just kinda odd...

[DaDairyDruid]

So Yesterday a customer asked me if we carried grated montery jack cheese. I told her that no we did not, but we did carry shredded montery jack, as well as blocks. She then commented that she needed grated for a recipe. She waved the recipe printout at me, and I saw it was for some form of "white chicken chili". At that point I realized that the cheese was most likely going to be sprinkled on top and get all melty and good and there was no real difference between grated and shredded for that purpose. She asked what the difference was between grated and shredded and I told her that grated just meant a finer "cut" of the cheese.

Then In my "See, I'm trying to be helpful voice" I say "Well I suppose you could always BUY A CHEESE GRATER and do it yourself at home" Most people at that point would think "gee that sounds too much like work," and get the shredded cheese.

The customer then asked "well then what aisle are your cheese graters in ?"

::blinkity:: umm what?

I told her that we had them in Aisle 4 and they would be by Spatulas and the like. She then asked if I thought a 1 lb block would be enough for 3 cups. I told her that 8 oz was 2 cups shredded so it should be.

so you would rather spend lord knows how much time grating cheese yourself, rather than take the shredded cheese? Lady I think your nuts, but I Salute you!

[Food Lady]

Honestly, I do that because cheddar is much less expensive by the block. And I've said grated when I meant shredded. I always do, now that I think about it. It's probably a common mistake.

[NightAngel]

Personally, I hate grating cheese (always have-always will) and haven't done it in years. I buy shredded instead. I can't explain why grating cheese grates my nerves but it does. For me it's worth the minute extra cost to save me the time anyway.

But, to each his own- nothing wrong with doing it either way.

[EvilEmpryss]

She was probably just afraid to deviate from the recipe.

If it was a new recipe for her (which makes sense if she's shopping from the recipe card), then she may have been intimidated by trying something new and wanted it to comes out just right... which means following the card exactly.

[dalesys]

She was probably just afraid to deviate from the recipe... ... which means following the card exactly.

So whole eggs must mean shell and all...

[EvilEmpryss]

So whole eggs must mean shell and all...

That would be funny, if I didn't know a person who might actually do that. She runs all new recipes past me to make sure she understands what she's supposed to do.

[Broomjockey]

It could also be that she just wants a grater for future use. I'm not a fan of grating (and my cheese grater sucks, note to self, BUY NEW GRATER), but the useful bit is I can just buy a few random blocks of cheese, and if I need a piece, I hack it off, if I need something grated, I just whip it out.

Also, thanks for explaining the difference between grated and shredded. I'd no idea

Still, if I was the lady, I'd have shrugged and taken the shredded. Cheese is cheese after all.

[Geek King]

Heh. The first time my sister tried to make a cheesecake, she read "1 1/2 cups of Milk" as eleven half (11/2) cups of milk. She tried making it with 5.5 cups of milk. She's gotten better fortunately, but I still rib her about it.

[DaDairyDruid]

2 old Gracie Allen jokes....

"it says to separate 2 eggs, but doesn't say how far..."

"whenever I bake a pie, I always leave it in 5 minutes too long and it burns, so now I put in a second pie 5 minutes after the first one, so that when the first pie burns i know the second pie is done."

[Green_Fairy]

whenever i first make a recipe, i try to do it word for word...then say screw it and make it work. but i know people that are so scared of screwing up a recipe that they'll like...take twice as long because they're being soooo precises about measurements.

if I need something grated, I just whip it out.

*snicker*

[EvilEmpryss]

Quoth Broomjockey: if I need something grated, I just whip it out.

Quoth Green_Fairy: *snicker*

Yeah, but for anything else but cheese... Ouch!

[Naaman]

I've never understood the rationalisation of paying more for less, to make the same amount as comes in a bag of pre-grated costs me about 3 minutes of time for about 50-75p more (and I use a lot of cheese). That and the bag is normally the cheap ass plastic cheese.

I'm not a fan of grating (and my cheese grater sucks, note to self, BUY NEW GRATER)

Get a Micro-Plane grater, they're expensive but will last for ages and will cope with anything

[DerangedHermit]

Rotary cheese graters make grating cheese so easy. It's better than the old-fashioned straight graters.

[Andara Bledin]

I have no issues grating my own cheese.

But I have come across bags of grated and shredded cheese that were actually less expensive by weight than the blocks for the same brand and type. I don't quite get that.

I actually came upon a use for my cheese grater some time back: using the slicing side for slicing apples for apple pies. I'd only been slicing apples with a paring knife for the previous 15 years...

^-.-^

[Rapscallion]

Hmm - dice root vegetables finely for soup? *looks at cheese grater* Problem solved, time saved, food cooks faster.

Rapscallion