Shake it Baby

Cheese can really make a tasty addition to many recipes. Some dishes just wouldn’t be capable without it, for instance Welsh rarebit and macaroni cheese. But whether it’s the centrepiece or just a tasty topping, cooking with cheese can be tricky.

Hard v Soft

Soft cheeses such as Brie or Camembert can quickly become liquidy when heated, whilst hard cheese such as Parmesan will simply become harder. Much of the difference has to do with the amount and type of fat molecules suspended throughout the cheese. But we’ll skip the chemistry lesson for now.

When an aged cheese is melted is turns grainier whilst younger cheeses become creamier. Cheddar is somewhere in the middle, it’ll melt nicely and makes a great topping for many dishes.

Refridgerating Your Cheese

On the opposite end of the temperature scale, if your goal is to grate the cheese you’ll want to firm it up in the refrigerator. The same goes for slicing, hard cheeses need 30 minutes in the fridge whilst soft cheeses just need 20 minutes.

However, in the latter case, if you intend to serve a nice cheese course you may want to strike a middle ground. Cheese eaten as an appetizer or after the main meal treat should be served at room temperature. Although it’s a bit more difficult to slice that way, it will dry less if sliced later.

Slice v Grate

When melting cheese as a topping it’s best to grate rather than slice, as this opens up all the cheese flavour and allows for a smoother melt. Also melting sliced cheese can make it rubbery or stringy. Raclette will melt smoothly, but Mozzarella becomes stringy, for example. Unless that’s the effect you’re going for, grate instead.

Some care is required when cooking cheese, since most cheeses will brown, then burn, in high heat. Some of that effect may be desired to bring out a certain flavour profile. But overdoing it just leads to hard, tasteless, carbonized cheese. You may want to add cheese later in the cooking time to prevent this.

Counting the Calories

If you’re counting calories, you may be concerned about the fat content in cheese. Apart from using low-fat cheeses, which can be bland tasting, you can be a little more generous when using it for cooking.

Soft cheeses, like Camembert or Brie, have a high moisture content. Because fat is measured dry, soft cheese can actually have less fat per unit weight when cooked compared to harder cheese. Aged cheeses have a stronger flavour which means you can use less but still have a flavoursome dish.

As a general rule of thumb, a half-pound of cheese will make about 2 cups of grated cheese. About 2 ounces per person is usually all you need to balance flavour and calories.

Cheese is a tasty and nutritious food, raw or cooked. But used in cooking it can have an entirely new flavour essence from the raw version. Experiment and even try some Mexican cheese!

Posted by April / Food and Drink