How to Make Cheese Without a Cheese Press
Do you enjoy garnishing your food with grated cheese? Apart from adding flavor to the diet, cheese has fantastic health benefits. You can grate the cheese on your own, or you can buy already grated cheese. Unfortunately, purchasing cheese already grated can be costly compared to making on your own. Again it may come with preservatives and additives that you may not like. If you decide to make some, use a cheese grater, and within a short time, you can use your cheese. What if you don't have a cheese grater, yet you want to make the cheese sauce, how will you shred cheese without grater? Luckily, there are various alternative methods you can adopt to grate your cheese. Below are a few.
1. Use A Knife
If you can't trace the grater in your kitchen or you don't have it, use a knife as a substitute. Get a sharp knife and a cutting board. Remember, grated/finely chopped cheese mixes easily with salad. It also melts faster and also blends into your pasta within no time. That should motivate you when grating your cheese. When grating with a knife, it may take longer than when using a cheese grater. So patience is vital. Take some cheese and place it on your cutting board. Using a simple knife-edge, slice some thin shreds of the cheese and let it fall on the cutting board. When shredding using a knife, note that shredding small chunks is less risky than holding large pieces of cheese. Keep your strips together, and then turn your cutting board at an angle of 90 degrees. Cut them perpendicular to the way you had cut before. Keep on turning the cutting board to ensure that they get finely minced.
2. Rubbing The Cheese Together
Using a sharp knife can be risky. To minimize the risk, use your own hands. Start by cutting/breaking two pieces from your block of cheese. Let each of your hands hold one. Ensure that the index finger and the thumbs of each hand are supporting the pieces of cheese. With a plate on the table, rub the two pieces together in a continuous back and forth motion using a relative force. Small bits will start falling from the cheese. As you continue, both parts will wear out. The method can be time-consuming compared to using a cheese grater.
3. A Vegetable Peeler
A vegetable peeler is a vital kitchen appliance that people often overlook. If you can't trace your cheese grater, grab the vegetable peeler, and grate the cheese. Since the cheese is soft, you might end up messing the place. To get good quality slices, start by putting the cheese in a fridge/freezer. Place the cheese on the cutting board and hold it using one hand. Take the vegetable peeler and glide it along with your cheese. You will get some sweet thin slices using minimal effort. You can glide towards you, but be careful to no glide your fingers.
4. Improvise One
You want some salad, and a cheese grater is not available? Worry less. It could be you are starting to settle, and you haven't bought many kitchen appliances apart from what you consider vital. Luckily, you can improvise your grater using a tin can or even a soda can. If you have an empty soda can, start by washing it. If it's not empty, you can first empty it. Tear the top of the can using a can opener. Drill a series of holes at the side that looks like the grater using a screwdriver. Use your soda can to grate the cheese.
5. Food Processor
You can also use a food processor cheese grater to grate your cheese. It's a quick and easy option. Get ready to clean the table since the cheese is likely to spill all over. To avoid all that, refrigerate your cheese first. Since you can't put the whole block, start by chopping it into a smaller chunk. Put some cheese on the food processor, and be careful not to overfill it. If you overload it, the blades may fail to slice some cheese or become unbalanced and fail to grate the cheese well. After putting the right amount, turn on the processor. Keep on monitoring the shreds. If you intend to grate a lot of cheese, empty the grated on the plate and put some more. Repeat the process. Be careful not to over shred your cheese. If you want a good quality cheese, consider using the shredding disk on your processor. A pulse option could be a better option if your processor lacks a shredding disk.
Grated and Shredded Cheese
Is there any difference between the cheese that is shredded and the one that is grated? Of course, there is. Shredded cheese has thin strips of cheese. The grated one looks like powdered cheese. If you want shredded cheese, you require using a grater. The food processor, a micro plane, and the box grater can help you make grated cheese. If you touch the shredded cheese block, you will realize that it's soft compared with the hard cheese block. If you compare their mode of melting the grated cheese melts slowly while the grated one melts faster. When making shredded cheese, you require freezing it for at least one minute while the grated one you need a cheese that has frozen for long. The shredded cheese is comprised of mozzarella and cheddar, while the grated one contains a cheese called parmesan and Romano. You can use shredded cheese as a topping. You can also use it for cooking mac or even cheese scones. If you want a topping for your pizza, pasta, and salads, go for the grated cheese.
Storage Tips
After shredding your cheese, you can use some and decide to keep some. If you leave it at room temperature for more than two hours, bacteria will increase and spoil it. That means you will have to dispose of it, what a waste? To maximize its shelf life, you need to refrigerate it immediately. After opening the container of shredded cheddar cheese, you need to store the leftover properly. If you put it in the refrigerator, it will remain okay for 5-7 days. It can last for about eight months if you put it in a freezer. You only need to tightly seal its original package then place it inside a heavy-duty freezer bag. Freeze it at 0 degrees F.
If your shredded cheese is spoilt, it will develop an odor. Its appearance, as well as its flavor, will change. You might also see some molds growing on the cheese. If you notice any of these signs, discard the cheese right away.
Conclusion
You can decide to make some shredded/ grated cheese, and you can also choose to buy. If you lack the cheese grater, worry less. You can use other alternatives to grate some cheese. You can use a knife or you can improvise a grater using a soda. A vegetable peeler is also an option. You can also cut two pieces and rub them together. Do you require grated or shredded cheese? The type of tools and cheese you use will depend on what you get. Again, you have to be keen on storage. Store your cheese properly either in a freezer or a refrigerator to avoid it getting spoiled.
How to Make Cheese Without a Cheese Press
Source: https://kitchentotally.com/how-to-grate-cheese-without-a-cheese-grater/