Condiment Corner: Cheese

Inspiration from this post came from a text I received from my cousin and the conversation that subsequently followed.

"Break out the cheese and the mustard.  It's grand salami time!"

For context, Miguel Cairo had just hit a grand slam to give the Cincinnati Reds a comfortable lead over those lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs.  I called my cousin to inform him that the most common form of that phrase is, "Break out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma.  It's grand salami time!"  This is commonly credited to Dave Niehaus, the recently deceased former announcer for the Seattle Mariners.at least according to a Google search for [mustard and rye bread grandma].  My cousin disagreed saying that "cheese is the universal condiment".  That made me think.  First, "Is that true?"  Second, "Is that really healthy?"  (See what my wife has done to me?  Not complaining, just making an observation.)

So is cheese the universal condiment?  A quick search for [most popular condiment in America / World] will likely lead you to ketchup, salsa or mustard.  I'm pretty sure we can chalk up the salsa answer to Seinfeld.  He may have single-handedly boosted for the salsa sales around the world with one scene in his iconic TV show (see the Seinfeld episode titled "The Pitch", if you're unfamiliar).  But that still doesn't answer the question.  It does have it's own blog, fromageblog.com, which is pretty impressive.  Being or not being the most popular condiment doesn't define whether it's universal.  By "universal", I'm assuming my cousin meant it can be put on any food in any setting.  I think aside from desert - unless you include cream cheese - he could be on to something.  It could be diabetes, heart disease or even just plain obesity, but he could be on to something. 

I mean think about it, is there anything you definitely WOULD NOT enjoy a little more with just some cheese added?  French fries?  Baked potato?  Hamburger?  Coney?  Refried beans?  Rice?  Steamed broccoli?  Any kind of broccoli for that matter?!  Vegetables in general?

OK, you get the point.  Now onto question two: "Is that really healthy?"

I think the answer is generally, "no".  If you consulted a dietitian (aside from the one who told my cousin to "put ranch or butter on everything" to help her legitimately underweight child gain weight), I'm pretty sure they'd tell you one of the easiest ways to cut DOWN on calories and fat, is to eliminate or reduce the amount of cheese you add to stuff.  But that doesn't mean we can't add cheese to stuff.  I think, like anything, moderation is the key.  This isn't earth-shattering news, people.  I still love cheese.  And I'm willing to try just about any kind of cheese on just about anything...at least once.