Melt Worthy Cheese?

[qdog1955]

What method is best to determine if a cheese melts well?
 I have found that a cheese that melts in the microwave or in a fry pan, may not melt as well on a grilled cheese or in a casserole-----sometimes not at all.
 Does anyone have a more controlled method to determine the "Melti-ness" of a cheese. and, yes, I made that word up.
Qdog

[Al Lewis]

Typically I would think you would want a relatively low melting point for the type cheese you are looking for.  Most of the store "cheeses", and I use that word lightly, are made up of vegetable oil and other Non-cheese ingredients that make them melt easily.  The mutschli I did melted nice and if you're looking for an easy cheese to make I would highly reccomend it.  The cheddars seem to melt a little higher than we have gotten use to with the store bought stuff.  Not sure about Caerphilly but the other guys could tell you.

[Alpkäserei]

how acidified the cheese is is important.

Mutschli, Emmentaler, Gruyere, and Raclette are examples of cheeses that usually melt well because they are low acid and have a decent amount of contained moisture.
Emmentaler and Gruyere when aged longer will not melt as well because they acidify more and this changes the texture.

If a cheese, at least of the alpine type, is soft and flexible it will melt well. If it is hard and crumbly it will not melt so well.