[HN Gopher] Cheese Crystals
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Cheese Crystals
Author : Kaibeezy
Score : 47 points
Date : 2025-10-23 14:00 UTC (5 days ago)
(HTM) web link (snipettemag.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (snipettemag.com)
| skinwill wrote:
| There is an error on that page.
| src="https://www.media.snipettemag.com/wp-
| uploads/2019/09/cheese-..." should be
| src="https://media.snipettemag.com/wp-uploads/2019/09/cheese-
| stre..."
|
| There is an extra "www." which breaks the link.
| jhaile wrote:
| I enjoyed reading the article, but really wish it had photos to
| help educate the reader on how to distinguish between crystals
| and mold.
| the__alchemist wrote:
| This is a bit confusing: "The crystals are soft, white, and
| sometimes appear damp."
|
| The rule of thumb I've heard is _hard white: crystal. Soft
| white: mold_.
|
| If you can't tell, I would dump it.
| nlawalker wrote:
| Totally agree - interesting info but nothing of practical use,
| especially because white spots _can_ be mold.
|
| See https://www.eatortoss.com/how-to-tell-if-white-stuff-on-
| chee..., https://www.eatortoss.com/aged-cheddar-with-a-crusty-
| white-s....
| deeg wrote:
| The article is from 2019 and I think it originally had photos.
| bigiain wrote:
| There's a bunch of broken images there (at least I see them
| in Safari).
|
| Sadly, the wayback machine has snapshots of the article going
| back to 2020, but doesn't seem to have archived those broken
| image links.
| tomcam wrote:
| If you like sharp cheddar, the best cheese in the world is
| "Cougar Gold" from WSU Creamery in eastern Washington, USA, a
| region not known to be a hotbed of find cheeses. It comes in a
| can, also not thought of as a delivery vector for a great cheese,
| but there you have it. Tastes great out of the can or you can age
| it for a few years in the refrigerator. Five or 6 years is fine.
| I absolutely love the crystals. No mold forms unless you open the
| can.
|
| WSU's other cheeses are okay but do not stand out to me. Nothing
| from England or France has delivered the sharp cheddar experience
| like Cougar Gold.
| fishmicrowaver wrote:
| I'm not easily Influenced so I'm mystified at how canned cheese
| had me checking out ways to order it.
| AlanYx wrote:
| The canning process is the result of post-WW2 government
| funded research at WSU. It's a cool backstory for a cheese.
| tomcam wrote:
| Had no idea! Love this! The website looks like it dates
| from WWII tbh
| tomcam wrote:
| I knew you had it in you
| supportengineer wrote:
| Same...
|
| https://cougarcheese.wsu.edu/DirectionsWEB/webcart_itemBuy.p.
| ..
| jmdeon wrote:
| Yeah I just ordered one. The effectiveness of this HN post
| plus this parent comment has me convinced they're in cahoots.
| msuniverse2026 wrote:
| I remember hearing about that cheese in the past. Does it need
| a cold chain to be shipped overseas?
| tomcam wrote:
| Not sure what a "cold chain" is but yes, it's shipped ice-
| filled styrofoam containers. Without it the cheese would
| sweat, which freaks people out.
| omnicognate wrote:
| I'd love to try that but the only site I can see selling it
| here in the UK wants 85 quid a tin.
|
| There are plenty of extra mature cheddars with crystals here,
| though. Marks & Spencer have a 2 year aged one called Cornish
| Cruncher that I'm partial to.
| TheAmazingRace wrote:
| I'll be making a stop in Seattle here in a few weeks. I'll see
| if this is available for purchase at Haggen.
| president_zippy wrote:
| Hard calcium-lactate crystals are an intentional feature of
| Belvitano cheese. They add a great texture and add tanginess to
| parmesan-esque taste.
| FumblingBear wrote:
| LOVE Bellavitano! I'm a huge fan of most of their cheeses, but
| especially the Garlic & Herb--it's like a delicious pizza :)
| chrisweekly wrote:
| Same! The Merlot is my go-to, but the "Herbs de Provence" was
| my all-time fave (can't seem to find it in local grocers
| these days)
| president_zippy wrote:
| Thanks for catching my typo, I hope more people discover
| their cheese. I love every variety of their cheese, but the
| Merlot and Tennessee Whiskey cheeses are on another level.
| supportengineer wrote:
| Rum Runner is one of my favorites
|
| https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/product/sartori-cheese-rum-...
| Frotag wrote:
| > Actually, all cheese making produces quite a bit of wastage. On
| average, if a dairy starts with ten-thousand pounds of milk,
| they'll end up with only a thousand pounds of cheese. The
| remaining nine-thousand pounds ends up as whey while the curd is
| formed.
|
| > That's right: if you run the numbers on cheese manufacturing,
| the percent yield is only about 10%.
|
| Yogurt-making produces a lot of whey too, though probably closer
| to ~50% whey rather than 90% (when made at home). The only
| difference between greek yogurt and regular yogurt is that greek
| yogurt is strained to remove the whey, making it thicker /
| creamier. Though most commercial brands try to cheat and thicken
| it with something like pectin (which usually makes it kind of
| jello-y).
|
| Anyways all that to say my favorite yogurt is the one where the
| only ingredient is milk + yogurt culture. No thickeners, added
| sugars, flavoring, I like to add those myself.
| FuriouslyAdrift wrote:
| Whey goes to make protein powder, whey butter, animal feed,
| etc. The Ag industry is so competitive that usually every
| little bit gets used for something.
| kragen wrote:
| I usually make my yogurt with powdered milk so that I can have
| less water in it. I don't add thickeners or sugar.
| pinewurst wrote:
| Aged Gouda from the Netherlands (my favorite!) is riddled with
| these crystals.
| temp0826 wrote:
| I'm picturing the author as Ratatouille, sniff-testing all the
| food for poison for his family
| flobosg wrote:
| Related, from a few months ago: _It's not mold, it's calcium
| lactate (2018)_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43535688
| pak9rabid wrote:
| The Coastal aged cheddar that Costco sells has these. And she's
| right, it makes the cheese much more enjoyable.
| ribs wrote:
| Right about the calcium lactate crystals, though wrong about
| lactic acid causing muscle pain; this has been debunked.
| r4ge wrote:
| My favorite super market bought cheese is mainland tasty cheddar,
| the best tasting blocks always have crystals.
| carterschonwald wrote:
| Aged Cabot Brand cheese often has these crystals. It's like a
| little salty crunch in every bite.
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