'I wouldn't trust that': Kiwis fuming over viral 'unmeltable' supermarket cheese

A video of cheese refusing to melt has left one Kiwi seriously confused.

After Kiwi musician Tia Ward tried to whip up a fresh batch of scones using Alpine Tasty Cheese, she took to TikTok to question what’s actually going on - Is it user error or the quality of the block of cheese?

“So my scones were in the oven for just over 30 minutes on 190 degrees Celsius, and normally my grated cheese would melt, but that didn’t happen!!!” Ward wrote alongside the clip showing off the rock-hard pieces of grated cheese.

“Look at it?!?! Is it the cheese or did I do something????”

And she’s not the only one scratching her head.

The comments quickly filled up with similar experiences, with one user writing: “I just tried this exact cheese this week and found it was super weird and didn't melt properly either!”

“Omg, I brought the Colby cheese and made a white sauce, and it’s like the cheese split 😭,” another added.

A third said: "Something is definitely wrong with that cheese. That should be melted. Definitely DON'T EAT THAT - I wouldn't trust that cheese."

Someone else pointed out: “They import a lot of the ingredients now... It's ‘made in NZ’, but the origins of the ingredients aren't necessarily ours.”

The packaging on Alpine cheese states it’s “Packed in New Zealand from New Zealand or imported ingredients.”

So while it’s still made locally, it doesn’t necessarily mean everything in it is 100% NZ-sourced.

Someone else reckons there might be a more simple explanation.

“Alpine cheese uses starch, which stops the cheese from sticking together, aka an anti-caking agent,” they wrote.

Either way, it’s just the latest addition to a bigger chat between Kiwis who reckon supermarket dairy just isn’t what it used to be - especially when trying to keep costs down during the ongoing cost-of-living pinch.

Earlier this year, shoppers were fuming over the “awful” colour and “slimy” texture of a cheaper US butter spotted in local supermarkets.

A post on NZ Reddit showed Pak’nSave selling The Burtfield’s & Co American butter for $6.99, compared to NZ-made staples like Mainland and Anchor, sitting closer to $8 and above.

The US butter was called out for being pale and almost white compared to the classic golden-coloured NZ spreads.

And just months ago, Dairyworks (the company behind Alpine and Rolling Meadow cheeses) also came under fire on Reddit, with some claiming the products were “dreadful” and even “plastic-like”.

Maybe it’s just a case of paying a bit more attention to the back of the packaging before any of us whip up the next batch of scones… we can’t be having any more trays falling victim to un-meltable cheese.