Finally, it melts!

[anutcanfly]

   I have been frustrated that my cheeses never seem to melt... Eureka!  I cracked my a Romano yesterday that I thought would be ruined as it was 5 pounds--2 lbs over the expected yield.  As it turned out the cheese was very tasty for a 2 month old cheese.  Best yet, it melted great!  Won't be a grating cheese, but lovely anyway.

That got me wondering about my other cheeses that for  various reasons were very overweight.  So I cut into a young Caerphilly that was a pound over the target weight  and guess what?  It melts too!   

I have been at cross purposes with myself.  I wanted to be able to age cheeses for a long time, so I tried to match the yields listed in 200 easy recipes thinking that would get me close to target moisture.  I just assumed they would still be able to melt as long as I hit pH targets.  So now when I make a new cheese I need to decide if the final cheese needs to be able to age a long time or does it need to melt easily, and deliberately tweak the recipe for more or less moisture.

   Even a blind pig gets a truffle once in a while!  Oink oink! 

[JeffHamm]

Hi Anut,

Those are two nice looking cheeses.  The caerphilly looks very tasty (I'm making one now actually; just in the ripening stage).  Anyway, one thing I've recently discovered is that even if my cheese doesn't melt well in the microwave it seems to melt pretty well on hot potatoes or into a cheese sauce.  So, you may find that your other cheeses melt in the oven, or dry heat.  Of course, I'm assuming your melt tests were conducted in the microwave.  If not, ignore this message and it wll self destruct in 5 - 4 - 3 ....

- Jeff

[boothrf]

Very nice looking cheese Anut. 

Perhaps you can help me with something I have been pondering on this site for a while? What is the obsession with melting cheese that you North Americans seen to have?  You do know that there are other ways of consuming cheese apart from macaroni and cheese and pizza?

Sometimes (Shh.....looking around to make sure no one is listening) I just sit in a corner and eat my cheese raw! Fancy that!!

Seriously though, I love your posts, always entertaining and full of good ideas. Thanks 

[anutcanfly]

Hi Jeff,

  Yes, that last melt test was in the microwave.  I rarely use the microwave for cheese.  Normally, I toast it on bread, but I was in hurry.  But no, it hasn't be melting in the oven or microwave--just softens.  Are you ever not making a caerphilly?    Hope you keep posting in detail.  I'm going to enjoy trying some of the variations you come up with.  Thank you for breaking trail!

Hi Bob,

I didn't realize we had an obsession?  I love cheese both ways.  It's nice to have it stay put when on toast, and to give nice nuggets of taste in fried potatoes without disappearing.  But a lot of the cooking I do really needs the cheese to flow!  Shhh... I love to just snack on a slice-- naked--no crackers!   Now that I think of it... may be we do have an obsession.  Every dish I fixed for thanksgiving and am planning for christmas, revolved around cheese.  Cheese melted on baked pears, with walnuts, Cheese souffle, scalloped potato's (with blue cheese), Apple crostata with cheddar cheese crust...  I'm still going thru my cookbooks looking for more ways to worship cheese for x-mas!   

[JeffHamm]

Hi Anut,

Curious.  Whenever I try a melt test in the microwave the cheese just bubbles and goes stretchy, but doesn't flow.  But the Lancashire and Butterkase I'm eating now both melt fine on potatoes, just not in the microwave.  I think I had one cheese, a Dunlop, that melted like your example in the microwave, but it's not been common.

And to be fair, I've only made caerphilly 5 times.  I'm sure there are others who have made it more than I have.  I just think it's an ideal cheese for those just getting into making pressed cheeses.  It's tasty, and you can get to eating it relatively quickly.  I also think it's a very good cheese in it's own right, so it's nice to have some around! 

- Jeff

[boothrf]

mmmmm ...... nice turkey Anut! Is there still an argument over who gets the legs?

And I think I was right about the obsession... but its a good one!



PS Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you have enjoyed a naked slice of cheese.

[anutcanfly]

Hi Jeff,

Looks like a mystery to be solved.  I'll make a point of doing the melt test in both the microwave and the oven.  I have a about 20 different types of cheese, with different pH and moisture contents that will be tested in the next 6 months.  I'm really curious as to what happens with high moisture and low pH.  The manchego I just made may be an example of that--I'll crack it in 3 months and post.   Only 5?  Well you better get moving.  You can't hold on to the title as King of Caerphilly by resting on your laurels! 

Hi Bob,

Legs?  In my family growing up it was the skin that was prized, and you had better be helping cook because the bird never made it to the table with the skin intact.  There would be a platter of white meat and dark meat...no skin to be found! 

Happy thoughts,
Anut