Cheeses that are high in acid, however, such as Swiss-style Emmentaler and Gruyère, become stringy when melted. Cheeses like Cheshire and Leicester are relatively high in fat, which makes them good melters. When an aged cheese like Cheddar melts, these little pieces of casein flow without tangling, and the cheese melts smoothly.įinally, factors like fat content and acidity play a role in how a cheese melts. During aging, the casein molecules get attacked by ripening enzymes, which break the casein into small pieces. In fresh, unaged cheese, the casein molecules are large and stretchy, and they tend to get tangled into ropes, which is why melted fresh mozzarella is stringy. When cheese is heated, the calcium glue dissolves, and the casein molecules separate. A glue of calcium atoms holds the casein molecules together. The age of a cheese also affects how it melts. Take pizza, for example: Mozzarella melts into a liquid pool on top of the pizza, while specks of Parmigiano-Reggiano stay separate on the same pizza even after the Parmigiano melts. But hard cheeses contain so little water that when they melt, they don’t completely liquefy. In moist cheese, the proteins are loosely packed with lots of water interspersed between them, so they readily liquefy. High-moisture cheeses, like mozzarella, cream cheese, and Brie, flow more easily than dry hard cheeses. This complete melting occurs at about 130☏ for soft, high-moisture cheeses like mozzarella, around 150☏ for aged, low-moisture cheeses like Cheddar and Swiss, and 180☏ for hard, dry grating cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano. As the cheese gets hotter, the bonds holding together the casein proteins (the principal proteins in cheese) break, and the cheese collapses into a thick fluid.

First, at about 90☏, the solid milk fat in the cheese begins to liquefy, the cheese softens, and beads of melted fat rise to the surface. Here’s what you need to know about finding the best melters so your next cheese-based dish turns out as creamy and delicious as possible. Yet some cheeses make terrible choices for these dishes, since they simply won’t melt well or can get unpleasantly stringy. Pizza and quesadillas are unthinkable without it. Gooey melted cheese is the key to every pot of creamy fondue and bowl of macaroni and cheese.

Melting cheese for macaroni and cheese