{"id":3140,"date":"2025-05-06T04:25:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T04:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/6-best-cheeses-for-philly-cheesesteaks-that-arent-cheese-whiz\/"},"modified":"2025-05-06T04:25:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T04:25:16","slug":"6-best-cheeses-for-philly-cheesesteaks-that-arent-cheese-whiz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/6-best-cheeses-for-philly-cheesesteaks-that-arent-cheese-whiz\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Best Cheeses for Philly Cheesesteaks That Aren\u2019t Cheese Whiz"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Philadelphians, be forewarned: we are about to go rogue on one of your most beloved culinary traditions, the iconic Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. Now, while I\u2019m certain cheese pros the world over would have many excellent suggestions when it comes to what kind of cheese they\u2019d recommend on a messy, steak-based sandwich, so long as we\u2019re talking cheese upgrades for Philly Cheesesteaks, it seems important to seek advice from those who have a stake in the Philly cheese game.<\/p>\n

What is a Philly Cheesesteak? <\/h2>\n

First things first, the classic Philly Cheesesteak is one of America\u2019s iconic sandwiches: a hoagie bun loaded with griddled, chopped ribeye and onions, and typically topped with, well, Cheez Whiz, as un-artisan a cheese option there is. Provolone is often available as an alternative, but even among native Philly cheese personalities, loyalties are divided between these 2 camps. \u201cI\u2019m 100% team Whiz,\u201d says Sarah Wilkins, a native Philiadelphian and former employee of Di Bruno Bros<\/a>, who now works for Murray\u2019s Cheese<\/a> in NYC. \u201cI hold a very strong belief that the messier a cheesesteak is, the better, and I despise provolone,\u201d she says, noting its aroma of butyric acid. For what it\u2019s worth, (and full disclosure I have no Philly roots to speak of,) I am also team Whiz, but on the other hand, it\u2019s no surprise that many cheese pros would advocate for a cheese that would better qualify as actual cheese.<\/p>\n

Why Swap Cheeses? <\/h2>\n

\u201cWhile I love the idea of civic pride for the sake of it, which I believe the Whiz is, the food quality is always more important to me,\u201d says Mike Geno<\/a>, Philadelphia-based cheese artist. \u201cProvolone, a legit Italian cheese, and most likely the option of those who originated this sandwich, will always be better than some artificial, preservative and chemically-produced canned product that I question even being qualified as cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite having strong opinions about which option makes a better traditional cheesesteak, all of the Philly cheese personalities I queried, in addition to Wilkins and Geno, were happy to offer up other cheeses that they\u2019d be psyched to add to their cheesesteaks, at least in the privacy of their own homes. With that, here are 6 great cheeses for Philly Cheesesteaks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Truffled<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Truffled Brie<\/h2>\n

Madame Fromage herself, Tenaya Darlington<\/a>, our lady of Philadelphia and cheese Ferrari<\/a> fame, suggests this heady option. \u201cI always recommend a truffled Brie for something lavish,\u201d she says, \u201cwhich also pairs well with meaty flavors and onions!\u201d Talk about an upgrade. Some truffle-studded cheeses are only made seasonally, but one option or another is bound to be available year round. Try a triple cr\u00e8me, truffled Delice de Bourgogne<\/a> for a deeply indulgent cheesesteak experience, which should also handily provide the requisite, oozy mess.<\/p>\n

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\"Lancaster<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Cheddar <\/h2>\n

Cheddar<\/a> is often an easy step up from processed American cheese where things like cheeseburgers are concerned, so it\u2019s also a no-brainer for a cheesesteak. Jeff Roberts, author of the \u201cAtlas of American Artisan Cheese\u201d is also a native Philadelphian (who laughed heartily when pressed for a cheesesteak alternative cheese.) \u201cWell if I were looking to go upscale, I\u2019d go cheddar,\u201d he says, adding, \u201cThere are so many great cheeses in Pennsylvania,\u201d nodding to a terroir-based approach when choosing a Philly cheesesteak cheese. More to come on that score.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Raclette\"<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Raclette <\/h2>\n

Raclette<\/a> means \u201cto scrape,\u201d making it the only cheese named after a verb, and possibly the progenitor to something like Cheez Whiz, with its naturally occurring goo. \u201cI would consider a nice funky washed rind melter, like Raclette or anything smelling remotely similar,\u201d says Geno. \u201cJust thinking about that makes me hungry.\u201d For the civic pride element, he also calls out a local washed rind cheese option: Birchrun Hills Farm Red Cat<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Treehug<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Treehug (Spruce-Wrapped Cheese)<\/h2>\n

\u201cI’m gonna be very offensive to some people,\u201d says Yoav Perry, founder of Philadelphia\u2019s Perrystead Dairy. \u201cI like my own Treehug<\/a>.\u201d (Author\u2019s note: if you\u2019ve had the pleasure of trying Treehug, this can in no way be offensive, since you should be rewarded for putting it on absolutely anything.) Treehug is a seasonally produced, cold-weather, spruce-bark wrapped cheese whose interior paste resembles nothing if not fondue. \u201cOnce you open the top of that thing, you split it into a Philly cheesesteak just as you would with the Whiz,\u201d says Perry.<\/p>\n

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\"Birchrun<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Blue Cheese <\/h2>\n

\u201cI have to confess; I am always thinking how good a blue cheese<\/a> option is for just about any situation,\u201d says Geno, with cheesesteaks being no exception, since the sting from blue cheese and the rich umami of beef go together exactly like a blue cheeseburger. \u201cA nice blue cheese can range from mellow to strong and is going to be a matter of individual preference,\u201d he says, noting that any would work in a cheesesteak context, but again suggesting Chester County\u2019s Birchrun Blue<\/a> as an excellent local option.<\/p>\n

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Cooper Sharp <\/h2>\n
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\"Cooper<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cIf a place doesn\u2019t offer Whiz, I will often ask if they have Cooper Sharp<\/a>, and if they don\u2019t, they should,\u201d says Wilkins. Cooper is a Philadelphia-based cheese brand with New York roots, (don\u2019t tell the Philly natives,) whose products are seriously upgraded versions of Kraft singles: a little tangy and great melters perfect for cheesesteaks. What\u2019s more, in keeping with the \u201cmessier is better\u201d angle, Wilkins advocates for making a homemade Whiz utilizing Cooper Sharp. \u201cThrow some white American cheddar cheese, evaporated milk, a little Texas Pete, garlic, and onion powder into a pot, and I am done,\u201d she says. \u201cThe thing about the cheesesteak is that it is not fancy. We aren\u2019t fancy in Philly; we don\u2019t need to be, and it doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s served with Whiz, Provolone, Cooper Sharp, (or any other of these cheeses.) It\u2019s always going to be delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philadelphians, be forewarned: we are about to go rogue on one of your most beloved culinary traditions, the iconic Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. Now, while I\u2019m certain cheese pros the world over would have many excellent suggestions when it comes to what kind of cheese they\u2019d recommend on a messy, steak-based sandwich, so long as we\u2019re … Okumaya devam et “6 Best Cheeses for Philly Cheesesteaks That Aren\u2019t Cheese Whiz”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3140\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}