The cost of most things broadly comes down to supply and demand, if it's expensive there's either a low supply or high demand or both, if it's cheaper there's usually a high supply or low demand or both.
Some prices are artificially inflated by limiting the supply to intentionally not keep up with the demand, like with diamonds and houses. Illegal drugs are similar, there is always some demand for them and they're consumed when used. Prices are high because supplies are limited due to the legal risks. When cannabis was illegal prices were higher, but since many states legalized prices have fallen because there's just more of the stuff around

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Fresh cheese, such as mozzarella and ricotta, is quicker to make, and a lot less concentrated. It doesn't need ageing, and there's a lot less milk going into a kilo of cheese. It's also less work.

On the flip side, they don't last as long. If you want to get fresh ricotta and you live far away from where it's produced it might cost you a fortune, as it cannot be stored in the cheese shop as long as a wheel of aged cheese.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

And cheddar?

[–] cabbage@piefed.social 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Good cheddar is expensive. I suspect this graph is very generous in what it considers cheddar.

Globally, the style and quality of cheeses labelled as cheddar varies greatly, with some processed cheeses packaged as "cheddar".¹

Processed cheese typically contains around 50–60% cheese and 40–50% other ingredients.²

It:'s also fundamentally a bit weird to compare the prices of these cheeses, as cheese prices tend to be extremely local in nature. What's a fancy foreign cheese in one place is just traditional food in another. And of course, price and quality varies a lot within each cheese. A lot of what is sold as mozzarella is also not recognizable as such in my opinion.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Mass production, probably. ~~I don't know of a reason off the top off my head it would be cheaper than gruyere otherwise, being more processed.~~

[–] nokturne213@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Mozzarella can be used the same day it is made, that is not true for Gruyère (to my knowledge).

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Ah shit, I looked it up. That's actually a totally different cheese than I was thinking of.