Melt cheese gently
Cheese is a protein net holding fat and water. Most cheeses melt around 55 to 65°C (130 to 150°F). Past about 80°C (175°F) the net tightens, squeezes out the fat and leaves a greasy, stringy lump.
Add the cheese off the heat
Pull the pot off the burner for a minute before the cheese goes in. The sauce drops below about 80°C (175°F), warm enough to melt cheese without tightening it. Stir in small handfuls.
Grate it yourself
Bagged shredded cheese is dusted with starch or cellulose so the shreds don't clump. That coating can make a sauce grainy. A block you grate yourself melts more smoothly.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
Your cheese sauce goes oily and stringy at a rolling boil. What happened?
Hot proteins pushed the fat out. Past about 80°C the proteins tighten and squeeze out the fat.
True or false: Cheese melts best when you cook it over the highest heat.
False. Overheated cheese turns greasy and stringy.
What went wrong? You dump bagged shredded cheese into a bubbling sauce over high heat. It goes grainy and oily.
The sauce was too hot. Overheated proteins squeeze out fat, so take the sauce off the heat first.
Fill the blank: Cheese melts smoothest over ___ heat.
Cheese melts smoothest over low heat. Low heat melts the protein net without squeezing out the fat.
