Why Packaged Shredded Cheese Has A Dusty Coating

Pre-packaged shredded cheese is an extremely convenient way to cook with cheese. Whether you're sprinkling the top of your lasagna with shredded mozzarella or you're making a quick quesadilla with a shredded Mexican blend, there's a shredded cheese variety for nearly every cooking scenario you may encounter. If you're at all familiar with shredded cheese, you're probably also familiar with its ubiquitous dusty coating. Maybe you thought that it's the residue from the shredder, but it's actually a completely separate ingredient. Shredded cheese contains cellulose, which is why your hands might feel a tad bit dusty after reaching into the bag. 

Cellulose is an organic molecule that comes from the walls of plant cells.It's a plant fiber, and you can obtain it from a variety of sources, including wood and cotton. Extracted cellulose is what you'll find in on ingredients lists and it's frequently used in processed foods like breakfast cereal, bottled salad dressings, frozen pizza, and even coffee creamer. It has a variety of purposes and can be used as a thickener, an anti-caking agent, a fiber supplement, and a calorie reducer. In shredded cheese, cellulose is primarily present as an anti-caking agent so you don't need to worry about your cheese clumping up by the time you return home from the grocery store .

Some folks may claim that consuming cellulose means you're consuming wood pulp, but this isn't the case. The cellulose you're consuming in shredded cheese is often extracted from wood pulp, but it isn't wood pulp itself, and it's completely safe to consume. This means that there's no need for you to start washing your shredded cheese to get rid of it. In fact, consuming a bit of extra cellulose is actually good for you, especially if you're looking to add more fiber into your diet.

If you really are turned off by the idea of cellulose in your cheese, you should just purchase fresh cheese and shred it yourself. However, if you like the convenience and the price that shredded cheese provides, there's no need to worry.

If you plan to cook with shredded cheese, there's one thing you'll want to keep in mind. Since cellulose is an anti-caking agent, the cellulose coating acts as a barrier, preventing the cheese from emulsifying and blending into your sauce. While the anti-caking nature of shredded cheese is generally a good thing and will keep your cheese usable for the duration of its shelf life, some cooking projects might call for a cheese that blends better. If you're making a cheese sauce for a mac and cheese recipe, for instance, you'll want to avoid using shredded cheese as it won't blend or melt into the luscious, creamy cheese sauce.