Cheese Straw experiment

On Mon 02 Jan 2006 05:24:09p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Soren
Lorensen?

Quoted message said:

[My first post - hello!]

Wecome to rec.food.cooking!!!

Quoted message said:

Recently, I bought a way overpriced but tasty product called
"Geraldine's Bodacious Cheese Straws". After polishing them off in one
sitting with my SO (hey, it was the holidays), I found myself in
pursuit of my own recipe so I could make them anytime.

There were a number of nearly identical recipes online, but all had the
same unsatisfying result - not enough cheese flavor. Some recipes use
as much as a stick of butter, which makes something tasting closer to a
butter cookie than a cheese cracker.

I had to figure out how to get the crunch, the richness, and the deep
flavor. So here is what I came up with. Please try it and let me know
what you think.

Blend with hands:
1.25 cups of finely shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 packet of cheddar cheese powder from a box of Annie's Organic
Mac-n-Cheese (save the noodles for another dish)

Sounds like you've done your homework and come up with a good Cheese Straw.
The trick would be find "Annie's Organic Mac-n-Cheese". I've never heard of
it. Perhaps the packet out of the box of Kraft's would work?

Quoted message said:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

In another bowl blend with a fork:
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
slightly less than 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
slightly less than 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Then cut into the dry ingredients:
2 Tablespoons cubed and well chilled unstaled butter
2 Tablespoons shortening (or margerine. Your choice...I used Crisco
despite the trans-fats...oh well)

The resulting mix should look like crumbs or dry oatmeal (like making a
piec crust). Now add the cheese to the flour bowl and work everything
together with the finger tips, using a sort of pinching motion.

Add 2-4 Tablespoons cold water and pinch some more. Use only as much
water as it takes to have the dough come together. It shouldn't be
tacky but also should be crumbly. When it forms a solid ball in your
hands, let it sit a few minutes and then either extrude into snake
shapes using in a cookie press, or flatten into a 1/8 inch sheet and
cut into french-fry sizes.

Lay a sheet of parchement on a cookie tray, and bak for about 20
minutes at 325 degrees. Take out the tray and let them cool. Then
shuffle the straws around, return tray to the oven and bake for another
10 minutes at 250 degrees.

That's it! They still aren't as cheesy as Geraldine's, but I'm getting
closer. Let me know if you like them.

-Soren

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
__________________________________________________________________
And if we enter a room full of manure, may we believe in the pony.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

1 packet of cheddar cheese powder from a box of Annie's Organic
Mac-n-Cheese (save the noodles for another dish)

Sounds like you've done your homework and come up with a good Cheese
Straw.
The trick would be find "Annie's Organic Mac-n-Cheese". I've never heard
of
it. Perhaps the packet out of the box of Kraft's would work?

If one looks around or asks the grocer you can buy Kraft Cheese powder in a
container like the Kraft Parmesan Cheese. The container is pretty small
though. Yeah, it's not the most gourmet of ingredients, but every now and
then I need some concentrated orange cheese powder. 🙂

This recipe sounds delicious.

Lynne

On Mon 02 Jan 2006 07:46:31p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it King's
Crown?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

1 packet of cheddar cheese powder from a box of Annie's Organic
Mac-n-Cheese (save the noodles for another dish)

Sounds like you've done your homework and come up with a good Cheese
Straw.
The trick would be find "Annie's Organic Mac-n-Cheese". I've never
heard of it. Perhaps the packet out of the box of Kraft's would work?

If one looks around or asks the grocer you can buy Kraft Cheese powder
in a container like the Kraft Parmesan Cheese. The container is pretty
small though. Yeah, it's not the most gourmet of ingredients, but every
now and then I need some concentrated orange cheese powder. 🙂

This recipe sounds delicious.

Lynne

Oh, yes, I remember seeing that. I bet that would work.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
__________________________________________________________________
And if we enter a room full of manure, may we believe in the pony.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Mon 02 Jan 2006 05:24:09p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Soren
Lorensen?

Quoted message said:

[My first post - hello!]

Wecome to rec.food.cooking!!!

Quoted message said:

Recently, I bought a way overpriced but tasty product called
"Geraldine's Bodacious Cheese Straws". After polishing them off in one
sitting with my SO (hey, it was the holidays), I found myself in
pursuit of my own recipe so I could make them anytime.

There were a number of nearly identical recipes online, but all had the
same unsatisfying result - not enough cheese flavor. Some recipes use
as much as a stick of butter, which makes something tasting closer to a
butter cookie than a cheese cracker.

I had to figure out how to get the crunch, the richness, and the deep
flavor. So here is what I came up with. Please try it and let me know
what you think.

Blend with hands:
1.25 cups of finely shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 packet of cheddar cheese powder from a box of Annie's Organic
Mac-n-Cheese (save the noodles for another dish)

Sounds like you've done your homework and come up with a good Cheese Straw.
The trick would be find "Annie's Organic Mac-n-Cheese". I've never heard of
it. Perhaps the packet out of the box of Kraft's would work?

The King Arthur's Flour catalog used to carry a couple of types of
powdered cheese.

Isaac

Soren Lorensen said:

[My first post - hello!]

Recently, I bought a way overpriced but tasty product called
"Geraldine's Bodacious Cheese Straws". After polishing them off in one
sitting with my SO (hey, it was the holidays), I found myself in
pursuit of my own recipe so I could make them anytime.

There were a number of nearly identical recipes online, but all had the
same unsatisfying result - not enough cheese flavor. Some recipes use
as much as a stick of butter, which makes something tasting closer to a
butter cookie than a cheese cracker.

I had to figure out how to get the crunch, the richness, and the deep
flavor. So here is what I came up with. Please try it and let me know
what you think.

Blend with hands:
1.25 cups of finely shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 packet of cheddar cheese powder from a box of Annie's Organic
Mac-n-Cheese (save the noodles for another dish)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

In another bowl blend with a fork:
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
slightly less than 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
slightly less than 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Then cut into the dry ingredients:
2 Tablespoons cubed and well chilled unstaled butter
2 Tablespoons shortening (or margerine. Your choice...I used Crisco
despite the trans-fats...oh well)

The resulting mix should look like crumbs or dry oatmeal (like making a
piec crust). Now add the cheese to the flour bowl and work everything
together with the finger tips, using a sort of pinching motion.

Add 2-4 Tablespoons cold water and pinch some more. Use only as much
water as it takes to have the dough come together. It shouldn't be
tacky but also should be crumbly. When it forms a solid ball in your
hands, let it sit a few minutes and then either extrude into snake
shapes using in a cookie press, or flatten into a 1/8 inch sheet and
cut into french-fry sizes.

Lay a sheet of parchement on a cookie tray, and bak for about 20
minutes at 325 degrees. Take out the tray and let them cool. Then
shuffle the straws around, return tray to the oven and bake for another
10 minutes at 250 degrees.

That's it! They still aren't as cheesy as Geraldine's, but I'm getting
closer. Let me know if you like them.

-Soren

Thanks for posting this; I'm gonna save it for later. A few of
suggestions that might make them cheesier (I don't think I'd try all 3
at once):

1) substitute bleu cheese for some of the cheddar
2) add 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne
3) add a little dry mustard powder (I dunno how much, 1/2 tsp?)

Best regards,
Bob

Soren Lorensen said:

[My first post - hello!]

Recently, I bought a way overpriced but tasty product called
"Geraldine's Bodacious Cheese Straws". After polishing them off in one
sitting with my SO (hey, it was the holidays), I found myself in
pursuit of my own recipe so I could make them anytime.

There were a number of nearly identical recipes online, but all had the
same unsatisfying result - not enough cheese flavor. Some recipes use
as much as a stick of butter, which makes something tasting closer to a
butter cookie than a cheese cracker.

I had to figure out how to get the crunch, the richness, and the deep
flavor. So here is what I came up with. Please try it and let me know
what you think.

Blend with hands:
1.25 cups of finely shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 packet of cheddar cheese powder from a box of Annie's Organic
Mac-n-Cheese (save the noodles for another dish)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

In another bowl blend with a fork:
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
slightly less than 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
slightly less than 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Then cut into the dry ingredients:
2 Tablespoons cubed and well chilled unstaled butter
2 Tablespoons shortening (or margerine. Your choice...I used Crisco
despite the trans-fats...oh well)

The resulting mix should look like crumbs or dry oatmeal (like making a
piec crust). Now add the cheese to the flour bowl and work everything
together with the finger tips, using a sort of pinching motion.

Add 2-4 Tablespoons cold water and pinch some more. Use only as much
water as it takes to have the dough come together. It shouldn't be
tacky but also should be crumbly. When it forms a solid ball in your
hands, let it sit a few minutes and then either extrude into snake
shapes using in a cookie press, or flatten into a 1/8 inch sheet and
cut into french-fry sizes.

Lay a sheet of parchement on a cookie tray, and bak for about 20
minutes at 325 degrees. Take out the tray and let them cool. Then
shuffle the straws around, return tray to the oven and bake for another
10 minutes at 250 degrees.

That's it! They still aren't as cheesy as Geraldine's, but I'm getting
closer. Let me know if you like them.

-Soren

Recipe looks ok...A pinch of powered mustard or cayanne pepper will
bring out the "Cheesey" flavour.

In article <[email hidden]>, Mr Libido Incognito

Quoted message said:

Soren Lorensen said:

[My first post - hello!]
recipe snipped

-Soren

Recipe looks ok...A pinch of powered mustard or cayanne pepper will
bring out the "Cheesey" flavour.

Thanks for the responses. I actually made an earlier variation
following the more traditional recipe, using about 1/4 teaspoon of
cayenne and hungarian paprika as well as a dash of Worcestershire sauce
but my 3 year old told me it made her "feel too spicy". :-)

They were delicious additions, but I cut those out for her benefit.

As for finding Annie's - certainly a package of Kraft or other cheese
powder will work just as well. I just happen to favor the Annie's
because it is readily available at most supermarkets here (northeast
US), and because it has the least amount of unrecognizable names in the
ingredients list.

http://www.annies.com/products/cheese_powder_white_cheddar.htm
(I don't work for Annie's, BTW!)

There are also suppliers online, such as King Arthur and
TheSpiceHouse.com where you can purchase a bulk supply.

http://shop.bakerscatalogue.com/items/item1223.html
http://www.thespicehouse.com/product/product_Cheddar-Cheese-Powder.php
http://www.barryfarm.com/nutri_info/milk/cheddarpowder.html

Also, thanks to those who suggested dry mustard. I forgot about that
one even though I use it in my own homemade mac-n-cheese.

Enjoy!
-Soren