How to make healthy shredded cheese yourself at home to avoid the aluminum additives and anti-caking agents in commercial brands.
Shredded cheese is a popular convenience food that it is important to avoid ever buying!
Even organic brands process this type of product with aluminum salts, likely leaving residues that could threaten neurological health.
The reason aluminum is allowed in organic cheese is because there is no regulatory provision that prohibits these aluminum-based additives from USDA Organic. This is likely because such additives have GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status.
Yes, quite shocking isn’t it?
Never Buy Commercial Shredded Cheese
No surprises then that cheese is a major source of aluminum exposure in the American diet!
Making your own shredded cheese (never buy slices either!) is imperative for the health-minded home chef.
I only buy blocks of cheese and slice and shred them by hand with a good quality cheese knife (this cheese knife is the best I’ve ever used).
This brand of block cheese is what I’ve been using for shredding and cooking for the past couple of years.
Besides a good cheese knife, you will also need a food processor. A regular blender will also work, but it will be a more frustrating process as the appliance may not be strong enough to finely shred each chunk of cheese (as shown in the video below).
Another thing about commercial shredded cheese even if organic…cellulose is an additive to prevent the shreds from sticking together.
Cellulose is an indigestible, insoluble plant fiber. It can exacerbate intestinal inflammation in sensitive individuals.
Thus, making your own shredded cheese at home is one of those tasks that must be done yourself!
One more tip. If you order pizza or pasta in restaurants, it is important to realize that you are getting a dose of aluminum from the cheese.
Restaurants rely on giant bags of commercially shredded cheese to produce these convenience meals quickly and cheaply.
Homemade Shredded Cheese
How to make healthy shredded cheese yourself to avoid the aluminum additives and anti-caking agents in commercial brands.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces block cheese
Instructions
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Coarsely chop 8 ounces/ 227 grams of block cheese into small cubes.
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Place the cheese cubes in a food processor.
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On low-medium speed, shred the cheese to the desired size. This process works best when the cheese is very cold right out of the refrigerator.
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Remove the shredded cheese from the food processor and use immediately.
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Refrigerate the shredded cheese that is not used right away in a glass container with a tight-fitting lid.
Recipe Video
Homemade shredded cheese tastes SO much better! Another incentive to shred your own! 😋
Is there a reason you don’t use the grater on your food processor? Do you find the way you do it better? I’ve been grating my own cheese for years now once I learned the store bought wasn’t good for you! I do cube my Parmesan & grate the way you do, it is a nicer grate. Thank you!
My Vitamix didn’t come with a grater. I will have to look into this … thank you for the tip!!
Hand grating has never worked well for me when it comes to cheese.
I see that you recommend Rumiano block cheese for shredding, but does that mean their sliced and shredded cheeses have aluminum in them? I’ve been eating sliced Rumiano organic mozzarella cheese for years and I’m shocked to think that I’ve been eating aluminum!
I wouldn’t trust ANY brand of shredded cheese. The aluminum doesn’t have to be labeled as it is “industry standard” and GRAS. I don’t take the assurances of the customer service people as a good indication of safety either. They have no idea what is going on in the factory.
Rumiano is a great company (small and independently owned), but the cheese is not artisanal. It is factory produced, hence shortcuts will likely be used.
Very FEW food brands have an across the board thumbs up with their products. Most good brands have at least a couple of products that are best avoided.
Add to the problem of aluminum in sliced cheese, the silicone slicked paper that commonly separates the slices. This is toxic and hormone disrupting.
Here’s a a good rule of thumb. If a product adds convenience to your life, there is probably a health damaging effect to it somewhere if you dig.
Make. It. Yourself. This is the safest way to go … aluminum build-up in the brain is nothing to mess around with and “cross your fingers” it’s not really in there for a particular brand to save yourself five minutes making homemade pizza is definitely not worth it.