If you are like many people, fried cheese is a tasty treat that you may think is only available in restaurants. If you do not know how to prepare fried cheese you can end up with a huge mess on your hands and nothing to eat. Although the actual frying process is quite simple, you need to know what kind of cheeses you can fry and how to handle them so that you get the best results.
The good news is that almost any firm or semi-firm cheese can be fried. A cheese such as Brie that is extremely soft and creamy will not hold together and will turn into the equivalent of a thick liquid when they are heated. Better choices include Cheddar cheese, Mozzarella cheese or Queso Blanco.
If you are working with a cheese such as this you may want to bread it before frying it. The breading will keep the hot cheese from spreading out across your frying pan. You can cut Cheddar cheeses or Mozzarella cheese into cubes or slices and bread them. Dip the cubes or slices into beaten egg and then into Italian bread crumbs. Place the breaded cheese into a pan of hot oil and fry it until the bread crumbs have become golden brown. They should be removed from the pan at this point and placed on a plate that is covered with paper towel.
You can also shred cheese such as Swiss cheese and then place a small quantity of shredded cheese into a hot, lightly oiled frying pan. It should be cooked at high heat until the cheese becomes crispy. It can be flipped once and fried until it is golden brown on both sides. Using a small quantity of shredded cheese can help keep the process manageable so that you do not end up with a large amount of molten cheese in your frying pan. The key is to cook it on fairly high heat so that the surface gets crispy.
There are cheeses that are meant to be fried. One example is Halloum, a Middle Eastern cheese that can be fried or grilled. It has a high melting point and because of this it will become golden brown and crispy without melting completely. It should be sliced into fairly thin slices and then placed into a small quantity of heated oil. The Halloum should be fried for about three minutes per side and can be served with food such as tomatoes, cucumbers and olives.
Fried cheese generally turns out best if it is served warm. Always remember to blot the cheese lightly with paper towel in order to remove excess oil. Then, serve to your guests and enjoy!
-Written by Lisa Longworth
No comments:
Post a Comment