Say Grandma’s Cheese – Syrian String Cheese and More

Feb 16, 2022 by

By Chef David

Tradition!  Grandma’s Cheese came from a recipe shared by grandmother to granddaughter which has rapidly evolved to become a sensational line of kosher cheeses, and a restaurant on the Jersey Shore called Grandma’s Cheese Café.  More impressive than these exotic cheeses, is the business which began in 2013 when Florence (Zeitouni) Cohen was a senior in high school.  Grandma’s Cheese products are certified kosher under OK and the Café is certified by the JSOR (Jersey Shore Orthodox Rabbinate) as Challav Stam.

Think twice next time someone offers to help you in the kitchen, it could be life-altering!

A Delicious Story

Making Syrian String Cheese requires dexterity, and Florence Cohen discovered that she was a natural. She mastered the art of the hand-stretching, twisting, and braiding, required to create Syrian String Cheese. The process excited her, and she became addicted to making Syrian String Cheese. Soon, she was delivering cheese to family, neighbors, and friends in Brooklyn, NY. Six months later, Florence was hand-delivering to over 50 homes a week! It went from a hobby to a passion and became a business.

Florence and Maxie – Grandmas Cheese Founders

Florence gives hope and inspiration to the next generation of aspiring chefs, and entrepreneurs. She took a traditional path, graduating from Hunter College in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in sociology and minoring in history. Florence found sociology useful in structuring her business. She explains that sociology studies how the environment affects the individual, making it useful in determining behavior and habits both of which are vital when creating customer experiences.

Her business partner is her husband, Maxie, who inspired the creation of the Café which coincided with the birth of their first child.

Grandma’s Cheese may have started with Syrian String Cheese but it has grown and provides a wide range of gourmet, products. Together they are growing the brand and creating amazing flavors, building a fresh line of new kosher cheeses, including the first kosher burrata, and a nut-free pesto.

Healthy and Natural

If you have never had Syrian String Cheese, you are missing something delicious and fun to eat. It is mozzarella cheese, with a distinctive light flavor which is braided into a wonderful cheese knot, often containing black caraway seeds. String Cheese has a  texture that makes it fun to eat on its own. Like traditional mozzarella cheese, it can be added to sandwiches, and dishes.

Grandma’s Cheese introduces a wide range of non-traditional products, many inspired by their Cafe, and others by Florence’s creative palate. Florence created the first kosher burrata in 2015 after returning from a semester abroad in Italy. For those who don’t know, burrata is an Italian cow milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. Labneh is another unusual offering, this is a soft cheese spread made from non-fat Greek yogurt.

We tasted the spicy labneh and found it to have an amazing taste, more on the sour side. It is perfect spread on a bagel or paired with an egg dish or even added to grilled cheese. We took it a step farther and added Grandma’s Cheese nut-free pesto sauce to grilled cheese (like it is served in the Cafe) and it popped.  What goes into a nut-free pesto?  It is a combination of olive oil, spinach, garlic, nutritional yeast seasoned with salt and pepper. We were fortunate enough to sample the cheese-filled falafel balls, who would have thought of creating this unique pairing.

Selections from Grandma’s Cheese Cafe

Each item in Grandma’s Cheese’s extensive line of products is made with the same attention to quality, both in the choice of ingredients and creative combination of flavors. Their offerings include a variety of flavors of Syrian String Cheese, beginning with the classic, but extending to include olive, spicy olive, seedless, everything seeds, pesto, truffle, and zaatar (I am confident there will be more pairings to come). They recently added mozzarella and homemade marinara sauce. For those who prefer Halav Yisrael, there is a Goodness line of Grandma’s Cheese. Seedless Syrian Cheese might be better for people to begin their journey into the world of Syrian cheese.

There are no preservatives in Grandma’s Cheese products which means that they have a short shelf life in the refrigerator, if you are not planning to eat them immediately they should be stored in the freezer.  The cheese can last up to three months in the freezer and three weeks in the refrigerator.

Buy Direct or OnLine

Stop in to visit Grandma’s Cheese Café and see for yourself or order online. They are located at 101 Brighton Avenue, Long Branch, New Jersey, their hours of operation are Sunday to Thursday from 9:30 AM to 4 PM. Not only does the Café provide a location to pick up to go, but they plan to open a bakery ‘Sweets by Grandma’s Cheese’. Check it out when you are down the shore!

Grandma’s Cheese Café located in Long Branch, New Jersey

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