I know this isn’t a burning issue for most people, but I checked with my Mom on Mother’s Day, and it’s an issue for her, too, so it deserves a post. The issue is when stores affix labels on the seam side of plastic-wrapped products like cheese. The stickers are usually so strong that unwrapping the product destroys the integrity of the plastic wrap so that you need a new sheet or plastic bag if you want to keep the product in your refrigerator a bit longer. Sometimes the label doesn’t make the trip to the new packaging, either, so you end up with an assortment of mystery cheeses, and that leads to being featured on Cheese Hoarders. So my plea to the world is for stores to put the label on the smooth side.
Plastic wrap is actually pretty good at self-sealing (that’s the whole point of it), but if a sticker is really needed, then use one without the aggressive adhesive strength of the label — just some weak tape that won’t cause the plastic wrap to rip apart.
Below is how the same cheese looks when the label is on the smooth side. So much better. The other benefit of sticking the label on the seam side is that shoppers can see the cheese. If you’re a cheese fan, you like to see the color, the rind, the graininess — and you usually can’t get a good view due to all the layers of plastic wrap (unless you turn it over).
If you like smoked cheddar and shop at the Swarthmore Co-op, my favorite these days is Smoke Signals. Not sure which dairy makes it. It’s a non-colored cheddar.
And, yes, if you’re a true cheese fan you would rewrap your cheese in cheese paper so the plastic taste isn’t as bad, and the live cultures (for live cheeses) could breathe a bit.
