It may sound weird, but it’s not the worst idea ever.

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TikTok has been the home of some offbeat (but ultimately, awesome!)

culinary suggestions, but the trending suggestion to wash your shredded cheese seemed a little suspect.

Wooden bowl filled with shredded mozzarella cheese on a yellow background

Photo:PeterHermesFurian/Getty Images

So why exactly are people soaking and washing their shredded cheese?

And does it make a big difference in how your cheese melts?

Here’s the scoop on whether you oughta (or should!)

wash your shredded cheese.

These are anti-caking ingredients the manufacturer adds to keep the individual shreds from clumping together in transit.

Do you gotta Wash Your Shredded Cheese?

The short answer: Not unless you have a food sensitivity to the ingredients used to prevent caking.

We put washed shredded cheese to the test, against straight-from-the-bag and hand-shredded cheese.

Washing didn’t seem to impact the final producteither for better or for worse.

Only rinse the shredded cheese you plan to use for that dish.

Dump the cheese onto a towel or paper towel, and pat dry to remove more moisture.

Then go ahead and pop these into your favoritecheese-based recipes.