Stir the cheese with a spoon frequently as it melts. Melt down a semi-firm melting cheese like Jack, Gruyère, Jarlsberg, low-moisture mozzarella, or the aforementioned cheddar on its own and it’s likely to throw a tantrum, turning into a mass of stringy clumps surrounded by a pool of oil. Not a winner. There are, of course, other ways to make a smooth cheese sauce. Or you could, you know, get a jar. And even if your team loses, at least you've defeated The Melted Cheese Problem. © 2020 CHOWHOUND, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. You may unsubscribe at any time. So how can you make a smooth, luscious cheese sauce while avoiding The Melted Cheese Problem™? New to Chowhound? However, the slicing mozz that I bought from the deli didn't melt - i did it in the micro - does that have any negative effect. When Sohla El-Waylly set out to develop a queso recipe, she fought on the front lines. All rights reserved. I mean, crackle? mozzarella cheese - why isn't it melting? Restaurant recommendations you trust. I would assume factory produced mozzarella will behave slightly differently, with a higher melting point. Ad Choices. The second key to keeping the emulsion stable is the cornstarch. The queso was smoother, more velvety, and less temperature-dependent—closer to the kind you’d get from a jar. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. To revisit this article, select My Account, then View saved stories. It took 15 (okay, maybe 20) attempts to achieve a dip that’s creamy, homogenous, and not prone to congealing, but along the way, Sohla—and all of her diligent tasters—learned a thing or two about melting cheese. When Sohla swapped out half of the cheese and replaced it with American, she built enough of a stable buffer that the Jack cheese could melt without fat separation. Instead of melting together into an elastic ball of yummy mozzarella, the curds kept breaking into smaller and smaller grains, close to the consistency of ricotta. They will melt if subjected to high heat, like baking. First, the starch absorbs water, thereby thickening the queso and providing body (making it less like dressing and more like dip). To solve the problem, Sohla swapped out the cheddar for American. If you’ve ever tossed a handful of grated cheddar cheese into a bowl of hot pasta with the hopes of making a down-and-dirty mac and cheese (I am guilty as charged), you’ve experienced The Melted Cheese Problem™. The result was a dip that was lumpy, grainy, and, after just a minute off heat, broken, with a shiny, greasy top-layer (sort of like my face after a long day). By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. In her first queso attempts, she used equal parts cheddar and Jack, no “processed cheese” involved. But why? Cooking advice that works. As for flavor, low-moisture mozzarella is saltier and denser. Mozzarella is a white cheese, but is not made with food-grade acid. smilingal | Sep 19, 2013 12:37 PM 4. But maybe more importantly, it also physically prevents the fat and the proteins from grouping together to form those respective groups of grease (fat) and stringy clumps (proteins). Christmas Cookie HQ: The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Cookie Baking, Christmas Cheesecake: The Most Wonderful Dessert of the Year, Christmas Crack: The Easiest and Most Addictive Holiday Gift, 15 Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes: You Be the Judge. It’s made with rennet, so it can be matured and it will melt. But when heat is introduced, the protein structure falls apart and the emulsion breaks—the fat globules come together into a greasy pool and the proteins congeal to form a stringy mess. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Click to see full answer. Fresh mozzarella only takes a few minutes to melt, and once it melts if it continues to sit on the pizza as it bakes, the cheese will start releasing moisture. When making fresh mozzarella, the curds are heated in 90 - 100 degree F water to make them pliable, then heated further (maybe 120 F) for stretching and folding. I think the brand was belgioioso? ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. - Quora Mozzarella needs a temperature of 150 degrees to completely melt. Sign up to discover your next favorite restaurant, recipe, or cookbook in the largest community of knowledgeable food enthusiasts. It provides the texture (and color); the other 50% of the cheese brings the flavor and the stretchy pull. Bon Appétit may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Recipes you want to make. Step 4 Use a silicone or rubber spatula to remove the melted mozzarella from the pot and gently fold it into your other ingredients. Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boytsova, specifically designed to be extremely meltable. I thought I would make a yummy sandwich with the abundance of leftover grilled veggies and mozz cheese. In other words, the starch helps to maintain the precariously balanced network of room temperature cheese, even when things get hot. If your mozarrela is melting stringy it means it’s fresh that’s a good thing it means the casean molecules are large and stretchy. Log In Sign Up. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Your California Privacy Rights. Here are the keys to success: Before you ask, no, you can’t skip the American cheese. Pecan Pie or Pumpkin Pie: Which One Wins Thanksgiving? Sohla tried—and it didn’t work. © 2020 Condé Nast. Some recipes start with a béchamel, other calls for evaporated milk, some go all-in on American or Velveeta. I thought I would make a yummy sandwich with the abundance of leftover grilled veggies and mozz cheese. November 2020 edition! Best Gifts For Fans of 'The Great British Baking Show', The Best Boozy Advent Calendars to Drink Away 2020. This is for fresh. As the water in the bottom pot heats, the cheese will gradually warm and start to melt without scorching. (Not the most awful thing on 3 a.m. noodles, but pretty terrible if you’re trying to make queso.). You can use any combo of semi-firm melting cheeses in place of the Jack (low-moisture mozzarella, Comté, fontina, Gruyère, Manchego)—but you need to keep the American cheese in there.