# What aren't mozzarella sticks as good as they used to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315 "2024-10-27T21:42:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/1 "2024-10-27T21:42:59Z")
I had POLLY-O full fat mozzarella sticks, and somehow they are not as good as they used to be. They are not as stretchy, and have the look and taste of plastic mixed in with the cheese. Is it just me, or have you made the same observation? I have also tried other brands, but they don’t match the mozzarella sticks that I remember from years ago. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/2 "2024-10-27T21:44:57Z")
I agree. I’ve started looking for real string cheese instead. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/3 "2024-10-27T21:49:17Z")
I haven’t looked, but I’ll bet the new version isn’t 100% dairy cheese. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/4 "2024-10-27T22:09:18Z")
Pretty much every brand of mozzarella sticks I’ve seen for sale as “ready to cook” are full of enough stabilizers, melt controls, freezer texture correctors, and the like to make me regret buying, cooking and eating them after the first 2-3. So the same things that make them suitable for shipping and easy cooking via a variety of methods at home are all decreasing the quality. Thankfully, I eat mine with hot sauce, so (other than the guilt and regret) some of the off-tastes are concealed, but the plastic-y texture certainly isn’t. And anywhere I go that serves mozz sticks on the menu are fundamentally the same thing at a 700% uprate in price, so I certainly don’t get those. I’ve pretty much assumed that anything that is for sale in a store I frequent, no matter what claims they make, isn’t going to be satisfying, and the mess involved in making my own _along_ with their fundamentally unhealthy amount of calories, means they’re just not going to happen. It does mean I excuse myself more mozzarella and tomato “salads” with good balsamic vinegar during fresh tomato season though! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/5 "2024-10-27T22:17:06Z")
Mozzarella seems way too salty these days as well. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/6 "2024-10-28T00:08:18Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Pretty much every brand of mozzarella sticks I’ve seen for sale as “ready to cook” are full of enough stabilizers, melt controls, freezer texture correctors, and the like And yet they still explode and leak out 2 to 3 minutes BEFORE the cook time on the package. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/7 "2024-10-28T00:27:35Z")
> [@DaveRaver](#): > > I have also tried other brands, but they don’t match the mozzarella sticks that I remember from years ago. I’ve noticed the same thing about American cheese, but it could be my taste buds aren’t what they used to be. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/8 "2024-10-28T00:45:52Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > And yet they still explode and leak out 2 to 3 minutes BEFORE the cook time on the package. They are indeed a lose-lose proposition. Still, I’d grant that their texture is better than any frozen “eating cheese” I’ve ever done at home - lacking the high speed chiller and additives. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/9 "2024-10-28T02:34:02Z")
Maybe read the fine print and make sure they aren’t “mozzarella STYLE” cheese sticks? I almost bought a package of shredded cheese recently that had the word “mozzarella” on it, until I saw “style” right below it, in smaller font like it was the vice presidential candidate or something. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/10 "2024-10-28T02:38:25Z")
I’d think the overall problem is “enshittification.” > **Enshittification** (alternately, _crapification_ and _[platform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_economy) decay_) is a pattern in which [online products and services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_economy) decline in quality. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attract users, then they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers, and finally degrade their services to users and business customers to maximize profits for shareholders. - [SOURCE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/11 "2024-10-28T06:20:40Z")
I never been much on eating the Mozz sticks. But the concession stand I volunteered at they were great. Fries, onion rings and mozz sticks were fried in the same giant fryer. The same oil. On the same day. During a 3 hr. or so Football game. Hell yeah, they were good. Sonic ones are ok. The brand of frozen Mozz sticks we had was PFG. (Performance Food Group) It’s a restaurant supply and delivery service similar to Sysco. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/12 "2024-10-28T07:21:13Z")
The Arbys ones are good. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/13 "2024-10-28T13:20:04Z")
Agreed. Enshittification is the default mode of an economic system based on the constant expansion of profit and competition. Exceptions exist, but the tendency is to enshittification. Is there a political corollary to this process? ---
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/14 "2024-10-28T18:12:34Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Pretty much every brand of mozzarella sticks I’ve seen for sale as “ready to cook” are full of enough stabilizers, melt controls, freezer texture correctors, and the like to make me regret buying, cooking and eating them after the first 2-3. So the same things that make them suitable for shipping and easy cooking via a variety of methods at home are all decreasing the quality. Sorry, but I was referring to string cheese, not the mozzarella sticks that are breaded and cooked. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/15 "2024-10-28T18:28:56Z")
Eh, fair enough. I normally refer to “mozzarella sticks” as the fried, breaded option and “string cheese” to the later. I had _hear_ anecdotally, that Polly-O had had issues with quality control in the semi-recent past, and had changed the formula to be more shipping stable due to a larger-than-expected number of concerns, but this may explain some of it: [BelGioioso Plans $10M Upgrade to New York Polly-O Cheese Plant, Re-introduces Parrot Mascot | Refrigerated & Frozen Foods](https://www.refrigeratedfrozenfood.com/articles/101833-belgioioso-plans-10m-upgrade-to-new-york-polly-o-cheese-plant-re-introduces-parrot-mascot#:~:text=With%20the%20recent%20acquisition%2C%20BelGioioso,celebrating%20its%20evolution%20and%20popularity). > BelGioioso has invested $3 million to upgrade the historic Campbell plant and has also built a new distribution center for Polly-O cheeses in Glenville, New York. > > These strategic investments, along with an additional $7 million planned in the next year, will allow Polly-O to provide better service and longer shelf life, thanks to improved operations and production planning. Customers and consumers’ feedback have been positive so far and BelGioioso is committed to reinvigorating the Polly-O brand and supporting the people and communities who have crafted these cheeses for years. But even if the goal is “improving” the situation, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a change to taste, and for that matter, often “improving” something (especially shelf life!) serves as a cover for enshittification or other forms of cost-cutting. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/16 "2024-10-28T18:36:33Z")
You should look for chechil or “Armenian string cheese.” It comes in braids, it’s often smoked, and is saltier than the American version. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/17 "2024-10-28T18:42:44Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Pretty much every brand of mozzarella sticks I’ve seen for sale as “ready to cook” Are we sure a lot of these are not “mozzarella” i.e. fake cheese like they use in Totino’s Pizza Rolls? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/18 "2024-10-28T18:51:44Z")
Like everything, there are degrees. The cheaper you go, the more likely anything goes. The stuff I’ve bought in the past was normally listed as Real Cheese, but normally low moisture skim. And disappointing. Paying more _generally_ increased the quality, but not enough for me to keep buying past an immediate craving. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/19 "2024-10-28T18:54:38Z")
When we do DIY Pizzas at home, I refuse to use anything other than whole milk mozz. And caprese has to be the good stuff in water. But as easy as mozzarella is to make, I really think I should just start doing homemade. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315/20 "2024-10-28T18:57:17Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’ve noticed the same thing about American cheese, but it could be my taste buds aren’t what they used to be. There’s really a lot to this. Mozzarella sticks are one of those treats many people come to love in childhood. And as with, say, cotton candy, the heavenly quality that makes kids swoon doesn’t always translate into adulthood, especially after a hiatus of several years without a taste. This is not to say that the quality of many mozzarella sticks hasn’t gotten objectively worse over the years; I’m sure that’s true too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-arent-mozzarella-sticks-as-good-as-they-used-to-be/1009315.md?page=2)