Melted cheese could serve as a delicious sauce for every dish. But what are the best ways to melt cheese?
There are different ways to melt the cheese. Other types of cheese require different methods of melting.
It has been a favorite pizza, nachos, and pasta toppings of many. Can you imagine a pizza without cheese? It’s like bread with toppings. It’s not a pizza anymore!
We used to limit our cheese consumption due to its high fat and salt content and its high-calorie count. But now it turns out that cheese can be healthy. (Not really, really)
Why Melt Cheese?
We can’t deny that cheese is tasty, and it tastes even better when it’s melted. There’s science behind why it tastes better when melted. It’s because of what’s known as “mouthfeel.” According to PopSci, “Taken together, all the sensations associated with melted cheese—smoothness, gooeyness, and warmth—connote a fatty treat. And humans love fat.”
Melted cheese can also be beneficial to your health. Despite its high cholesterol and sodium content, it is a good source of calcium and phosphorus for bone health. It can also be part of your weight-loss program. According to HuffPost, cheese can assist provide essential nutrients to our bodies, such as protein.
A friendly reminder to all: everything in moderation is not bad for health. Understand the health effects of melted cheese before adding it to your diet.
What Cheeses are best to melt?
Are you wondering what cheese is best for melting? Then don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Check out our list to see if it has your favorite cheese.
Mozzarella
It’s the champion of the cheese pull scenario and pizza’s best friend. Fresh or low-moisture mozzarella has a mild flavor, adding a quick, clean, creamy punch to everything from meatball subs to roasted veggies.
Fontina
The flavor of this Italian cow’s milk cheese is similar to mild provolone, but it’s a little grassier. It’s important to remember to remove the rind. Other mildly tangy melters, such as Danish Havarti and Dutch Gouda, work well as replacements.
Cheddar
Shredded cheddar can meet all of your oozy dairy demands. Shredded cheddar melts beautifully, whether it’s on top of chorizo chili or in a basic grilled cheese sandwich. When it comes to sharpness, younger cheddars melt better than older cheddars, which have less moisture and don’t melt as well.
American
You grew up eating it on your sandwich for a reason. American cheese melts smoothly and tastes creamy, and one bite of that simple grilled cheese sandwich will instantly bring you back to your youth.
Gruyere
Gruyere is a staple in many melted cheese meals, such as macaroni and cheese. After grilling, it melts beautifully and has a fantastic flavor. When cooking a Gruyere grilled cheese sandwich, start with a low heat setting on your pan to avoid burning the bread before the cheese melts.
Check out the video below!
Six Steps to Melt Cheese Successfully
Whether you want to make the perfect mac and cheese sauce or make pizza, you’ll need to know how to melt cheese properly to get a delicious result with the right texture.
Below are the six steps to help you achieve your perfect melted cheese.
Step 1: Choose the right kind of cheese.
We prefer to use harder cheese. The melting point of harder cheeses is lower. These are the cheeses commonly used when making sauces, grilled cheese, and soup bases.
Step 2: Shred the Cheese
It would be best if you first shredded the cheese before melting it. Shredded cheese melts more quickly, simply, and evenly than a whole block of cheese because of its thin and equal shape.
Step 3: Place the shredded cheese on a non-stick pot or pan
Place the room temperature shredded cheese in a non-stick pot with enough area for the cheese to fit, allowing you to stir to make the sauce quickly. It is the best way to use a non-stick pan or skillet, such as ceramic or porcelain-enameled. These pans prevent the sticky strands of cheese from sticking to the pan and reduce the chances of burning your cheese. Not to mention how easy they are to clean.
Step 4: Use low heat temperature
Turn the heat to the lowest setting and place the nonstick pan with the shredded cheese on the stove.
When it comes to melting cheese for a sauce, the general rule is to use the lowest heat setting possible because high heat might cause the moisture and fat in the cheese to evaporate.
Step 5: Keep a close eye and stir frequently.
Don’t leave the cheese on the stove unattended. It will most likely burn and ruin it if you do so. To keep the cheese moving about the saucepan, stir it regularly. This step ensures to evenly melt the cheese and not stick to the pot or burn.
Step 6: Remove from Heat
Please give it a final stir and remove the pan from the heat after it looks and feels smooth and evenly melted. If you melt the cheese for longer than necessary, the texture will become rubbery, and the flavor will worsen.
The 4 Best Ways to Melt Cheese
Not that you have known the steps of melting cheese. You might now be wondering, aside from the stove, what method can you use to melt your cheese?
Microwave
You will notice some liquid or oil drip off if you use the microwave to melt shredded cheese. Giving the melted cheese a short stir and emulsifying the molten liquid back together does not necessarily mean the cheese is losing its protein or nutritional content.
Iron Pan
If you want to make mac and cheese, we recommend using a cast-iron skillet. These skillets make it simple to move from burner to oven. They’re ideal for creating the bechamel and cheese sauce, tossing in the macaroni, and baking right in the pan. The even heat distribution of cast iron skillet is ideal for getting that crispy outer and gooey interior. Cast iron skillets have an even temperature distribution.
Broiler
A broiler is also one of the different ways to melt the cheese. Browning the tops of foods, such as casseroles or melting cheese, is easy with a broiler. High and low broiler settings are available in both my old and new ovens. When melting cheese, always use a low heat setting on your broiler. Melting cheese in the broiler will take thirty seconds or less.
Air Fryer
Since air fryer grilled cheese is so simple to make, you’ll crave it even more once you’ve tried it. It’s a great way to make a cheese melt sandwich in the air fryer for your kids. The best air-fried grilled cheese sandwiches are soft, melty cheese. To make it tastier, use a good melting cheese.
Here is a link comparing the different ways to melt cheese on pizza from Tastemade.
People Also Ask
How do you melt the cheese and keep it Melted?
If you prefer the cheese to stay melted, add white wine or lemon juice, which is acidic. If you need the cheese to stay melted at a party, it’s also a great idea to keep it warm.
Why isn’t my cheese melting?
Cheeses with a lot of moisture, like cream cheese, mozzarella, and brie, flow better than hard cheeses that don’t have much moisture. In gooey cheese, the proteins are densely packed and there is a lot of moisture between them, which makes it easy for them to melt. But hard cheeses don’t have much water in them, whereas when they melt, they don’t turn into a liquid.
Why are there lumps in my melted cheese?
There’ll be lumps in the cheese if the milk is added too quickly, if the milk becomes too cold, or if you don’t whisk the sauce well enough to prevent the roux from cooking and forming little balls before being mixed into the milk.
Conclusion
Even though it is high in sodium and fats, some recipes are incomplete without it. Creaminess appeals to us greatly.
However, not all cheeses thrive from being melted. We like to melt mozzarella, American, gruyere, cheddar, and a variety of other types of cheese. Keep the stove between low and medium heat while melting cheese in recipes like grilled cheese or quesadillas. It allows your dish to be cooked evenly and thoroughly.
We can’t avoid burning cheese, especially if we’re just learning to melt it. It’s simple to clean burnt cheese from an enamel cast iron pan. I love using an enamel cast iron Dutch Oven pan with it.
There are, however, a variety of ways to melt your cheese. Whatever method you select, remember to keep the heat low and shred your cheese before melting. After that, you can devour your mac and cheese or grilled sandwich snack.
What is your favorite way to use melted cheese in a recipe? Let us know what you think in the comments!
P.S. My favorite way to indulge in melted cheese is pizza! If you’re looking to bring your pizzas to the next level at home, you’ll need a good rolling pin. Nothing pairs better with ooey gooey melted cheese than a thin crispy pizza crust! You can check out the top rolling pins on Amazon today in our recent review here.
