Dried cheese: what it is, how it’s made and how it differs from cheese snacks

Short answer: dried cheese is ordinary hard cheese with the water removed. It becomes crispy and light and keeps without a fridge, while the protein and flavour of the cheese remain. At snEco this is done by microwave-vacuum drying at 36–38 °C, with no oil and no frying; the only ingredient is cheese.

What happens to cheese when the water is removed

Hard cheese is 35–45% water. The rest is protein (casein), milk fat, minerals and a little salt. Remove the water and only the dry matter remains: 28 g of dried cheese contains as much protein, calcium and flavour as 70 g of fresh cheese.

Everything depends on How exactly the water is removed. If you simply dry cheese with heat, it melts, the fat renders out and the protein “cooks” and turns rubbery — that’s how oven-baked cheese crisps are made. In a vacuum, water boils at a low temperature: at snEco it’s 36–38 °C, meaning the cheese doesn’t even heat up to body temperature. Steam escapes from inside each piece and expands it — the cheese puffs up, becomes porous like meringue and breaks with a crunch. This is our own patented VacWave Bio Nutrition technology (Ukrainian patent No. 139035); it is described in detail in the article how dried cheese is made.

How dried cheese differs from “cheese snacks”

On the snack shelf, the word “cheese” means different things. Let’s compare them by ingredients.

In other words, dried cheese is the only option in this line-up where cheese isn’t a “flavour” but the whole product. Hence its main properties: few carbs (1–4 g per 100 g), plenty of protein, no gluten-containing ingredients and no added oil. That’s why people choose it as a keto snack, Protein snack and snack for kids — something neither crisps nor crackers can offer.

Taste: is it like regular cheese?

Yes, but more concentrated. Gouda stays creamy, Cheddar salty and rich, smoked Sulguni smoky. The difference is in the texture: instead of a springy piece, you get a crispy, porous bite or stick that melts in your mouth, releasing the flavour of the cheese. People trying it for the first time most often say “like cheese crisps, only made of cheese”.

There are nine flavours in the snEco range: Gouda, Cheddar, Mozzarella, smoked Sulguni, smoked Emmental, aged Primaggio, high-protein SUPERFOOD, kids’ “Cosmic” and blue Blue Royale, plus five “cheese + nut” mixes. Which one to choose? Find out in our guide to the whole range.

How much protein, calories and salt it contains

Per 100 g: 31–60 g protein, 24–51 g fat, 1–4 g carbohydrates, 480–690 kcal. Per 28 g pack: 12–17 g protein and 135–195 kcal. Salt: 1.9–3.1 g per 100 g in most flavours and 6 g in smoked Sulguni and Blue Royale: the salt from the cheese doesn’t go anywhere, while there is less water, so there is more of it per 100 g than in fresh cheese. Full table — in the article dried cheese calories.

How to store it and for how long

An unopened pack doesn’t need a fridge — 18 months for 14 g and 28 g packs, 8 months for nut mixes and 500 g packs. Once opened, the cheese draws moisture from the air and gradually softens, so an open pack is best eaten within a day or two or transferred to an airtight container. More details — how to store dried cheese.

What people use it for

• With beer and wine. Doesn’t melt, doesn’t leave your hands greasy, stays crispy all evening. Drink pairings — in the article cheese snacks for beer, wine and coffee.
• Instead of crisps. The same crunch, but with 13 g of protein per pack and no oil.
• For travel and hiking. Light, dry, no fridge or dishes needed — travel snacks.
• In dishes. Instead of croutons in salads, as a topping for cream soups and pasta — serving ideas.
• For venues. 500 g packs with no write-offs and no fridge — for HoReCa.

Where to buy

The full range is available in the snEco catalogue with DPD delivery to your country. In Ukraine, individual packs are also sold in retail chains (for example, Silpo, NOVUS, VARUS, WOG, OKKO). For an overview of flavours, formats and prices, see the page snEco dried cheese.

Questions and answers

Is dried cheese real cheese?

Yes. The only ingredient is cheese: pasteurised cow’s milk, salt, starter culture, enzyme. The water was removed from it in a vacuum, and it became crispy.

Why is dried cheese crispy if it wasn’t fried?

Because in a vacuum at 36–38 °C the water boils inside each piece and expands it: the cheese becomes porous like meringue and breaks with a crunch.

How much cheese goes into one pack?

About 70 g of cheese per 28 g of snack — so a pack contains as much protein as two eggs.

Does it need a fridge?

No: an unopened 14 g or 28 g pack keeps for 18 months at room temperature.

What to try

Dried snEco Cheese “Gouda”, 28 g €3.13 Dried snEco Cheese “Cheddar”, 28 g €3.30 Set “ALL IN” (10 packs), dried snEco cheese €29.97

Author: Pylyp Gryshyn, co-founder of snEco, head of production