It leaves the same feeling as local body elections, empty

Photos Jim Tannock

It's new, it's exciting, it is made with real cheese (35 per cent), has no added colours, artificial flavours and requires no refrigeration – it is the perfect food, no mess, and is a convenient cheese snack. It even comes in different flavours, tasty and mild, for the connoisseur of cheese.

Expectations are high, the marketing is colourful and stimulating, the promise is that it is made with real cheese and it is great in your sandwiches, on pizza and even on veggies

Like a lot of things in life it is a marketing person's dream: kids will love it, mums will love it because it saves time and space in the fridge, it is easy, no fuss and cheap. Did I say cheap? It is $7 for 226g, or $28 a kilo. However, that is for 35 per cent cheese, so the real cost for the cheese component is actually $80 per kilo. You get the preservatives, whey and propellant for free.

The consumer may choose to buy cheese in a can and may think that this is the best thing since sliced bread, but please don't complain about the cost of real food and real cheese. When are we going to realise that the real cost of food and food production is not about lots of propellant and little substance, but about food that is produced sustainably by real food producers.

EASY CHEESE FONDUE RECIPE

250g Sherrington Grange cheese grated (pick your favourite) or one can of Mr Cheese, tasty

1 clove Marlborough garlic

1 cup white wine, Marlborough of course

1 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp flour (helps bind the fondue)

2 Tbsp Kirsch (optional)

1/4 tsp white pepper (optional)

Nutmeg and/or paprika to taste

Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic clove, add clove to pot. Heat the white wine and lemon juice, they should be hot but do not boil. Reduce heat to low and slowly add cheese while stirring. Slowly add remainder of ingredients while stirring. If fondue is too loose add more cheese. If fondue is too stiff add more wine.

To dip: Marlborough baguette or ciabatta bread (or any crusty bread) cut into bite-sized cubes.