How to make a cheddar that melts for a grilled cheese

[mellow11]

Hello all. I make a cheddar presently that tastes great and is well appreciated. However, when sliced, it does not melt well to make ideal grilled cheese sandwiches which my family demands. A commercial brand of block cheddar does do the job, but not mine. My research has suggested a higher moisture content in the curd, meaning a young cheese, not heavily pressed. Another suggested using sodium citrate as a substitute for regular salt. Can anyone give me a few ideas?

[paulabob]

You may have put it in the press too late.  You want to hit the right ph at salting to slow the acidification, and put in the cheese cave at the right time.  Recipes that use time markers need to be adjusted for both how the culture works in your particular milk as well as ambient kitchen temperature.  I follow a lot of New England Cheesemaking recips, and tend to cut down the pressing times by about 30% for my  much warmer kitchen.

Most cheddars have to be heavily pressed to come together.  There are many other cheese types to explore that tend to melt well, but pretty much all cheese needs correct pH to work right.

One of my favorites that melts really well is American brick cheese.  A "stinky" that's very mild, ripens quickly, and is ready in a short period of time.  I like it on pizza as well.

Sodium citrate is good for taking overacidified cheese and allowing it to melt, but shouldn't be used in actually making a cheese from scratch.