Why cheesesteak connoisseurs melt over Cooper Sharp cheese

Cooper Sharp cheese is a pain to work with, Danny DiGiampietro, owner of Angelo’s Pizzeria in South Philadelphia, said the other day.

DiGiampietro, see, is a man who minces ribeye on a flattop, but not his words.

“It’s brutal. Just bruuutal,” he said. “You put it on the slicer and it sticks to everything. When you stack it up, if it’s not cold enough, it’s just a pain in the [butt] from start to finish, from slicing it to picking it up and using it and putting it on a steak.”

Cooper Sharp is also more expensive than most other deli American cheeses. In a business of nickels and dimes, that adds up.

Then why use it? “When it’s melted just right, it’s perfect on a cheesesteak,” DiGiampietro said.

While many customers prefer Provolone or — gads — Swiss, there’s been a surge of shops swearing by Cooper Sharp for their American cheese.

Cooper Sharp made cheese news last week as Barclay Prime decided to use it on its $140 cheesesteak, after years of applying Taleggio and, later, a house-made truffled sauce made of caciotta al tartufo and béchamel.

» READ MORE: Our favorite cheesesteaks right now

The Cooper Sharp cheese, wagyu beef, and pan-roasted foie gras are glazed with brandy-laced veal sauce, and then it’s finished with a drizzle of fried onion-truffle cream and black truffle shavings.

The aim, said chef Mark Twersky, was to make the sandwich more of a true Philly cheesesteak.

Try thinking of another cheese whose brand is named on a menu. Cooper Sharp, particularly the white version, is enjoying a moment in the spotlight.

Cooper has been around since 1893, when New York banker I.C. Cooper decided that cheese, and not a ledger, was the whey to a happy life.

The company moved to Philadelphia in 1918. It is now a subsidiary of Wisconsin-based Schreiber Foods.

Michelle Spoerl, Cooper’s Green Bay-based trade marketing manager, said Cooper has seen “tremendous growth, especially since we’ve entered the digital age.” She attributes the success to “influencers” and “the powers of marketing.” Cooper, made with aged Cheddar and boasting a higher fat content than most other processed cheeses, is available mostly in the Northeastern United States. Spoerl declined to say where it is produced, but signs point to Schreiber’s plant in Shippensburg, Pa.

DiGiampietro said he became obsessed with Cooper Sharp when he was a baker and had a bread-delivery route before he opened his first sandwich shop in Haddonfield 13 years ago.

“Delis had it, and I used to get my hoagies with it,” he said. When he met Lauren, now his wife, “I found out she loves Cooper Sharp, too, and I was like, ‘Holy [moley]! I never heard of anybody who even knows about Cooper Sharp!’” he said. “I told her, ‘If I ever open up a pizza shop or sandwich shop, I’m using Cooper Sharp on cheesesteaks,’ and we would laugh about it.”

Right from the start, DiGiampietro made it known to customers that Cooper Sharp was his cheese of choice. “Is it my favorite?” he asked. “Probably not. I’m a Provolone guy, but I like the Cooper Sharp, too.”

DiGiampietro got plenty of company over the years, though not every well-regarded shop uses Cooper. John Bucci Jr. at John’s Roast Pork, for example, has used Boar’s Head, James Farm, and his current brand, New Yorker. Bucci likes New York’s creaminess. “It melts nicely on the steak,” he said.

Aramark advertised Cooper Sharp on the SchwarBurger, a special burger introduced during the Phillies’ playoff run this fall at Citizens Bank Park. The melting Cooper Sharp coated the hamburger patties.

Creaminess is why Matthew Cahn of Middle Child swears by Cooper for breakfast sandwiches. “I love its melting point,” Cahn said. When a Cooper slice is draped over eggs in a sandwich, Cahn said, “we don’t even need to heat it. The heat of the eggs is enough to melt it.”

Not only is it super creamy, it’s “sharper than your average American,” said Dominic Rocconi, the itinerant sandwich maker known as Hoagie Dom. He features Cooper Sharp on his Calabrian chicken cutlet hoagie, “as it brings a perfect creamy balance to a hoagie that holds a crispy chicken cutlet doused in Calabrian chili sauce, garlic and herb aioli, and pickled red onion.”

Although most shops put their 5-pound blocks of cheese on a slicer, Reuben “Big Rube” Harley uses a box grater to shave Cooper Sharp atop the cheesesteaks he makes Thursday to Sunday at Pitchers Pub in Manayunk. He appreciates “that zing of sharp taste ‘icing’ on top.” He also toasts his seeded Carangi rolls with confit garlic butter on the outside, but that’s another story.