String cheese as it is known to most of us, is a fairly new revelation to me.
Most Australians my age (cough) are unfamilar with the commercial string cheese we see in supermarkets now. When I was a kid, we did have Kraft cheese sticks, which were a different texture entirely. They were processed cheddar cheese, extruded into plastic and sealed with tiny metal rings. In hindsight, those metal rings were a choking hazard. Speaking of hazard, after four hours in the lunch box, these sticks had also turned nuclear, or mushy.
Moving to the Middle East I discovered the commercial American string cheese, as well as the local variety which is known generally as Shelal Cheese which hails from the Levant.
I’m always a fan of trying an old favorite in a new way and when I came across Karoun Cheese from California at my local Lulu Hypermarket recently, I couldn’t resist.
Marinated in olive oil, garlic and herbs, the cheese is made from part-skim milk. It’s mild and with a firm but chewy texture and has just enough zing to elevate it above the usual “string cheese”. Perfect for an afternoon snack.
A long way from the cheese sticks that blighted my childhood. For a look back, I found a photo. Nostalgic? Traumatic? You have been warned.
