@StraightCheesing
Jared Jacobson (Northeastern University, 2020) is studying to become a pediatric gastroenterologist, he is chair of Delt’s Undergraduate Council (UGC) and really loves cheese. So much so that he created a “Chinsta,” his second Instagram account dedicated to posting about and rating cheeses.
How did you think of this cheese Instagram, your “Chinstagram”?
It was around the time I was a freshman. Everybody was making these “Finstas,” where you post a funny picture of yourself that you only want close friends to see. Everyone was like, "You should make a Finsta, you're funny," and I was like, "No, but what if I made a “Chinsta” where I take pictures of cheese?” And then I did that. The first post was very sad. But I worked some kinks out and I progressed from the one strand of shredded cheese—it shows.
Why Cheese?
I love cheese. It is so versatile. You can eat it any time of the day because you can make it a dessert, you can have it at breakfast as they do in France, you can eat it plain. It's just the most versatile food there is.
We get it—you love cheese, but what makes you qualified to talk about and rate cheeses?
I mean, I'm from Long Island, the pizza capital of the world. So naturally, we eat a lot of fresh mozzarella, especially on pizza. So, there's definitely a heavy cheese influence in my life. Also, I like to think I have pretty sophisticated taste buds. What I've been saying for years is if you like salt and vinegar chips, you have a sophisticated palate—to put it in more Food Network terms. So, I think just, I've been around the block, ate a lot of cheese and salt and vinegar chips.
Of all the things you've rated on Instagram, what has been your favorite cheese?
Yeah, totally. So, my favorite cheese that I've had, just cheese standalone... Which is funny actually, it was at Karnea. We went to this place called The Bridge. They had a bunch of cheese plates. It's this cheese called Midnight Moon. It was so good, I almost ate the whole block. It was a little nutty and came with this apple chutney, and it paired so well. It was a hard cheese, which I didn't think I would like, but it was delicious.
How has being a UGC member allowed you to try other cheeses?
We get to travel a bit, like to the Central Office and future Karnea sites. So whenever I'm traveling, I know there's stuff that could have a dairy influence. For example, in St. Louis, I knew toasted ravioli was a big thing. So right off the bat, I knew I wanted to eat some stuff in St. Louis. But I do my research before I go places. Also, all the guys that I've served with follow the account, which I think is funny. They all comment and ask me about it. So, they really hype it up and keep on me to keep posting.