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I thought ALDI’s cheese selection couldn’t get any better, but then, of course, it did. My latest cheesy obsession is the new, flavored Emporium Selection Handcrafted Semi-Soft Cheeses.
What I Love About ALDI’s Emporium Selection Handcrafted Semi-Soft Cheeses
These eight-ounce half wheels are unusual in that they are hand-rubbed with the ingredients that flavor them—they’re not just mixed into the cheese. They come in three flavors: garden vegetable with sweet basil, pepperoni marinara, and roasted garlic with tomato basil. They also only cost $2.99 per cheese.
Well, I had to try all three, and all three are delicious. Each cheese is liberally rubbed with flavorful seasonings. The roasted garlic with tomato basil is bright red with tomato and speckled with basil leaves; the pepperoni marinara is equally red with tomato and flecked with oregano leaves; and the garden vegetable with sweet basil is coated with basil leaves and tiny bits of dried vegetables.
I thought the semi-soft cheese would be cheddar, but it’s more like a creamy, dreamy mozzarella or a very mild Monterey Jack.
They’re all good, but my absolute favorite is the pepperoni marinara. It tastes like pizza in cheese form, and it’s really, really hard to eat just one piece. The pepperoni flavor is very subtle. The other two cheeses tie for second—picking the roasted garlic over the garden veggies was hard. My husband preferred the roasted garlic with tomato basil, but he thinks they’re all quite tasty like me.
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How I Use ALDI’s Handcrafted Semi-Soft Cheeses
While they’re fantastic for noshing on as a snack, they are perfect for melting. I love, love, love them on grilled cheese sandwiches. All three could be grated and used as pizza toppings, but the pepperoni marinara and the roasted garlic with tomato basil lend themselves naturally to pizza. I also think grating them and then stirring them into pasta will be in my near future.
The garden veggie is perfect for baked dips—think spinach and artichoke. The garden veggie and the roasted garlic are also perfect for mac and cheese, and they add both a pop of color and flavor to the mac.
All three flavors would be amazing in omelets, and I think they’d also be perfect for cheesy hash browns. Mostly, though, they’ll be delightful snacks.
