String cheese is a low-carbohydrate snack that’s packed with essential nutrients. It’s an excellent source of protein and calcium.
This fruit is an excellent source of selenium and vitamin B12. The “Lite” version has less sodium and saturated fat, making it a healthy option for either a midafternoon snack or as part of your meal.
String Cheese Nutrition Facts
Protein
String cheese offers 6.7 grams of protein per 28-gram serving, more than what can be obtained from chicken or turkey per serving.
String cheese’s protein content makes it a perfect food choice for those on a calorie-limited diet, as the high protein content helps you feel satiated longer, decreasing cravings and caloric intake.
String cheese, at only 50 calories per stick, makes for a nutritious and filling snack. But be sure to read the nutrition facts label carefully and be mindful of sodium levels.
Sodium is an essential nutrient required by the body for proper functioning, but too much of it can increase blood pressure and water retention. Therefore, experts suggest limiting sodium consumption to 2000 mg or 2 grams of salt daily.
Calcium
Cheese, especially string cheese, is an excellent source of calcium. Additionally, it provides other essential nutrients like vitamin B12 and selenium.
String cheese is created through a straightforward process of heating and stretching fresh cheese curd, creating a product that can be peeled apart into long strands – this step is known as plasticization.
String cheese is an ideal snack choice compared to other popular snack foods like candy, chips or cake as it provides protein as well as essential vitamins and minerals.
Furthermore, caffeine provides a quick burst of energy.
String cheese contains 85 calories in 28 grams, mostly from protein and dietary fat.
String cheese provides a nutritious balance of nutrients, and each serving only has one gram of carbohydrates – making it an ideal choice for those on low carb diets.
Fat
String cheese may be a relatively nutritious snack, but it’s also high in fat. A serving of string cheese contains 5.8 grams of total fat with 3.3 grams of saturated fat, 1.3 grams of monounsaturated fat and 0.2 grams of polyunsaturated fat.
String cheese contains 6.7 grams of protein, similar to other sources such as chicken.
String cheese makes an excellent on-the-go snack, helping you feel satisfied. Plus, it’s packed with calcium, vitamin B12, and selenium for added nutrition.
String cheese, at 28 grams per serving, provides 20% of your daily recommended value for calcium, 14% for selenium and 20% for vitamin B12. This amount is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Sodium
Cheese requires a certain level of sodium to prevent starter and nonstarter lactic acid bacteria from controlling pH and the production of flavor compounds. Furthermore, excessive sodium levels may inhibit peptidases that modify texture and taste (Guinee, 2004).
Variations in sodium content can occur due to processing conditions, product forms and, for process cheese specifically, different standards of identity and ingredients. Accurate control over salt uptake and distribution within cheese is essential for producing top-notch cheese products.
The National Salt Reduction Initiative has released sales-weighted mean targets to encourage manufacturers to voluntarily reduce sodium content in 62 categories of packaged foods and 25 classes of restaurant food (NYC Health, 2010b).
These values aim to decrease Americans’ salt intake by 25% over five years.
How Is String Cheese Made
String cheese is made by aligning the proteins in the cheese, which makes it stringy. The cheese used is commonly a form of mozzarella, or a combination of mozzarella and cheddar.
The process of making string cheese starts with raw milk, which is pasteurized to kill bacteria. Next, a cheese-specific bacteria culture is added to the milk, and all string cheese starts as mozzarella.
The culture creates a curds-and-whey mixture, and the whey liquid is drained from the curds, which are then rinsed. The clean curds are then dumped into a cooker vat, and the curds come out the other end as a giant glob of mozzarella cheese.
The cheese is then forced through an extruder, turning it into long cheese ropes, which are then cut to size and packaged as string cheese.
It is important to note that string cheese must always be made from mozzarella cheese because it is the only type of cheese that has a stringing quality naturally.
Some Brands of String Cheese
There are several popular brands of string cheese available in the market. Some of the popular brands of string cheese include Kraft, 365 By Whole Foods, Weight Watchers, and Frigo Cheese Heads.
Kraft offers a variety of string cheese products, including Creamy Whole Milk String Cheese, Mozzarella String Cheese, Mozzarella & Cheddar Twist, Reduced Fat (2%) Mozzarella String Cheese, and various cheese sticks such as Colby, Colby & Pepper Jack, Mild Cheddar, Mozzarella & Cheddar, Pepper Jack, and Bacon Cheddar.
Frigo Cheese Heads is another popular brand that offers Original Mozzarella String Cheese and other varieties such as Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, and Sharp Cheddar.
According to a taste test conducted by Taste of Home, some of the best string cheese brands include Kroger Mozzarella String Cheese, Galbani String Cheese, and Sargento String Cheese.
The taste test found that a good string cheese should taste like a mild, lightly salted mozzarella and should easily tear into strips. It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and there are many smaller and store brands that are not included.
What Are Some Recipes That Use String Cheese
There are several recipes that use string cheese as an ingredient. Some popular recipes include mozzarella sticks, pizza rolls, stuffed breadsticks, and pasta dishes.
Mozzarella sticks can be made by coating string cheese in breadcrumbs and frying them until golden brown. Pizza rolls can be made by wrapping string cheese in pizza dough and baking them in the oven.
Stuffed breadsticks can be made by wrapping string cheese in pizza dough and baking them with garlic butter and parmesan cheese. String cheese can also be used as a filling for pasta dishes like ravioli and manicotti.
Other recipes that use string cheese include appetizers like smoked string cheese and prosciutto bites, cheesy roll-ups, and Italian pasta salad.
