Why do so many cheeses have artificial ingredients?
Here in Europe (and perhaps only in Spain) I've noticed that most of the cheeses (hard and soft, but more often hard) contain an interesting list of artificial additives in the ingredients: conservatives, acid correctors, colors etc. Finding cheeses without these is a real chore. Going organic helps, but the offerings are small.
My questions are:
- Is it like that everywhere else?
- How bad is it for the consumers?
- Why do they do it? is there a law of some kind regarding this?
I feel this question might be considered on the border of suitability for the site, feel free to suggest a different site if you think it is inappropriate here.
Best Answer
Here in the states it depends on where in the grocery store you look. Usually behind the deli counter and in the dairy isle, yes most the large commercial cheeses are loaded up with additives and preservatives. In a store like Whole Foods (increasingly in traditional grocers too), there is usually a devoted cheese section. If you look at those cheeses, you'll often find the only ingredients to be milk, enzymes, salt. There are also local farmers markets that often have a variety of handmade cheeses that are less likely to have additives/preservatives as well.
Question 2 Is subjective and depends on what the consumer is after. The mass-produced stuff is more homogeneous in color/taste, can have a longer shelf life, and is generally cheaper than the other offerings. As far as health concerns, many customers feel that you are better off avoiding unnecessary additives though I don't believe there is much subjective evidence supporting one side over the other.
Roux has it right on for point number three. Safest assumption for why a company does something a certain way is cost.
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Why does fake cheese exist?
The main advantages of imitation cheese have to do with the price and the shelf life. The low cost of the ingredients help to make the finished product very affordable. Also, the lack of dairy products other than casein in the cheese also helps the product to last a very long time.Why are other ingredients added to the cheese?
Adding salt at a key stage of manufacture, depending on the cheese recipe, helps stop further growth of cheese-making cultures (lactic acid and starter bacteria) once a certain acidity and texture has developed in the curd. This allows the cheese-maker to produce differing and longer lasting cheeses.Can cheese be made artificially?
Synthetic cheese have striking similarities to popular cheeses like Cheddar, mozzarella, and Emmental, but are actually made using chemicals: E407 (Carrageenan) E410 (Locust bean gum) E412 (Guar gum)Why is American cheese so Plasticy?
\u201cAmerican cheese\u201d really is plastic. But don't start conjuring up images of cheese makers grinding up recycled plastic bottles. A plastic is simply any material that can be molded into a desired shape, and processed cheese does fit that definition.More answers regarding why do so many cheeses have artificial ingredients?
Answer 2
- yes, for mass-market products
- better than the doomsayers would have it, but worse than the lobbyists and manufacturers say. personally i'm on the side of 'cheese should be made of milk and bacteria, with perhaps some other natural ingredients added (e.g. port, guinness, caraway seeds, etc)
- often in order to save money, provide consistency in a mass-produced product, or (occasionally) to adhere to overly-fussy government regulations
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