Shred, Cube, or Dice Your Own Cheese If You Don't Want the Additives

Shredded cheese may be a time-saver, and it sure is popular -- all those varieties hanging up there, on the store displays.  Low-fat, 8 ounces, 12 ounces, Mexican Blend, Pizza Combo, ... and I admit to grabbing a bag or two in my time. 

No more.  I admit it: I first heard about this (and I'm getting to the "this") while listening to Wolfgang Puck sell his wares on television (I like to have HSN or QVC running in the background sometimes when I'm writing.  I'm not sure what this may mean to psychologists, since I'm a simple living fanatic.)

Suddenly, Wolfgang catches my attention.  He's grating some beautiful yellow cheese, and he's explaining that he always grates his cheeses because he wants to avoid the additive that is used to keep shredded cheese from clumping up in the cute litte bags.  He says "clumping" in a very endearing way, in that nice accent he has.  Still.  What? WHAT did he say? 


Yes, Dear Reader, it's true.  I went to my trusty computer and surfed around about this.  It's true, and thank you, Wolfgang. 

They add an "anticaking agent" to any cheese that is packaged "chunked, diced, or shredded" to keep it from molding faster and to reduce stickiness/clumping.  It's patented and you can read about the patent online, as well as the list of ingredients: "fine mesh vegetable flour, bentonite, cellulose, and antimycotic agents/bacterial cultures."

Ewww.