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!
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
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]
this is paneer erasure and I won't stand for it
I like referring to halloumi as European Paneer.
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 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.
This is a good post. Don't forget emulsion stabilizers though, like chongli said!
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"
Emmental
Damnit, now I want some really good fondue ...
What about vegan cheeses?
they're currently the wild west and it depends on their intended function and ingredients, in my experience (lactose intolerant ☹️)
my first thought though was "this is a fairly handy guide for food nerds who are into crafting non dairy cheese"
I found that the melt-ability of most vegan cheeses drastically increases if you mix it with a little bit of water and oil before dispersing it.
It's all over the board. Most don't melt, in my experience. Some become crispy.
Where tf is Asiago, ya goddamned bastards
I'll have a lancre blue, hold the homicidal rage
Can't beat a layer of strong cheddar for flavour, topped with a sprinkling of mozzarella for texture.
I'm both surprised and happy to see Oaxaca cheese in this list
I want a cemita now.
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"
For lidl shoppers carski can be stretchy if you put enough of it in or crispy.
Isn't goat just a type of milk that can be made into any of these cheeses?
Queso fresco melts though? I bought it thinking it would hold its shape like paneer and was disappointed
