String Cheese

Test Date: June 2010

Tester: Michele

Products for this test purchased at Fred Meyer, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods.

MICHELE'S OPINION: These cheeses all had very slight differences, and if you're not tasting them side by side you probably won't know the difference. With that in mind, I would say go for whatever is on sale. But personally I would stay away from organic varieties and the Precious non-organic product. They are just not as tasty as the others. Read on for more details on taste, nutrition, and price:

PRICE COMPARISON FOR 6OZ CHEESE (store first, then brand):
$5.99 Whole Foods Horizon
$5.99 Whole Foods Organic Valley
$4.49 Whole Foods 365
$3.33 Trader Joe's Organic
$2.75 Fred Meyer Frigo
$2.50 Fred Meyer Precious
$1.75 Trader Joe's brand
$1.45 Fred Meyer Kroger

1. Kroger CowPals String Cheese: This cheese has a plump, fresh appearance and taste. It strings up very well. It has a mild mozzarella flavor.

2. Horizon Organic Mozzarella String Cheese: This also has a fresh, plump appearance, but does not string up easily. It has a more sour taste than the CowPals product.

3. Trader Joe's Organic String Cheese: This is a firm string cheese, is a bit dry, and has a plastic taste. But it strings up really well.

4. 365 Organic String Cheese: This cheese is relatively light in consistency and does not string up well. It has a fairly strong mozzarella flavor.

5. Organic Valley Stringles: This is a very dense string cheese with a strong mozzerella flavor.

6. Precious Stringsters: This is the creamiest cheese of the bunch, both in flavor and texture. It is also slightly plastic-y in taste.

7. Trader Joe's String Cheese: This cheese doesn't string up well at all and has a strong mozzerella flavor.

8. Frigo Cheese Heads String: This cheese strings up great. However, it is relatively dry compared to the other options.

NUTRITIONAL NOTES: There are no major nutritional differences between any of these products, so don't choose based on that. All of them have the same number of calories (80) per 28g serving. All also have similar levels of fat (5-6g) and protein (6-8g). Sodium content falls between 180mg and 210mg.

TASTE WINNER: For non-organic, you can't beat CowPals, both in flavor and in price. If you must go organic, then choose the 365 product from Whole Foods.