The Big Moo Cheese Review
Author’s Note: Not a paid review. I have no affiliation with The Big Moo Cheese or Publix. I bought this cheese with my own dad-gum money.
The way to my wallet is through my stomach.
I was minding my own business on Facebook, when The Big Moo Cheese “followed” me. So, of course I bought their cheese. What choice does one have in this situation?
OK, there was some peer pressure, too. I kept seeing people on social media gushing about this cheese. And my stomach was tired of feeling left out. So I bought some. The way to my wallet is through my stomach.
Yeah, but what even is that?
This is what some people call “bread cheese.” It’s a type of fresh cheese that is pre-baked. The outside browns to form a bread-like crust. Fun fact: originally “bread cheese” was made from reindeer milk in Finland. That sounds like some kind of April Fool’s Joke, but it isn’t. It’s also called “Finnish Squeaky Cheese,” which I find hilarious.
Stop babbling and tell me what it tastes like!
Anyway. I bought the “Original,” which is already baked/browned, and just needs to be reheated. I opted to warm mine in a skillet on the stove. It took about 5 minutes on “medium” heat to get it sizzling and hot all the way through.
I will say this: it is OILY cheese! My word. Look how much oil came out of it in the pan! No, I didn’t grease the pan first — this is all from the cheese. It’s greasy inside, too. Super oily. Absurdly oily. This isn’t what my financial advisor meant by “investing in oil.”
The texture is an interesting combination of firm and pliable. It’s almost spongey cheese. It has a gentle curd structure (with oil between the curds), and even a piquant squeaky-squeak sound (like fresh cheese curds) when chewing. Squeakier than a haunted house. I would describe the flavor as mild. It’s halfway between mozzarella and young cheddar. It tastes like an extra-thick slice of cheese pizza, without the pizza.
This is salty cheese. I am always whining about food needing more salt. This cheese does not need more salt. It’s already very liberally salted, which enhances the savory rich flavors. In fact, it’s almost TOO salty. And I rarely say that.
I do like the browned crust. It makes the cheese easier to handle, and gives it some structure. And fancy-pants color contrast. There’s a slightly more caramelly-complex flavor where the crust has toasted.
I opted to slice mine into cubes and serve it warm on a snack board with cucumbers, grapes, blueberries, and sweet peppers. Behold:
Traditional ways to eat bread cheese include serving it dipped in coffee for breakfast (gross!), or topped with sweet jams. Honestly, I found it satisfying by itself, without anything extra. Especially without coffee. Ahem.
Ingredients in The Big Moo Original Cheese
Here are the ingredients, from the label:
- Pasteurized Milk
- Salt
- Enzymes
More information from the label:
- Keto Friendly
- Gluten Free
- rBST-Free
- Wisconsin Cheese
- Keep Refrigerated
Nutrition Facts
A serving is 1 ounce and contains 110 calories. This is way less than I expected, given the extreme oiliness! Hard to believe, honestly. You get 9 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat), and 7 grams of protein. There’s just 10% of your daily value of sodium, which is perplexing, since it tastes waaaay saltier than any cheese I’ve ever eaten! You also get 20% your daily value of calcium.
Price and Servings
At my local Publix, a thin 6 ounce package of Original Big Moo cost an eye-watering $7.49. This is much more expensive than what I would normally spend on cheese. Since there are 6 servings per package, each 1 ounce serving costs $1.25.
Other varieties of The Big Moo include:
- Roasted Garlic
- Cheesy Pizza
- Harvest Cranberry
- Bakin’ Bacon
- Hoppin’ Jalapeno
Shelf Life
The “best by” date on my cheese allowed about 6 months to consume, unopened.
Heating Instructions
The label offers a few different ways to cut & cook the cheese. I cooked mine as a solid slab, and sliced it later. The heating options are:
- Skillet: Medium heat, 6-7 minutes, flipping occasionally
- Grill: Medium heat, 7-8 minutes, flipping occasionally
- Air Fry: 400 degrees, 6-8 minutes
- Bake: 475 degrees, 9-11 minutes
Now, the bummer is that leftover, refrigerated cheese doesn’t taste that great. It’s stiff and dry-tasting. It really needs to be heated again to taste palatable. And warming it up in a skillet (or stove, or air fryer…) is kind of a pain. Not ideal for single people who only want a wee little nibbly-nosh at a time. You can cut off as much as you want from the block, and just cook that, but it’s still a whole process each time. Just saying.
I did try microwaving some leftovers, that that’s wasn’t as awful as I expected; 10-15 seconds on “high” did the trick.
Dramatic Conclusion
If you love fresh cheese curds & pizza, you will probably like this. I enjoyed the squeaky texture and salty flavor. It’s a fun change of pace, and a novel item for entertaining. But, too expensive for me to buy often. Talk to the stomach, ’cause the wallet ain’t listening!
The End.
More Reviews You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other cheesy reviews I’ve written. Or don’t. No one will make you.
