How Cheese Can Enhance Your Soup

Adding cheese is the perfect way to add flavor and creaminess to any kind of soup. Your recipe doesn’t even have to call for it for this ingredient to make a difference. Canned soup, in particular, rises to a whole new level when you add cheese. Whether you choose plain cheddar or one of the many flavored cheeses available, following these few steps will deliver perfect cheese infused soup every time.

Grate Your Cheese

The first essential step to adding cheese to soup is to grate it yourself. Pre-grated cheese has added ingredients that can cause it to clump when it melts. After grating, if you're cooking in a particularly hot kitchen or climate, you can toss a little bit of flour in with your cheese to keep it from sticking together.

When To Add The Cheese

Now that you have the perfect grated cheese, the next trick is to put it in your soup at the right moment. If the flavor of your soup can handle it, you will actually want to add just a touch of lemon juice before adding your cheese. This helps the cheese melt without clumping. Remember that the more liquid your soup base has, the more likely your cheese is to clump. Because of this, you should take additional precautions when necessary.

Regardless of whether you’re making a cheese or water-based soup, taking it off the heat before adding your grated cheese is a must. Make sure your soup is no longer boiling (or even simmering to be safe) before adding small amounts of cheese to the pot at a time. Clumping cheese is bad enough, but adding it to boiling liquid will make the cheese curdle. While curdled cheese isn’t deadly, it takes on a grainy texture that isn’t pleasant to eat.

How To Add The Cheese

Add about a quarter cup of cheese at a time, using a whisk to make sure it’s all incorporated before adding more. Do this quickly, as you want your soup hot enough to melt the cheese. You can put the pot back on the burner, if you need to, but then you run the risk of heating it too much. Remember that soup containing cheese should never boil.

Final Tips

One last trick: If you’re worried about clumping or curdling cheese and you already know how to make a killer cheese sauce, then simply make your sauce first and add it to hot (but not boiling) soup. Ready to give it a try? Take these instructions to the kitchen and get cooking with your favorite cheese.