The Massive Cheese Stretch That Has Twitter In A Tizzy
If you're undeniably obsessed with cheese like the rest of us, then you know one thing is for certain when it comes to your favorite cheesy dish — nothing is better than a good ole cheese stretch. Whether it's on your pizza or in your mac and cheese, a good stretch means you've got a deliciously cheesy dish on your hands that's ready to be devoured. But there's actually a scientific explanation for the stretchiness of certain cheeses (many of which involve mozzarella of some kind). There are factors such as how acidic it is, its age, and its composition, that play into how we know for sure that it's going to be a good cheese with a good stretch.
These stretches are visually stimulating, and a must-have for any food influencer's perfect grilled cheese photo or company's mouthwatering advertisement (say, when trying to entice you with perfectly melted mozzarella sticks). But even so, a huge, consistent, seemingly never-ending stretch is the best way to judge meltiness. Now, one particular video of a cheese stretch has people on Twitter losing their minds in a fromage freakout over the sheer cheesiness of it all.
A cheese stretch of 6 meters
The video of the massive cheese stretch is from the Fête du Laguiole AOP, according to Instagram. The ductile dairy featured is called tome fraîche from cheesemaker Jeune Montagne, and the viral clip shows a representative stretching their Aligot de l'Aubrac to almost 6 meters high, using a scissor lift to move it above the observers' heads (via The Awesomer). The cheesy delight started from a bucket at the bottom of the scale, and a large paddle held the cheese as the person holding it moved up on the lift, shifting it as they ascended.
Twitter users were in awe of the nearly 20-foot-long cheese stretch and couldn't get over the idea of the competition. One user wrote, "I was salivating. We should find this dish and partake." Another clarified what the cheesy dish actually consisted of: "This isn't cheese, but aligot. Usually made with tome. Ultimately, this just makes the stretching even more impressive." Many simply wanted a taste of the Aligot, with people writing, "I could just lay under that and wait," as well as, "this is it. This is what society is for." But mostly, everyone was just amazed that this is a real thing that people take very seriously. "Nothing more complex than spending a life making wildly stretchy cheese as the people cheer you on in delight," one user commented. Perhaps we should start looking for some cheese stretching competitions to really get our fix of cheese stretches.