String cheese is usually just low-moisture mozzarella shaped and stretched so the proteins line up and peel into strings.

What kind of cheese is string cheese?

  • In the U.S., string cheese almost always means low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella formed into snack-sized sticks.
  • The “string” effect comes from heating and stretching the mozzarella (a pasta filata process) so the casein proteins line up and can be pulled apart in strands.
  • Some brands blend mozzarella with a bit of cheddar, but if it properly “strings,” mozzarella is the main cheese.

How it’s made (quick version)

  • Fresh mozzarella curd is heated in hot water, kneaded, and stretched, which aligns the proteins and creates that chewy, peelable texture.
  • The cheese is then formed into long ropes, cooled, and cut into sticks for individual packaging.

Fun mini-facts

  • String cheese is “real” cheese, not a processed cheese product, as long as the ingredients list is basically milk, cultures, enzymes, and salt.
  • Mozzarella is used because its moisture and protein structure make it especially good at forming long, elastic strings when stretched.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.