Start Spreading the Cheese

April 2, 2025 12:40 PM

Cheese is one of those food markers that demonstrates the power of processing to preserve and transform a vulnerable food source. The amount of cheese, cheese products, cheese dishes and cheese culture (even sport) is incalculable. Today - we're here not to cut through the world's cheeses, but instead to spread the love of the cheese spread

Included for your savoring a small collection of cheese spreads for your gustatory pleasure. As always, this is a tiny, ill informed sample of the world's offerings with many cultures and ideas overlapping and recipes varying.

Help fill it out with your favorites!

• Fromage Fort (French) - inspired this post via the linked video from Jacques Pepin - basically the way to save all the weird nubs of cheese (they do exist!)
• Almogrote (Canary Islands) - Hard cheese, black pepper, chiles, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes
• Benedictine Spread (Lousiville) - Cream cheese, cucumber, chives, sour cream
• Cervelle de Canut (French/Lyon) - fromage blanc, chervil, chives, parsley, tarragon, olive oil, wine vinegar, garlic
• česneková pomazánka (Czechia) - grated semi-hard cheese, mayo, sour cream, grated garlic
• Cheese Ball - cream cheese, cheddar cheese, onions, garlic, Worcestershire and nuts (pecans or almonds)
• Liptauer (Austrian/Slovakian/Hungarian) - cheese, butter, mustard, paprika, caraway, pickles, onion, peppers
• Moretum (Ancient Rome) - ricotta, green herbs, pepper and olive oil
• Obatzda (Germany) - Soft cheese, butter, chives, onion, paprika, beer
• Pimento Cheese (US South) - mayo, cheddar cheese, pimentos - I grew up poor and pimento cheese sandwiches on the cheapest white bread ever were a staple
• Port Wine Cheese Spread - port, butter, cheddar, cream cheese
• Pub Cheese (So many) - cheddar with garlic, worcestershire sauce, mustard - sometimes beer, sometimes cream cheese, etc
• Tirokafteri (Greek) - feta, roasted peppers, olive oil, garlic, chiles
• Urnebas Salad (Serbia) - white cheese (Sirene - crumbly, brined), red pepper, olive oil, hot paprika, garlic

And for dessert (because eating slices of Brunost on bread doesn't count as a spread):

Cheese Cake Dip - cream cheese whipped with sugar, vanilla extract and anything else else you can think of to spread on anything you can think of.

posted by drewbage1847 (36 comments total)

Did you see Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning shredded cheese?

He wants to Make America Grate Again.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 12:55 PM on April 2 [10 favorites]

It was always the manifest destiny of Greek sheep's cheese to become globally popular.

You could call it a fait accompli.
posted by protorp at 1:39 PM on April 2 [3 favorites]

Cheddar/Horseradish spread is my favorite pub cheese flavor.

I used to get Win Schuler's Bar Scheeze all the time but somehow they lost distribution around the USA and it's hard to find now. President sells a fair equivalent as well as Trader Joe's.
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:09 PM on April 2

You make a listicle of cheese spreads and include the "cheese ball" but not the inestimable Cheese Log?
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 2:25 PM on April 2 [3 favorites]

I mean that seems like a matter of form - and I did say this was a tiny ill informed sample! :)
posted by drewbage1847 at 2:27 PM on April 2

The Bar Scheeze is the best. I always look for it but I'm a bit out of their distribution area. They haven't made it to Minnesota yet, so I have to settle for inferior substitutes...
posted by caution live frogs at 2:28 PM on April 2 [1 favorite]

Nominating Boursin cheese, a can't miss appetizer staple. Also a shout out for baked Brie with cranberries.

Is there room on this list for good ole American cheese spray?
posted by Artful Codger at 2:41 PM on April 2 [6 favorites]

Thanks for this post... reminded me it is way too long since I made Obatzda. And I will try Fromage Fort, learned something new!
posted by uncle harold at 2:45 PM on April 2 [2 favorites]

I think Kraft may have changed the recipe on their cheese spread in the little glass jars. Seems more rubbery lately. My favorite was spreading some in celery stalks and settling down to watch The Love Boat!
posted by Czjewel at 3:17 PM on April 2 [4 favorites]

So if you upgrade Fromage Fort, do you get Fromage Castle?
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 3:21 PM on April 2 [2 favorites]

The ultimate upgrade is Fromage-a-lago
posted by Artful Codger at 3:29 PM on April 2 [1 favorite]

On a side note - just from the ingredients, Fromage Fort is basically simply spreadable Cheese Fondue.

Which, of course, is a good thing.
posted by uncle harold at 3:42 PM on April 2 [2 favorites]

Artful, thank you for that. The "Physical/Chemical Properties" section of that Wikipedia entry on Easy Cheese is not fucking around:

The key role of emulsifying agents in Easy Cheese is to create a uniform cheese spread by altering the structure of casein micelles in the cheese. Casein micelles have a diameter ranging from 15 to 20 nanometers and are composed of flexible aggregates alpha-, beta-, and kappa-casein. The alpha- and beta-casein are kept in place by “colloidal calcium phosphate-mediated cross links” covered with a kappa-casein outer layer.[4] The outer layer on the casein's surface has glycosylated hydrophilic tails that are negatively charged and is stable in solution due to Van der Waals interactions. All of the negative charges causes the casein micelles to initially repel each other and provides stability to the matrix by protecting the alpha- and beta-caseins.[9]

posted by phooky at 4:00 PM on April 2 [4 favorites]

I think Kraft may have changed the recipe on their cheese spread in the little glass jars. Seems more rubbery lately. My favorite was spreading some in celery stalks and settling down to watch The Love Boat!

As I always say: you couldn't watch an NHL game on TV in Canada in the 1970s without a lugubrious announcer intoning the virtues of Velveeta in the adverts.
posted by ovvl at 4:03 PM on April 2 [2 favorites]

I smell what you did there.
posted by y2karl at 4:05 PM on April 2 [2 favorites]

One of my favourite grade school lunch sandwiches ever was my friend Richard’s Cheez Whiz on white bread at room temperature. He didn’t care for them and I loved them so we’d swap. Mine was usually a peanut butter and honey or jam on brown. I haven’t thought of those Cheez Whiz sandwiches in quite some time.

Cut them into triangles, top with a sprig of parsley and you have conversation-starter hors d’oeuvres.
posted by ashbury at 4:11 PM on April 2

Oh, and according to many people, one of life’s mysteries is the fact that I don’t like Brie in any way at all, whatsoever, nuh uh, no way that stuff is getting into my mouth. Eating Brie is how evil gets inside of you. Brie and bad both start with the letter B; coincidence?
posted by ashbury at 4:24 PM on April 2 [1 favorite]

I like cheese.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 4:25 PM on April 2

I too like cheese.

I too do not enjoy Brie much.

I do enjoy some Camembert though.

But, the cat has eaten it. Despite how excremently runny it is...

Not a huge fan of spreadable cheeses. Texture I guess. Let's not talk about spray cheese. Or Velveeta...

Now I want cheese for dinner.
posted by Windopaene at 4:30 PM on April 2 [4 favorites]

I, too, want cheese for dinner (most of the time)
Argentinean provoleta with chimichurri on the side
posted by winesong at 4:39 PM on April 2 [1 favorite]

To add to the noise - it's not really a cheese spread or dip, but I've made the viral "Fried Pickle Dip", which leans on the whole cream cheese/sour cream dip base and makes it like fried pickles. Could eat a whole tub of it without blinking! (so I only make it for special occasions.)
posted by drewbage1847 at 4:40 PM on April 2

The wikipedia entry for Primula cheese spread is titled to remind you what it is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primula_(food)
posted by mdoar at 5:11 PM on April 2 [1 favorite]

I don't miss many non-vegan foods, but pimento cheese is definitely one of them! I grew up in Greenville SC, home of Duke's Mayo, and that was damn near mandatory for pimento cheese.
posted by Kitteh at 5:11 PM on April 2 [5 favorites]

It took me forever to figure out what the cheese spread was that my mom used to make, but I did! I present Liptauer! I might have to make some this weekend.

I have a bag of sodium citrate for making smooth cheese sauce, but sadly few occasions that call for cheese sauce (partner is not out of the house enough for me to make it just because).
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 5:15 PM on April 2 [1 favorite]

I do love me some cheese, Gromit. But alas, advancing age and a sobering CA score have caused the words in this post to say nothing to me but “saturated fat”, “saturated fat”, and “more saturated fat”, as I look in through the window at all those delicious cheese spreads.
posted by smcdow at 5:47 PM on April 2

I feel like ordering those cute jars of Kraft pimento cheese spread was a pandemic comfort thing for me. I kind of miss it but I know it's not going to be what it was.

I do like buying some "fancy" cheese spread every now and then even when I know ... it's just processed cheese (no judgement or shame. it's delicious).

I need more friends so we can do fondue together.

I like cheese.
posted by edencosmic at 5:58 PM on April 2 [1 favorite]

Door County's Renard's Cream Cheese and Chives (it used to just be "cheese spread" but they've "diversified"). I don't think calling it this gives it a fair shake it's not just "cream cheese and chives". It's much better, but the formula changed a few years back I think they made it a bit more like the old way (horseradish), after removing some/reducing. But I haven't tried it in a few years.

Anyways. Yes, this. everytime I go home and visit my folks (or used to at least) I'd pick this up .

I actually want to package order some of this and other goodies to send to the "Irish people try" channel, but haven't had money since I'm jobless. Once I get income this is one of the first things I'm gonna do.
posted by symbioid at 6:25 PM on April 2

The gates swung open and Cheez Whiz entered.
posted by storybored at 8:58 PM on April 2 [1 favorite]

I'm picky about cheese: mold ripened or alpine taste vile to me but I like natural rind and fresh A2 casein types.
posted by brujita at 12:34 AM on April 3

A company called Ciba used to make a range of very nice cheese spreads here in Seattle, including a delightful Gorgonzola walnut spread.

Which they discontinued for some reason. I happened to run into the owner socially and made plaintive noises about how much I missed it, and he told me that the mold component of the Gorgonzola grew into the other ingredients of the spread when it was in people's refrigerators. I didn't immediately see why that was necessarily undesirable, but I didn't push it.

As well as being wonderful on Lavash crackers, it made a very nice salad dressing when thinned with milk, buttermilk, or kefir, and I think that's true of many cheese spreads.
posted by jamjam at 12:53 AM on April 3 [4 favorites]

I'm one of the few people I know who doesn't like cheese that's been aged long enough to form amino acid crystals. I don't care for cheese that's crunchy, even though I like cheese with crunchy things.
posted by indexy at 6:33 AM on April 3

But, the cat has eaten it. Despite how excremently runny it is...

Mr. Wensleydale?
posted by Hardcore Poser at 7:23 AM on April 3 [1 favorite]

For a great accompaniment to a soft pretzel, try microwaving cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, yellow mustard and a little flour. Mix and dip.
posted by CosmicSands at 7:55 AM on April 3

There are so many good spreadables, but me? I’d rather cut the cheese.
posted by conscious matter at 9:57 AM on April 3

I love beer cheese and only realized a few months ago that it's really easy to make with a food processor (and a lot cheaper than buying it). Unfortunately for my health this means I eat a lot more cheese...
posted by metasarah at 1:09 PM on April 3

Given my Metafilter name, you will not be surprised that I found this post quite gouda.

But now it's 3:30 a.m. and I'm craving saganaki (flaming kesseri (or graviera, kefalograviera, or halloumi) cheese) from my favorite Greek restaurant, spread thickly on pillowy challah-like bread or pita.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 12:33 AM on April 4