What about trisodium citrate or Na3C6H5O7? The emulsion stabilizer that gave the world nacho cheese! Add it to any cheese and it’ll keep the fats from separating during melting, giving you a really smooth consistency!
Tip: reacting baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) with citrus juice (citric acid) will yeild a solution of sodium citrate of you don’t have any/don’t want to buy some just to try it out
What ratio?
Honestly I eyeball it haha. Juice a lemon/lime (or 1oz/15ml of juice) and add bicarb a little bit at a time until it stops fizzing. Make sure to stir it well before adding more
Yeah, this is crucial. Some of the cheeses under melting won’t melt easily and will instead break under higher heats. Emulsifiers will prevent breaking and turn a lot of cheeses into melting cheeses.
It’s in American cheese
this is paneer erasure and I won’t stand for it
I like referring to halloumi as European Paneer.
Fwiw, American is just a mild cheddar processed with sodium citrate.
And sometimes it isn’t even cheese at all (since “cheese” needs to contain at least 51% cheese, which American cheese sometimes doesn’t. It is then usually labeled as “cheese product” instead of “cheese”)
Yah, the labeling laws are overly complicated in the favor of corporate bullshit. It hides the stuff that’s little more than oil that’s been thickened up and laced with flavoring behind the association with what was originally just cheese with some emulsifier.
I’ve got family that runs a dairy farm, and makes some cheese, the basic kind that’s used to make old school American. There’s about three grades of things that are allowed to have cheese on the label, with other words in fine print before they start saying “American slices”, or “sandwich slices” and can’t put cheese on there.
NileBlue – Making American cheese to debunk a conspiracy
[holds hand out to pat the Piped link bot on its good boi head]
I’ve never gotten Brie to melt smoothly, it just turns into an oily puddle of melted plastic. What’s the trick? I’m correct in cutting off the rind first, right?
You have to keep the rind on if you’re baking it. Also, the rind is edible and (if you like mushrooms) tasty!
I love the rind, but I assumed that was the source of the oil I’m seeing. It doesn’t seem to be!
Brie is just kinda greasy. The oil you’re seeing is supposed to be there. Understandably off-putting for some. What I like to do is bake it with something that can kind of soak up/ conceal the excess oil. My go to is sauteing cubed sweet potatoes in olive oil with onions, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and a pinch of cinnamon. Once they’re a little over halfway cooked with some decent browning I’ll surround the brie with the potatoes and chuck it in the oven to bake the brie and finish the potatoes. Top that with some brown sugar baked pear (sliced pear with a bit of salt, some good cinnamon and fresh nutmeg, splash of white wine, cooked in a little sugar to make a “sauce” ) and you’ve got a feast fit for a king (or three haha)
You have to add a bit starch.
Good idea, thanks!
Get some sodium citrate powder, it’s the secret to making smooth cheese sauce.
I’ll look into it! Saw it elsewhere in the thread.
Really low heat is my trick, all cheeses have a point where they separate and Brie is already basically melted to begin with, so just get it extra warm but not hot and you’re golden.
Anybody know if the maggots will melt if I heat my casu martzu?
No. But you can fry until crisp in whale blubber. Dust fried cheese and maggots with midges and serve with a garnish of dung beetle legs.
If you’ve got a quality cheese shop on hand, try Shropshire Blue. A strong cheddar with blue cheese veins.
Which of the Swiss cheeses is the one that people call “Swiss cheese”?
My guess is it’s Emmentaler.
This seems to be a very American infographic.
Same for raclette. That’s a process, not a cheese name. Might as well call Gruyere “fondue cheese”
I also laugh when folks refer to a cheese variety as “goat.”
(A goat is not cheese)
Big, if true.
But, in Switzerland we have type of cheese we call “fromage a raclette”, so even if it’s a process, we wouldn’t use Emmentaler or gruyere for making a raclette.
Emmental
I’ll have a lancre blue, hold the homicidal rage
Damnit, now I want some really good fondue …
Where tf is Asiago, ya goddamned bastards
This is a good post. Don’t forget emulsion stabilizers though, like chongli said!
Can’t beat a layer of strong cheddar for flavour, topped with a sprinkling of mozzarella for texture.
When I see “Оахаса”, my brain assumes it’s Cyrillic and reads it “wah-kha-suh”. I’m not even Eastern European!
Actually that’s pretty close to the proper pronouncation wah-kha-ka
Thanks, I’d have assumed “oh-whuck-sucka”
I’m both surprised and happy to see Oaxaca cheese in this list
I want a cemita now.
For lidl shoppers carski can be stretchy if you put enough of it in or crispy.