We get all sorts of cool stuff from companies here at GoFatherhood central, and when Frigo asked us if we’d like a sampler pack of their various flavors of string cheese all my kids had to hear was the word “cheese” and they were enthusiastic. My whole family is, um, cheese positive, and my Dad even swears he could live a happy life if all he ever had to eat were cheese sandwiches. I’m a bit skeptical, but he does eat a lot of cheese sandwiches, so maybe it’s true. 🙂
True to their word, Frigo sent us a big box packed with dry ice and lots of different kinds of string cheese from their CheeseHeads brand. I mean, probably upwards of 75 cheese sticks. A lot of cheese. We’re-still-working-through-it a lot of cheese.
Turns out that string cheese is really easy to make. It’s based on mozzarella cheese, but instead of letting it set and create curds as it’s made, string cheese is pulled like taffy, which creates strands. Sounds easy, and there are plenty of recipes online if you want to dabble. But why bother? Cheeseheads cheese is a kid-friendly snack, based on our extensive testing.
And our favorite of the different Frigo options? Swirls: half mozzarella, half cheddar. Not, alas, the wonderful sharp cheddar you can pick up at Whole Foods or another gourmet market, but still, a tasty pair of flavors in an easy to transport form:
I also wondered about the nutritional aspects as I watched my children reenact some zombie horror movie, ripping cords off the cheese and eating them while laughing maniacally and suggesting we have brains, braaaaiiinnnnss for dinner.
Well, it was kinda like that.
And that nutrition info? Each piece has 80 calories, 50 from fat, 20% of FDA calcium and 6 grams of protein. Not too bad, really, and the ingredients don’t have the usual weird chemicals either: Low-moisture Mozzarella cheese, which is comprised of pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese cultures, salt and enzymes.
Thanks to the fine folk at Saputo for sending us such a greatly appreciated care package. If any other companies with cheese want us to be beta testers or product reviewers, you know how to get ahold of us. I figure it’d go really well with our brraaaiiinnnn casserole. 🙂