: gouda, cheddar, babybel original, string cheese, brie

Blocks for meals: asiago

Slices: cheddar, gouda, havarti

Shredded: mozzarella,  Mexican mix

 

[barnwife]

1 hour ago, AmandaVT said:

I have a lot of cheese - more now that we joined a CSA that offers a "cheese of the week". 

This is...definitely missing in my life. Why is there no CSA near me (that I know of, I guess), that offers this?

[marbel]

I said 5 or 6 but I am really not sure. 

We always keep sharp and extra sharp cheddar, monterey jack and parmesan. There is usually (but sometimes not) swiss, provolone, american slices, cooper sharp, mozzarella, blue, cream, and (I hesitate to say in this crowd) Aldi knockoff velveeta.  In the summer there always feta and in winter there is almost always brie.  Other cheeses come and go. We haven't been to Trader Joe's in an age, but we like their unexpected cheddar and their cheddar/gruyere melange. During holiday/party times we add things like manchego, iberico, others. 

Re: cheese graters. I rarely buy shredded cheese, I don't like the stuff that's added to keep it from clumping.  I consider the cheese grater an essential tool. Imagine my surprise once when my daughter had a friend over and while they were making mac and cheese the friend marveled at our box grater. She had never seen one. If her mom was cooking something requiring shredded cheese, she bought a bag of shredded cheese. 

[AmandaVT]

13 minutes ago, barnwife said:

This is...definitely missing in my life. Why is there no CSA near me (that I know of, I guess), that offers this?

Oh it's so happy - every week we get cheese and many of them we've never tried before. We get a fair amount from these guys who make incredible cheeses:  https://www.jasperhillfarm.com/cheese

[cjzimmer1]

I voted 5-6 but after seeing everybody's list and going yep I got that too, I'm quite certain I have 7 or more.  My current fridge doesn't have a deli drawer but my previous 2 did.  I never used them for cheese (well at least not all the cheese) because those drawers are way too small for cheese so I'm actually much happier not having the drawer.  But I tend to buy shredded cheese in 5 pound bags and blocks of cheese in 2 pound packages.  Then you add in the yearly stock up of asiago (because Costco only carries the economical stuff at Christmas time) so I probably have 10+ wedges of those in the fridge.  Sliced cheese, feta, cream cheese, etc.  So yeah, I could probably fill a couple shelves with cheese (I have 2 fridges so stuff is spread across) pretty easily.

[Pen]

8 hours ago, KathyBC said:

Cream cheese! Totally forgot that one.

 

Me too!  

Oops. That would take me to 5 I guess.

 

[HS Mom in NC]

My cheese drawer usually has 5-6 of the following at any given time:

1. Pepperjack
2. Havarti
3. Sharp Cheddar
4. Aged Parmesan-Reggiano
5. soft Goat Cheese log
6. shredded Mexican Cheeses mix (not queso fresco)
7. Queso Fresco (the other Mexican cheese)
8. fresh Mozzarella
9. dry crumbled Goat Cheese
10. whipped Cream Cheese

[ScoutTN]

Good parmesan, cheap parmesan, cream cheese, feta, bleu, extra sharp cheddar (slices and block) pepper jack (slices and block), havarti, mozz string cheese, smoked gouda, colby jack

 

 

[Terabith]

I like the idea of a cheese drawer/ shelf, but my refrigerator simply isn't that organized.  Everything is kinda just shoved in wherever it fits.  But we have a smaller than standard fridge, too.

[happypamama]

We have a cheese drawer.  It's usually full, so there are additional cheeses elsewhere in the fridge, in the spare fridge, and in the upstairs mini fridge.  We have six kids; we eat a lot of cheese!  At any given time, we have at least goat cheese, some sort of mozzarella or other shredded Italian cheese, shredded cheddar, blocks of some sort of cheddar, parmesan, some sort of fancy-ish snacking cheese from Aldi, cottage cheese, something sliced and suitable for grilled cheese, feta and/or bleu. . . 

[Tap]

Cheddar, Havarti, moz, parmesean, jalepeno-something, and a spicy-Mexican blend. Yes, in a drawer where they are all together.....but lunch meats (and other cooked meats) are there too. 

Edited June 2, 2020 by Tap

[Laura Corin]

15 hours ago, barnwife said:

Oh crud...do I need to confess that we own more than one cheese grater? I think we only own three...
 

We own three cheese graters too. Grated cheese is expensive,  and I can't get quality similar to the block cheese.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Laura Corin

[Ausmumof3]

I voted yes but technically we don’t I just keep a box with it on the shelf.  We usually have Parmesan and cheddar for cooking and then sometimes there is mozzarella or another nice cheese for eating in there but it varies depending on what’s on sale and how generous the grocery budget is.

it goes on the shelf with other dairy products like yoghurt and butter and On the rare occasions we have deli meats or olives they go there as well.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Ausmumof3

[medawyn]

DH and I have a cheese tray for date night in at least once a month, so I usually have 3-4 fancy cheeses running around my cheese drawer.  After date night, these get turned into gourmet grilled cheese or macaroni (or sometimes just a mini cheese plate for mom's lunch).  Our "standards" include a block of sharp cheddar, shredded cheddar, shredded mozzarella, provolone slices, a block of feta, goat cheese, and a block of provolone.  

[TrixieB]

We don't have a cheese shelf or drawer.  I try to corral the bags of shredded cheese in a plastic box.  The rest of the cheese is scattered in various locations in the fridge.

Cream cheese, cottage cheese, string cheese, sharp cheddar block,  colby jack block or slices (or havarti slices - I alternate), parmesan block, shredded parm, can of grated parm, shredded mozz, shredded Italian blend, shredded Mexican blend, tub of feta - generally we have all these on hand.  Then if I stop at Trader Joe's or the cheese counter, I'll pick up a couple small pieces of specialty cheese - there's an espresso one I'm partial to at the moment.

[Melissa in Australia]

I messed up voting as well. I usually have only 2 cheeses tasty and parmesan, but currently I also have some mozzarella and cream cheese. I keep the mozzarella and parmesan in the freezer, just use straight from the freezer then put the rest back. 

I agree with StellaM cheese is expensive  here in Aus it is around $12kg for tasty. Everything else is way more 

Edited June 3, 2020 by Melissa in Australia

[Frances]

On 6/1/2020 at 8:06 AM, prairiewindmomma said:

Current holdings: cotija, feta, shredded Swiss (for a quiche probably today), block Swiss, block of sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack slices, shredded mozzarella, shredded Mexican cheeses blend, Parmesan, and Havarti. That’s our usual lineup—I don’t consider that special.

Every week I put cojita on our curbside pickup grocery order and I’ve yet to get it. Parmesan has been hit and miss, but our other regulars have generally been available.

[Terabith]

Hmmm.... shredded cheddar, shredded mozzarella, shredded Mexican, block cheddar, cream cheese, velveeta slices for grilled cheese/ Mac and cheese.  Sometimes Swiss.  Parmesan.  Occasionally some Gouda or pub cheese.  ETA:  and cottage cheese, but I think of that as different from “cheese.”

Edited June 3, 2020 by Terabith

[LucyStoner]

I am lactose intolerant (used to be allergic- dairy allergies are often outgrown) but my family is not.  At a minimum, we always have a large block of cheddar, a wedge of Parmesan, a bag of cheese sticks, a tub of cream cheese, some presliced deli cheeses like provolone, harvarti and/or Colby, some goat cheese, mozzarella for pizza and it's not uncommon for us to have some smaller packages of with peppered cheddar, smoked cheese or a soft cheese like brie or port salut.  Right now there's some fresh local cheese from a CSA box I ordered on a whim from a local restaurant.  I ordered the box for the other stuff, the cheese was just in there.  

Cheese is one of the calorie dense foods that I can get my skinny as all get out kid to eat.  So we keep it stocked.  

I don't have a drawer for it, but we do have a bin in the fridge for it all.  

I can have dairy that has been cooked for more than 30 minutes.  Also, hard cheese is less problematic for me than soft cheese or other dairy products besides butter.  That said, if I lived alone, I probably wouldn't have much, if any cheese.  

Edited June 3, 2020 by LucyStoner