Dopers my age and over may remember when the government gave seniors and low income families and the like big brick or small breadloaf sized boxes of cheese each month. The ancients in my family all got it, the homes I worked in for mental patients got it, etc… While personally I’m not a huge cheese lover I’ve heard several people who are say it was some of the best cheese they ever ate- there was even a low key “black market” of sorts for it as yuppies who’d never dream of applying for a surplus food subsidy even if they had some sort of eligibility would buy it from welfare families or seniors who didn’t want it or would rather have the cash- it was almost like a bootlegger.
Anyway, a friend who’s done me some big favors lately mentioned her love of this cheese and I’d love to get her some that tastes like it. Does anybody know what type of cheese this was or what variety on the market tastes most like it? (And please don’t repeat that damned “that’s nacho cheese” joke… ).
Remembering grilled cheese sandwiches made from it as a kid, I would say it was a mild cheddar. It wasn’t the same texture as American cheese. It was goooooood, though. Almost made up for not having milk when I went to visit those cousins - I never did learn to tolerate powdered milk.
My understanding is that it was actually a whole bunch of scrap cheese melted and blended together. Mostly I think it’s your standard-issue Kraft Singles cheese and mild cheddar, with some other stuff mixed in.
My dad had a neighbour who got the cheese but either didn’t care for it, or there was just too much of it; so she gave it to him. Not what I’d choose if I wanted to eat some cheese; but perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches.
I don’t know if was the same stuff my grandmother got in the ‘80s, but the closest to *that *is Land O’ Lakes American slices from the deli, not the refrigerated section. The texture is a little “stiffer” than other American slices, with a bit more cheddary flavor.
However, gov’ment cheese is also flavored with nostalgia, so even if you found the real thing, it might not taste like your friend remembers.
Oooo, Government cheese. I used to enforce the parking laws for the city of Williasmport PA and I hated government cheese day. Pissed me off. All the people seemed feel that since they were entitled to a handout they also didn’t need to obey the parking laws. They were always pissed when I wrote a ticket for parking under the no parking sign. And most of them had cars better than I could afford to drive and many of them had new caddys.
Wow, after 20-some years I can still get hot about it.
That stuff is just real american cheese, not the current abomination of american cheese food that everyone seems to think is real american cheese sold in the supermarkets.
No. As an attempt to keep the price of milk up, and thereby keep dairy farmers happy, the Goverment buys surplus dairy products at a fixed price from farmers, and uses it to feed the poor. Here’s an interesting article from last year, talking about how the government was running out of surplus, because of higher milk prices, and may need to cut back on the program:
Interesting. What other foods does the government provide to the poor? How does one qualify? For some reason I was always under the impression that government food aid only came in the form of indirect food stamps and coupons.
Would you rather we pay more to enable to government to buy food for the poor at full retail prices? I’m pretty sure the poor (and the not-so-poor, to judge from this thread) want the cheese.
So I have to pay for someone else’s food no matter what, and the only choice I have is how much it will cost me? Whatever happened to earning an honest living?
I’m pretty sure I want a big-screen TV and a faster computer, too, but no one has volunteered to give it to me at no cost. Guess I’m not poor enough.
Well, around here, we have food banks. A year ago, things were rough for us financially, and we fell well within the income limits of using the food bank (not within the limits of getting food stamps, though). Once a month, I could go and get a box of free government food, which usually included: a couple of bags of noodles, a bag of walnut pieces, some canned milk, canned fruit, canned veggies, no-refrigeration-needed pudding, and some kind of canned meat. At the same time, the food bank had four “sections”, including a coffee section and a non-food section. You had to pay $5.00 for each section you wanted to “shop” in. You’d decide which sections you wanted, and then got to select two items from each shelf in each section you’d paid for.
).
I’m pretty sure the poor (and the not-so-poor, to judge from this thread) want the cheese.