Cheese is getting too expensive to buy

**frugalandsimple** · 07-07-2008, 02:01 PM

Kraft 8 oz. shreds just went up in price again. $4.35 for a 2 cup bag of Kraft shreds in my area.

It seems just 2 yrs. ago, it was about $2.79. Kraft cheese is my favorite brand but it's getting so expensive. I try to only buy it when it's on sale. I'll admit I'm a snob when it comes to buying groceries. I don't eat as much cheese like I used to. I've always wondered how high grocery prices can get?

**tina150** · 07-07-2008, 02:02 PM

You beat me to it! I was in Kroger last night - sliced (sandwich cheese) Sargento was 5.69 for 11 slices... I will NOT pay almost 6 dollars for cheese, my goodness I could almost go to subway for the same price....

**ravenmaniac** · 07-07-2008, 02:12 PM

I have to admit grocery prices have gone up so fast I have lost track on what is a good deal and what isn't! My sister and I try to trade prices so we can keep up. It's funny, I went to BJ's Wholesale Club the other week with my friend. She is living with her fiance and I have a husband and two kids (19 & 17). I had a cartload of stuff, mostly food items. She asked me how much I spent but the guy hadn't totaled my order yet. It came to $348.00 after coupons. I was a little shocked, my friend was even more shocked. I told her not that long ago I could keep track of prices and would have been able to guess how much was in my cart. Now I have no idea. Guess I better get an idea, huh?

**MomToTwoBoys** · 07-07-2008, 02:42 PM

Shredded cheese here was always expensive. It just blew my mind. Safeway was charging over seven dollars for a four-cup bag of shredded cheese. I couldn't figure out how someone could charge that much for a 400g bag. I then read up on how much easier and cheaper it was to buy block cheese, shred it yourself and then freeze it. I haven't done it with mozzarella because I hear that doesn't freeze so well. I did do it with some old cheddar and have two bags of it downstairs in my deep freeze right now. I only use it for things that I bake (ravioli, rigatoni, pizza, etc) and the only time I really buy shredded mozzarella is when we have meatball subs. I do buy sliced cheese quite a bit and have at least a two-month supply of it in my refridgerator. We use it for sandwiches and grilled cheese, plus we have cheeseburgers every week. I'd say on average, we go through 28 slices every four weeks and I buy cheese in the 48-slice packs (two at a time).

I wish I had my own cheese slicer.

**Susanscraps** · 07-07-2008, 05:55 PM

I have started to buy my shredded cheese at Sam's. 2 of the 16 oz bags are under $7 (though the price used to be under $6), so it's MUCH better than our local grocery store. (And it is Kraft's)

**HandyMom** · 07-07-2008, 06:12 PM

I've been buying whatever chunk or shred happens to be on sale. I am not brand loyal and I've been paying no more than $5 a pound for it. We're getting quite a variety lately since I never know which kind will be on sale. Cheese here is like meat to others because my DD is a vegetarian who eats cheese.

**Lilolme** · 07-07-2008, 06:29 PM

Cheese prices, along with a lot of other items, are totally ridiculous!

With that being said, we pay the price here! We eat so much cheese that if I didn't buy it for even one week, they would think I was punishing them for something!

**Missy** · 07-07-2008, 06:53 PM

this is exactly why I began making our own. If I buy I am a snob too, I like "Vermont" brand. Sooooooo good!!

http://www.cheesemaking.com/

**Nishu** · 07-07-2008, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by Missy

this is exactly why I began making our own. If I buy I am a snob too, I like "Vermont" brand. Sooooooo good!!

http://www.cheesemaking.com/

That's really cool. Do you save much by making your own?

**Persimmon Lace** · 07-07-2008, 07:33 PM

Yikes, I just bought those 2 for 4.00 a week or 2 ago. I stocked up and put some in the freezer. In fact that's the only things I bought that day! Wow, just wow!

**itsahumanzoo** · 07-07-2008, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by Nishu

That's really cool. Do you save much by making your own?

For the mozzarella kit, it says it contains enough ingredients to make the cheese 30 times. So that's about $0.83 per time. All you need to add I'm guessing is a gallon of milk, which here, costs about $4.00. So $4.83 per serving of cheese. I'm not sure how much cheese it makes each time.

I suppose if you had milk cows or goats it would be an even greater savings.

**Missy** · 07-07-2008, 07:48 PM

Well, the great thing about the milk I use is often I get it for free. Friends ask me to make them some, they provide the milk. I keep half.

Also I get milk on sale as often as possible. Sometimes i can get it as low as 2.00 from Farmcrest or even 7-11 when they are trying to unload surplus. There's a dairy nearby too.

So for us, it's good.

Also, once you get the process down pat with the kits, you can get supplies elsewhere at a greater savings (ie, supermarket rennet, active yogurt culture, etc) or a local dairy.

**Mom23boys** · 07-07-2008, 07:55 PM

I used to buy Wal-mart brand shredded cheese for 1.98 a bag. When I went shopping on Friday, it was 2.98!! That is crazy!! How can it go up $1.00 in that short period of time? I think we are going to have to find another solution for using cheese.

**nuisance26** · 07-07-2008, 08:01 PM

~I think it's just the increase in milk last year that's now being seen in cheese prices. Up until May I was able to get all my cheese for $2lb or less. But you can still buy bulk bags in regular supermarkets. I just got 5lb bags of shredded Sorento cheddar and mozzarella for $3 lb. Milk prices have gone down here, by .70 gallon so cheese should drop somewhat in a few months.~