Cheese 'Food' Slices

Don’t you just love cheese slices? The very idea of them fills me with a gladness that someone in their infinite wisdom could come up with a product so tasty and versatile for the great masses to enjoy and yet be scorned in equal measure by food snobs, luddites and the just plain unadventurous.

Yes, they are perceived by all as ‘plastic’ cheese. Due to their ingredient content they have to be called ‘Cheese Food Slices’. Notice the title ‘Food’ in there? That to me denotes an element of manufacture rather than natural process. As such the powers that be state they cannot be perceived as cheese so they add the food nomenclature. They contain, and I quote: Cheese (60%), Water, Whey Powder, Butter, Emulsifying Salts (Sodium Polyphosphate, Trisodium Phosphate), Milk Proteins, Calcium Phosphate, Natural Colours (Beta-Carotene, Paprika Extract)

So the cheese slices, to any that don’t know they are little square slices of very soft, very yellow cheese individually wrapped in their own little plastic envelope. They are the kind of thing you get on a burger at McDonalds. To call them slices may be a little misleading as I don’t think they are actually sliced. It looks to me like they are formed from a little squirt of thick liquid. No matter. They are delicious. I have a preference for the Tesco own brand items, as they have the best taste and consistency. But to be honest I haven’t found a Cheese Slice I didn’t care for.

I have them on toast, on bagels, on burgers, on chicken burgers, on muffins, on their own and in ham sandwiches. In Haslet sandwiches, crisp sandwiches, in chicken sandwiches, chip butties, bacon butties, fish finger sandwiches, fish cake in a bun, poached egg, on chips (if there is no grated cheese to be found), sausage butties, as the cheese in ham and cheese toasties, there are literally thousands of applications for the humble cheese slice.

As an added bonus, they are only 60 Kcal for each little slice. So they are not at all as fattening as they appear. OK they are laden with heart attack inducing cholesterol but you only live once and it’s not as if that’s all you would eat. They are, as well as things like fish fingers and Pot Noodles, considered shit, real food substitutes that should not be consumed. But that is missing the point of these delicacies.

It’s OK to dumb down once in a while, try it you may be surprised.

Microwave Egg Poacher, a quid well spent

It’s quite amazing that a £1.00 piece of white plastic can surprise you into being a great cooking aid. I am referring to the very cheap, very basic, microwave egg poacher. This little gem is the gateway to a great Egg Muffin.

Simple ingredients:

2 English Muffins
2 eggs
2 cheese slices
butter and pepper to taste

Open the lid of the poacher, place an egg in each bowl – for there are two. A little splash of water and then prick the yolk and white with the sharp pointy end of a knife. Close the lid.

Cut the muffins in half and pop in the toaster, set to low. Put the loaded egg poacher in the microwave. I have a category ‘E’ machine so I set it to high for one minute. If you have a different power microwave, experiment with timings. Once that minute has expired, leave them in there standing for a further minute.

By this time your muffins will be done. I am looking for a slight browning of the inner surface. Butter to taste.

At this point I look at the eggs. If they are a little too runny I blast them for another 20 seconds. I do this so as not to spill any yellow goodness whilst eating. It’s a pain in the arse when you bite into the sandwich and the yolk explodes and gets wasted. If however you have poached eggs on top of ‘Beans on Toast’ then forget about the extra time. I digress.

Plop those steamy ovum out of the poachers’ plastic embrace onto one half of the muffin. Next a sprinkle of Black Pepper if that is your thing. Cheese slice. Close the sandwich with the other half of the muffin. The beauty of the plastic microwave egg poacher is the finished egg is pretty much the ideal size and shape to fit on an English muffin.

Eat and enjoy. They are exactly like the McMuffins from McDonald’s but without the Bacon or Sausage element. These can and have been added to the home made recipe at times, but I like the plain old Egg Muffin at chez Tucker.

A glass of orange juice and a great breakfast is made. It’s quick and tasty. Try it.