I love cheese. It is no secret that if it is made from dairy, I have an almost overwhelming desire to eat it. To put it, as my friend Austin often says, in my mouf. Preferrably with some bread. Or crackers. Or pasta. Or rice. I'm equal opportunity, really. Dairy + starch = Yum.
You can sense, dear readers, a "but" coming on. The problem with cheese (correction: the problem with my unadulterated love of cheese) is that most cheeses (particularly aged cheeses) are made with rennet. Rennet, as some of you may know, is an enzyme that helps cheese to coagulate. Remember Little Miss Muffett? Her curds and whey were the result of a coagulation process in which the fat solids of the milk (the curds) pulled away from the water and sugar (the whey) in the milk with a little help from our friend rennet. Not all cheese is made from rennet, and not all rennet is bad. Some rennet is vegetarian, derived from yeast, mushrooms, and the like. Other rennet, however, is taken from the stomaches of calves or other animals.
Rabbis are divided as to whether rennet that comes from animal products are "meat" for the purposes of kashrut. Some would argue that such cheese made with animal rennet would be treif both because it would mix milk and meat AND because it would be difficult to figure out whether the animal was kosher. On the other hand, when a noted Talmudic sage was asked the question of whether such a cheese would be treif, "hayseo ledavar achayr," - he changed the subject. The other twist is that there is a rule in kashrut in which something that a dog wouldn't eat wouldn't be considered "food." Would a dog eat rennet (which is pretty chemically and gross)? No definitive ruling has ever been made, of course.
Thus, if a cheesemaker uses animal rennet, her cheese may or may not be treif. Yet, the USDA doesn't require cheesemakers to say what kind of rennet they use. So, it's hard to know unless cheese is hecshered whether the cheese is "Kosher" or not. Some rabbis have argued that the USDA's rules for milk and cheese are sufficient that there should not be a need for kosher certification, but this rule is still very much in the minority.
In other words, the jury is still out.
My rule of thumb is as follows: I buy kosher cheese whenever I can. Because almost all cheeses made in the U.S. are made with microbial (parve) rennet and most of these microbial rennet manufacturers are hecshered, I err on the side of buying US-made cheeses without hecshers unless they specify that they are made with animal rennet.
For foreign-derived cheeses (why do all the good ones fall into this category????), I take it on a case-by-case basis. If the label says animal rennet, I don't eat it. If it's a longer-aged or hard cheese (which more commonly uses animal rennet), I won't eat it. If it's a fresh cheese, which requires less coagulation, then I usually say it's okay. Does this make me less frum than I feel I should be? You betcha. So, with that long explanation, I give you a recipe.
Trader Joes is lovely because they offer a variety of kosher cheese. I've been a big fan of their feta and their lite chevre, and they also sell Cabot products, most of which are hecshered . I also LOVE Joseph's Soy and Flax flatbreads - they are 60 calories and make a wonderful sandwich, pizza, or tostada base.
Because so many of my recipes are cheesy and I have posted so many, I thought I'd post a couple of kugel recipes. I made one of these for the law schools "Taste of Diversity"...Shockingly, the Jewish Law Students Association were one of the only groups that had food left at the end of the event...because running out of food is a terrible sin. Anyway, both of these recipes utilize lovely yummy kosher cheese. :-)
Easy Applesauce Kugel
8 oz. package medium or fine noodles (I use medium)
8 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1/2 pint sour cream
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 c. plus 1 tbsn. white or light brown sugar
15 oz applesauce (I prefer unsweetened)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2. Pour into one large or two smaller baking dishes and top with remaining sugar and cinnamon. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve warm or at room temperature. Kugel is also wonderful as leftovers (if you have any left).
I am sucker for all things cheese-and-spinach.
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped (if you are using the food processor to grate the potatoes, throw the onion in too)
1 1/2 c. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 1/2 c. + 1/4 cup shredded kosher cheddar or other hard cheese (this recipe is very flexible)
3/4 c. light sour cream
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsn. olive oil or melted butter
1 tsp. dijon mustard or 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. garlic powder or 1/2 tsp. minced/crushed garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack in the middle. Lightly oil a medium casserole dish.
2. Mix together potatoes, onion, spinach, and 1 1/2 c. shredded cheese in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, oil/butter, sour cream, mustard, garlic (powder), salt, and pepper.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into casserole dish and top with remaining cheddar.
5. Bake 1 hour. If top is not golden, set oven to broil and broil 3-5 minutes until cheese is gooey and brown on top. Serve hot.
This recipe also freezes well (and is kosher for passover).
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