Holy smokes, consumers love cheese! They crave it delivered on pizza; blanketed on handhelds like burgers, sandwiches, and hot dogs; smothered on pasta, nachos, and eggs; shaved on salads; or dolloped on a charcuterie board.
Heck, some fanatics will crush straight cubes of cheese as an afternoon snack. There’s really no culinary limit to cheese applications. And as the summer comes rolling in, people tend to get even cheesier! Let’s talk about a few summer varieties, appropriate across dayparts, that will cause cheese lovers to melt.
Looking Sharp
Cheddar is one of the most commonly used cheeses, but what makes sharp cheddar a little more fun for foodservice? Sharp is aged longer than classic cheddar, resulting in a robust, tangy flavor that’s phenomenal with saucy, pulled pork or BBQ grilled chicken sandwiches.
Sprinkle a product, like Northland Star® Sharp Cheddar, over loaded nachos or creamy pasta concoctions. The Northland Star option is aged for six months and then shredded fresh for top performance.
Smoke Signal
What about a little extra flavor to elevate classic comfort dishes, like brunch and burgers? Hickory smoked cheddar from Ultimo!® is cold smoked on low temps for 10 hours, imbuing the cheese with a slightly sweet and savory combination that takes cheddar to new heights. Western-style omelets, BBQ-inspired mac ‘n’ cheese, and cowboy burgers will say yeehaw to this freshly shredded smokeshow!
You Know Jack
Perhaps it’s a touch of spicy that’s needed to send a jolt through cheesy specials and LTOs? Pepper jack melds the mild, slightly sweet flavor of white California jack with the heat from jalapeno peppers for a zesty taste bud party. Contigo® Pepper Jack lights a fire for southwestern chilis, easy-to-prep quesadillas, and Latin brunch feasts, like huevos rancheros. Any of the above cheese selections could also be just what dad ordered, draped over hot dogs as a summery Father’s Day special.
The Hard Way
The summer heat paves the way for the crisp, light freshness of salad season or the shareable flexibility of charcuterie boards. Here, hard cheeses from brands like Ultimo! can provide complementary flavors and textures.
Varieties such as Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano add notes of sweet and nutty or salty, respectively — and through Performance, they are shredded to order. The hard cheese shreds tend to be longer than others on the market, helping to stay in place when topped on salads, while thicker, shaved items are known to travel well.
It’s Customary
Special ingredients may set your restaurant apart, attracting summer traffic with unique flavors guests can’t get anywhere else. It just so happens that Performance’s in-house experts at Northland® craft custom blends, including shred and dice varieties that fit your concept. Northland sources more than 140 cheeses from America’s dairyland — so you can get a high-performing blend that’s exclusive to your place. It’s time to get melty, creamy, and gnarly — welcome to the summer of shred!
