Whether you want to make the perfect cheese sauce for your mac and cheese or to pour over a veggie dish, you need to melt your cheese the right way. There are so many ways to melt your cheese which include in the microwave, on the stovetop and in the oven. In order to have a delicious result with a perfect texture you may need to consider melting your cheese on the stovetop. Melting cheese is fairly straightforward but there are some factors that will affect to the result of your melted cheese.
Contents
What You will Need
- A double boiler or A pan/pot and a bowl
- Your cheese
Steps To Melting Cheese On The Stovetop
- Measure and shred your cheese
- Put it on the top pan of the boiler
- Put some water inside the bottom part of your boiler,
- Turn on the stove and put it on medium heat,
- As the water heats up in the bottom pot the steam will begin to melt the cheese
- This is a long process so you may need to be patient
- Clean the sides of the pot with a silicon spatula. If you leave the melted cheese on the sides of the pot this cause it to burn.
- Also, stirring your cheese will accelerate the melting process,
- As your cheese begins to melt you can add a bit of evaporated milk or corn-starch in order to prevent it from separating
- You can continue stirring your cheese until it has fully melted
Can You Melt Cheese in a Pan?
If you do not have a double boiler you can make use of a pan and bowl. Simply put some water inside your pan and put the bowl on top of the pan. The procedure is the same as though you were using a double boiler.
It is also still possible to melt mozzarella cheese on the stovetop with a pan only. There are a few important things you need to do.
First of all, you need to shred or grate your cheese. Secondly, you need to make use of a non-stick pan. And last make sure that you use low heat in order for your cheese to melt evenly.
To melt cheese in a pan directly, spread your grated or shredded cheese evenly, and add some corn-starch and evaporated milk for you to get a smooth texture. You can also add a slice of American cheese so that you achieve a smooth consistency. You can also add a dash of vinegar.
As you melt your cheese whisk it as it melts. Add your other ingredients if you need them and transfer the cheese from the pan into another container when ready.
Tips For Melting Cheese
Select the right cheese
The issue with choosing cheese when you are shopping for cheese, is that you cannot really predict its melting behaviour by just looking at its appearance or the nutritional information label. Different types of cheese melt in different ways, and you cannot depend on similar cheeses to melt the same way. Each type of cheese will behave differently from other types of cheese for reasons that are as complicated as the cheeses themselves.
Be gentle with the heat
As much as choosing the right cheese to melt is important, you must also pay attention to your heat when melting your cheese. Treating your cheese kindly as you melt it is important. Even though you can choose the right type of cheese for your dish, temperature that is too high or too much heating time can make the proteins tighten up, the result in squeezing out both water and fat. The result will be rubbery globs of protein in a pool of grease. When this, especially to pizza you can overlook it but when it happens to a cheese fondue, you will have a flop on your hands plus those changes are not reversible reversible. However, ensure that you melt your cheese properly in order to prevent it from happening.
Nutrition Of Melted Cheese
Although melting your cheese concentrates the calories and fat in it, melting your cheese also concentrates the nutrition. A cup of melted cheddar cheese will give you 176% of the recommended dietary allowance of calcium, but this is based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Melted cheese also provides 125% of phosphorus, 49% of vitamin A, 54% of riboflavin, 48% of selenium, 51% of zinc and 34% of vitamin B-12. Melted cheese also contains smaller amounts of additional vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium, pantothenic acid, folate, and vitamin B-6, as well as vitamin K, 7% of vitamin D and 9% of for iron.
Keep in mind that other types of cheese have a slightly different nutritional information when melted and they also have different nutrition information when they are shredded or grated. For example part-skim mozzarella is lower in fat and calories compare to cheddar cheese. If your recipe requires melted cheese, make sure that you measure it before melting and stick to a moderate 1- to 1 1/2-oz. portion sizes to in order to keep calories and saturated fat low.
What To Dip In Cheese Fondue
Bread
Crusty bread is usually one of the best picks for cheese fondue because, it is the best when it comes to soaking up all the cheesy goodness.
Apples and Pears
Fruits and cheese work well together. Crisp and tart apples complement the creamy taste of melted cheese well.
Broccoli and Cauliflower
Another good combination is broccoli or cauliflower. The fondue spread brings freshness to a dairy fest.
Bright bell peppers add a colourful addition to any fondue recipe, also their natural sweetness works very well with a savoury cheesiness. If you slice your peppers into long strips, you can just dunk them straight in.
Roasted Potatoes
If you are the kind of person that likes cheese fries, you will love dipping crispy and-tender-on-the-inside roasted potatoes into a mini vat of cheese.
