Tnuva enters U.S. market, my market
Tnuva, a farmer-owned marketing collective which supplies 70% of Israel’s dairy (milk, butter, cheeses), has entered the U.S. market, according to this week’s Jewish Advocate. No sooner had this report emerged than I saw their products in the Allston Stop & Shop dairy case.
I picked up an 8.8 oz. container of Tnuva’s “Feta-style sheep’s cheese” (from the “Mediterranean Collection”) and an 8 oz. packet of Emek sliced cheese. My first reaction was that they’re both quite expensive. Stop & Shop charges $6.99 for the feta and and $4.99 for the Emek. Those prices might be defensible if the cheese were exceptional, but they both fall short. While both are fresh and pleasant, the “feta” tastes more like salty cottage cheese, and the Emek was nothing special (texture of swiss cheese, very mild flavor like muenster).
Though I’m happy that New England supermarkets will have a wider selection of Kosher cheese, I don’t think I’ll be buying these varieties again.