Customer Reviews

Cheddar Cheese Powder, 1 lb.

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I am admittedly a big fan of Barry Farm products. They make just about any food, veggie, dairy product, or spice in either a freeze dried or powdered form. As an outdoor enthusiast that enjoys carrying along a little taste of home into the savage wilderness, this is a company that I am well familiar with. Not everything they make is delicious, or worth it. My experience with them however is that most of their products are just about the finest, and many times the only ones around. This cheddar cheese powder is definitely one of their best. Many reviewers here mention making macaroni and cheese, and popcorn with it. Although I have used it for those purposes like everyone else, I have also used this powder as an addition to many soups that call for cheese, or grated cheese. (It makes a very flavorful substitute for grated cheese in many recipes.) Hamburger and sausage soups are a good example. Many times I have concocted delicious one pot meals using this powder while out in the wilds on a hike, or camping. They are remembered as some of the best meals I have ever had. It is also very good when sprinkled on home made pizza, and I have an excellent recipe that includes this powder, butter, flour, and salt, that makes a delicious cheese spread for crackers and super bowl parties. Barry Farms cheddar powder is strong and flavorful, and a little goes a long ways. A one pound bag will get you through many a recipe and outdoor adventure. However since the shipping on this is a little high, (and the powder so reasonable) I suggest buying two pounds or more at once and storing it in a good air tight container. You will save a lot on the shipping, and this powder will last for months if stored correctly. I highly recommend this cheddar powder for those that enjoy the simple pleasures of popcorn and mac and cheese, as well as the more adventurous among us in the kitchen, and over an open fire...

I've been looking for this for 30 years. I boldly assert that this is IDENTICAL, flavor-wise, to the Kraft mac-and-cheese powder. I'm pretty sure I've tried every form of boxed mac-and-cheese and can't begin to count the thousands of boxes that I and my family have gone through so I'm pretty confident in the accuracy of the prior sentence. In our house, whenever we make mac-and-cheese, we use extra packets of cheese, leaving orphaned boxes of uncooked noodles for later use. In the last two weeks, we've burned through three pounds of the Barry Farm cheese and a bunch of boxes of unloved pasta. Here's what I've learned:


1. As other reviewers have mentioned, you really can't use this exactly like you would the real Kraft powder. It will clump into little chewy cheese nuggets that don't quite work like the Kraft powder. You should mix the powder with a small amount of water/milk, making a paste, prior to adding it to your cooked pasta. As the cheese powder rehydrates, it will thicken a bit. If you plan to use it later, make it slightly runnier than you'd like. It'll firm up.

2. You don't NEED salt, milk, or butter. I prefer adding a bit of butter to the cooked pasta, but it's just fine to add the cheese, alone, to the noodles.

3. This is fantastic for leftover mac-and-cheese. Kraft veterans know that leftover Kraft dinner is never quite the same as a fresh pot. The Barry Farm powder, however, completely turns that notion on its head. Add some of the paste to day old mac-and-cheese, reheat, and it's as good as when it was first made.

4. This is great for independent children. :) My 6-year-old can take some cooked pasta (stored in a zip-top bag), stir in some of the cheese-paste and reheat it for a quick one bowl snack/meal, very much like EasyMac, only significantly better tasting.

5. You'll use more of this to flavor your mac-and-cheese than you would if it were the real Kraft powder. Not a lot more, but it doesn't seem to be a 1:1 conversion.


Yesterday, I ordered six more pounds of this stuff and will continue to keep it in our pantry for as long as it's available. If it came in 50-lb sacks, I'd buy that, too. It's a fantastic product and I'm thrilled to have found it.

Have purchased several bags of this cheese powder and will purchase more! We use it for mac and cheese, also use it to make cheese popcorn. I did purchase another brand that did not taste as good and was way too salty. Buy this, you'll like it!

I couldn't find this product anywhere and my 86 year old mother kept talking about the days when she could make cheese popcorn. She has jars of this cheese all over the house now and is happy as a jay-bird in whistling time.

I'm on my 2nd bag of this stuff.

This IS the KRAFT cheese powder! I at one point emailed Barry farms concerning something about it, and they told me it they buy 50 lb bags of the stuff from Kraft and break it down into 1 lb bags. All the same, its cheaper than buying the little round canisters of cheese powder that kraft sells for popcorn.

To compare to the stuff in the blue box mac and cheese, so I suggest 1/4 cup of cheese powder to 1/2 cup of pasta (uncooked) -- but you can experiment for yourself.

In terms of making mac and cheese, I suggest mixing it up with a little oil and milk (as suggested on the Kraft Mac & cheese boxes) and making sure the sauce is smooth BEFORE putting it on the cooked pasta or it will clump. The stuff for the blue box contains something to make it mix in smooth that the stuff for the popcorn doesn't have, so you do need to work a little to make sure the texture is smooth.

It is kind of sad that the shipping for this is so expensive (over twice the price of the item itself) but thats more about the post office than the company that sells it. Even so it still comes out cheaper than buying the little blue Kraft tubes of the stuff -- your not paying for the extra packaging.

While I felt that the chedder powder was flavourful, it mixed well for sauces but it did not work well for popcorn. It was a little too salty for my taste

Oh, how I love thee, Cheese Powder! Let me count the ways: macaroni and cheese on the cheap, added to soups or casseroles instead of real cheese, sprinkled on popcorn or homemade corn chips--or just lick a finger and dip into the neon orange powder and lick again--delicious!

To make 2 servings of Kraft-like mac and cheese: cook 1 cup pasta (mini ziti is fun), reserving a bit of cooking liquid when you strain it. Then add 3 tablespoons of cheese powder and a pat of butter. Stir until the cheese powder is dissolved (though it's known to clump a little, here and there). Add a bit more water if needed, or if too watery, just turn the heat back on and boil it away. We've always added in cooked meat or flavorings to taste. We love ham bits and fresh ground pepper on ours.

Tastes just like the "blue box" Kraft, but is way cheaper and more convenient! Word has it that this actually comes from Kraft itself. They buy it in bulk and repackage it as needed for resale. Nice!

Now if you're looking for cheese powder for making the cheese sauce that you'd put over broccoli and the like, that would be this powder here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F9ZM7M?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8

This is very flavorful cheese. Sometimes your not too sure about powdered cheese (the flavor & texture), but this is an exception. It is really great on popcorn & homemade mac & cheese. My family loves it and I'll definately be purchasing more.

If you like cheese popcorn, you'll love this powder! Land-O-Lakes makes a little 2.5 shaker for $2.50 or more, and doesn't taste nearly as good as this from Barry Farm. I've also added it to soups to 'cheese' it up. I'm born and bred in Wisconsin and I highly recommend this product.

its good...3 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons milk and cheese to taste makes delicious mac and cheese. i like it better than the name brand because i can make it a little cheesier and use a better quality noodle that doesnt get all squishy. only drawback is that monster shipping charge. still worth it, looks like i'll be able to make about 20 batches of mac n cheese, and can use some on popcorn if i get the notion....mmmm msg is delicious!