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KAREN HOCHMAN is Editorial Director of THE NIBBLE.
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September 2007
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Cheese Straws
Two Modern Recipes On An Old-Fashioned Favorite
CAPSULE REPORT: Cheese straws are a delectable cocktail snack, “cheese crackers” raised to the most sophisticated form. They pair perfectly with wine, beer, spirits on the rocks and savory mixed drinks. Baked for centuries, cheese straws have made a comeback in recent years along with the martini and other cocktails. Attributed to southern origins, here we profile two companies from the deep south, each with a slightly different take. Neither bakes the original straw shape. J & M Foods makes a small, moist, s-shaped cheese nibble. The Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory makes a larger, crunchier and more robustly-flavored rectangular cheese biscuit. Both companies make a variety of savory and sweet straw flavors, and both lines are worth sampling to determine which side of the straw your preferences lie.
No one knows the exact origin of the cheese straw, but they are credited as a Southern invention. As the likely tale goes, a frugal cook mixed leftover biscuit dough with some cheese, forming it into long narrow strips that were baked along with the biscuits—but were enjoyed as a snack instead of at meals. Their popularity spread—you can find cheese straws in recipe books from the Midwest and beyond, beginning in the 1800s. The most basic recipe is an easy cheese dough made from flour, grated cheese, a teaspoon of salt and baking powder, cut with a pastry wheel into long, narrow strips (“straws”).
Today, cheese straws are usually served at cocktail parties or instead of crackers or bread with soups or salads. While early recipes are non-specific, simply stating, “cheese,” flavorful Cheddar evolved to be the cheese of choice.
Few of the gourmet cheese straws are still in “straw” shape. One of our favorites, John Wm. Macy CheeseSticks, observes the traditional form with a twist—they are actually twisted, and made from puff pastry. They’re also available in a variety of cheese flavors, as is true with most straw producers.
Cheese straws are easy to make from purchased puff pastry, if you want to serve them hot out of the oven. You can make cheese sticks from your favorite butter cookie dough, too. There are as many different shape and recipe combinations as there are creative bakers.
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More of a classic straw shape, these straws
from John Wm. Macy have a “twist” all their own. |
The companies in this review make a different style of “straw.” In fact, they’re not straws at all, more like cheese-flavored butter cookies. They go for the bite-size, rather than for the bread stick-type straw like John Wm. Macy’s, shown in the photo above. One is a small rectangular (two bites), the other, an even smaller elongated s-shape (one bite). Still other companies make round cheese biscuits (one bite).
Both of our featured companies make all-natural products—no preservatives and no hydrogenated oils. They come in a variety of boxes and tins, suitable for gifts and stocking stuffers.
Selecting Among Flavors
Most manufacturers of cheese straws make an artisan product with a gourmet palate: you can find flavors from curry, jalapeño and tomato basil to cheeses from A to Z, with Asiago, blue, Cheddar and Parmesan the most common (and Cheddar the best seller). Once you go into the flavor land—jalapeño and tomato, for example—the focus is less on the cheesiness. However, if it’s spice you’re looking for, some producers put a reasonable amount of pepper in their basic cheese flavors—some are so peppery that they beg for a cold beer. Others are buttery pastry with a hint of cheese, and can be enjoyed with a fine Pinot Noir without detracting from the wine, or can be served with a fruit salad.
In general, when selecting flavors, think of how you’ll use them. If with beer or martinis, you may not care if your straws are on the spicier side. A mouth full of pepper will cover the delicate flavors of white wine, so a blander cheese like Swiss, rather than a stronger blue or Cheddar is preferable.
Dessert Straws
If you start with cocktails and cheese straws, you can end your meal with dessert straws—the same shapes, sweetly flavored. Sure, it’s another word for cookie, but both companies make very tasty little cookies in tempting flavors that are small enough—and well-enough flavored—so that one goes a long way when you want a bite of something sweet.
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Swiss straws can be blander (depending on the manufacturer) and a better match with wine and fruit). These Swiss straws, from J&M, fit the bill. |
Buttery lemon straws from Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory. |
Serve sweet straws:
- With coffee, tea or espresso
- With ice cream or sorbet
- With fruit salad (you can offer both
sweet and savory straws)
- As a crunchy complement to
pudding
- As an assorted sweets offering—they fit in small bowls that we
like to set out along with chocolates,
nuts, and other favorites so guests
can help themselves
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Now, let’s meet our straw producers.
J&M Cheese Straws
J&M Foods of Little Rock, Arkansas has been baking cheese straws for 20 years, from a 100-year-old family recipe.
Compared to Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory straws, they are less dense—an airier style. They are also tiny: 1-3/4 inches long by 5/8 inches wide by 1/4" high. Each is a ladylike bite; the less ladylike could eat them two at a time.
While the boxes indicate careful seasonings—Asiago with rosemary and black pepper, Bleu with garlic, Swiss with bacon and chives—don’t expect to find much of the secondary seasonings on the palate. Cheese is a strong flavor; only pepper and jalapeño can overtake it.
- Original Cheese Straws, made with Cheddar, are more moderate in flavor—there’s Cheddar, but not intense Cheddar. There is, however, a peppery kick on the finish that would go well with with a martini, beer or, in the wine world, a big Zin. There’s too much pepper for more delicate wines.
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Photos of J&M products by Dhanraj Emanuel. |
- Asiago, too, is more moderate in cheese flavor but has a good amount of heat from cracked pepper (which overwhelmed the rosemary in the recipe). By contrast, the Asiago from Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory has full-on big-cheese flavor, if that is your stylistic preference. Both would go well with a salad or a robust soup.
- Bleu and Swiss are the most delicate in cheese flavor, and would go well where a buttery pastry with a hint of cheese is preferred. Serve these with a more subtle soup or with a fruit salad (a luncheon salad, fruit cup appetizer or even with dessert) or with fresh berries.
- Jalapeño is a Cheddar straw spiked with jalapeño—you can see pieces of the chile in the straw. The burn comes on immediately, and it’s pleasant.
The company makes miniature cookies in three flavors—Chocolate Orange, Lemon and Key Lime. We didn’t have the Key Lime, but the Chocolate Orange were tasty and the buttery Lemon cookies were a delight.
J & M CHEESE STRAWS
Asiago, Bleu, Original (Cheddar), Jalapeño, Swiss
- 3 6-Ounce Boxes
$25.77
- 3 10-Ounce Tins
$39.57
Available at retailers nationwide and e-tailers including FoodLocker.com (whose prices are shown above). Prices will vary by retailer.
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To find a retailer near you or find a specific gift tin size or product, telephone 1.800.265.2278 or visit JM-Foods.com.
Prices and product availability are verified at publication but are subject to change. Shipping is additional.
Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory
Yazoo City is located in the west central part of Mississippi, 40 miles northwest of Jackson. There, the Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory turns out robust, rectangular cheese biscuits, 2 inches long by 1-3/4 inches wide by 1/4 inches—about twice the size of J&M’s (think of each straw as two bites instead of one).
- Asiago has full cheese flavor, and may be our favorite of the savory group. This Italian cheese is often substituted for Parmesan (read about the difference between the cheeses), and will be a good accent for soups and salads where you’re looking for that type of flavor.
- Traditional Cheddar has a moderate cheddariness with a peppery kick on the finish, similar in impact to J & M’s but with more crunch.
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Asiago Cheese Straws. |
- Fire Roasted Tomato has a lovely color, and the flavor contributes equal amounts of tomato and cheese. While we love a tomato and grilled cheese sandwich, for us, the reason to eat a cheese straw is for the cheese flavor, and the tomato dilutes that. Others may love it.
- Three Cheese presented a similar quandary. The name has sex appeal: You think you’re getting more with three cheeses than you’d get with one. But you get nothing identifiable—just a general cheesiness. The three cheeses are Blue, Cheddar and Parmesan, none of which is obvious. We might suggest going for the Asiago or the Cheddar, which leave no doubt. On the other hand, Three Cheese offers a low-key cheese straw that goes well with a glass of wine, where you don’t want a big, competing flavor.
Cinnamon Pecan Straws. |
Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory scores high on the sweet side as well, with a good selection of tasty straws. Unlike the crunchy cheese straws, the buttery cookies melt in the mouth. The stars in the collection are Cinnamon Pecan, which tastes like streusel topping on coffee cake, and Pineapple Coconut, which among all the sweet straws does have crunch and texture from the flaked coconut. |
And while not a straw, highly addictive little cookies called Mud Puppies are not to be missed. These bite-sized cookies, 1-1/2 inches in diameter, will not win a beauty contest (hence the name). But the chocolate chips, brown sugar, oats, pecans and butter conspire to make you forget that they are not the cutest cookie in the box.
MISSISSIPPI CHEESE STRAW FACTORY
SAVORY: Asiago, Cheddar, Fire Roasted Tomato, Three Cheese
SWEET: Cinnamon Pecan, Key Lime, Lemon, Mud Puppies (cookies), Pineapple Coconut
- 1.5-Ounce Single
3 Straws—Stocking
Stuffer
$1.79
- 3.5-Ounce Carton
$3.95
- 6.5-Ounce Carton
$7.95
- 16-Ounce Gift Tin
Original Cheddar,
Lemon or Mud Puppies
$18.95
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Buy online at MSCheeseStraws.com
Prices and product availability are verified at publication but are subject to change. Shipping is additional.
© Copyright 2005-2008 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. Images are the copyright of their respective owners.
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