The Wrong Cheese
January 11, 2012
Whilst studying abroad in Scotland I observed one of the other girls in my building preparing a dish of pasta for dinner. In all ways it was exactly the same as any plate of pasta that I would have prepared myself: cooked noodles, tomato sauce on top. Then she grated some cheese over the top and I noticed it was cheddar.
“She used the wrong cheese!” I told my dad on the phone when I called home that week. “She put cheddar cheese on a plate of pasta!”
“Who says it’s the wrong cheese?” He replied.
I said “But you’re supposed to put parmesan cheese on pasta.” In my whole life to that point I’d never seen anybody do differently. Except maybe for mozzarella on lasagna but I didn’t think that counted. I’d certainly never seen anybody put cheddar on their pasta before.
“Cheddar is a British cheese. You’re in Britain. It’s not the wrong cheese it’s just not Italian.” He said.
This was a revelation to me. Just because I’d only ever seen it done one way didn’t mean that was the only way to do it. Pasta with parmesan cheese on top isn’t right, just delicious. Pasta with cheddar cheese on top isn’t wrong, just differently delicious.
There is no wrong cheese.
