Easy Recipes Using Cheddar Cheese

Cheddar is one of the most popular cheeses in the United States and because of this, you can find it almost anywhere you go. Of course if you want to try high quality cheddar, your best bet is to look online or go to a specialty store. If you are going to cook with your cheddar, you will still notice a large difference in quality. When looking at recipes, pay attention to what type of cheddar it calls for as there is a significant flavor difference between mild and sharp cheddar. Some recipes will leave the option open to you and if that is the case, simply choose your favorite type.

Cheddar Cheese Macaroni

If you love mac and cheese, then you should give cheddar cheese macaroni a try. It is basically the same thing but instead of using the mix from a box, pick your favorite brand of macaroni and your favorite cheddar cheese. To make this, heat up a skillet and add a tablespoon of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter melts, add three tablespoons of flour and whisk the mixture while it cooks for about three minutes. Keep whisking the mixture while slowly adding a cup and a half of milk. Let it thicken, and then add in two cups of cheddar cheese (shredded). Add whatever spices you want and then combine it with your macaroni.

Cheddar Cheese Soup

To make this delicious and refreshing soup, heat up four tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan. Add a large chopped onion and a third cup each of chopped red and green peppers. Let them sauté until they are soft then add in four minced cloves of garlic, sautéing for two more minutes. Add a half cup of all-purpose flour and stir the mixture constantly while cooking for two minutes. Whisk in slowly two cups of chicken stock, a cup and a half of whole milk and a cup and a half of heavy cream. Bring the soup up to boil before bringing it down for a simmer. Stir it frequently for the next 20 minutes. Now take four cups of grated cheddar cheese and add it in slowly, stirring it in. season it to taste and enjoy.

Cheddar Apple Pie

If you already have an apple pie recipe that you love, this is a great variation that can add some extra flavor to it. Make the filling the same as you always do, but the crust will be a bit different. For this part, take a food processor and combine 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, ¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt, two sticks of cold unsalted butter and 1 ¼ cups of grated sharp cheddar (packed; if you want more flavor, either add more cheese or make it extra sharp). Add some ice water then run the food processor again so the mixture creates a ball. (Add more ice water if it is too dry). Divide the mix in half and use it how you would any other crust to make your apple pie.

Happy Thanksgiving! Don't Forget the Cheese!

5 Tips To Throwing A Cheese Tasting Party

If you want to host a party but are looking for something a bit classier, a cheese tasting party is one of the best options. There are plenty of cheeses available to choose from so it is only a matter of selecting the right ones and doing all the other elements of planning to make it a success. It can be a bit daunting at first, especially if you don’t know how to pick your cheeses (or drinks) so here are some tips to help you plan your cheese tasting party.

Set Up

One of the most important things to consider (other than the cheeses) is how you will set up your cheese tasting party. If you have the room, a great idea is to place a long table and divide it into different sections based on cheeses. Another option is to set up several smaller areas throughout the room, each with a different type of cheese as well as a label.

Information

One thing that many people don’t consider when throwing a cheese tasting party is labeling the cheese. In many cases, they will simply put out the cheeses and expect their guests to know what they are as well as their history. A better idea, and one that your guests will greatly appreciate, is to clearly label each cheese. If you have the time, it is also a great idea to add a sentence or two to the label describing where the cheese comes from and its history.

Compare Varieties

A great idea when selecting the cheeses for your party is to select different varieties of the same cheese. An example would be to get some fresh mozzarella in the two main varieties: that made from water buffalo’s milk and that made from cow’s milk. You could do something similar with cheddar, serving different levels of sharpness, different colors or specific artisan cheeses.

Go Unusual

Part of the goal of cheese tasting party is to introduce your guests to cheeses they have not had before. This means that if you live somewhere where cheese curds are not very common, this is a great opportunity to introduce them to your friends. Once again, choose some varieties such as plain cheddar cheese curds and cheddar ones with bacon and chives. This is also the chance for you to get unusual varieties of more common cheeses. A good idea would be a hand crafted and well-aged cheddar.

Other Items

When you are having a cheese tasting party, you don’t want to just serve the cheese. You should be sure to have a variety of small breads and crackers as well. You also need to pay close attention to the drinks. Wine is a classic option but be sure to pair your wines and cheeses correctly. Ideally, you could even write the ideal wine on each cheese’s label. To find the right wines, do your research by looking online or asking a cheese expert. In many cases when you buy your cheese online from a quality website, they will give you suggestions of wine pairings.

Why Does Mozzarella Melt So Easily?

Chances are if you have ever had a pizza, you have eaten mozzarella cheese as it is the most commonly used cheese for this food. But this isn’t the only dish that involves melted mozzarella and that is no surprise considering the great taste and ease associated with melting the cheese. When compared to other cheeses, it sometimes seems as if mozzarella melts a lot easier but instead of understanding why, most people just take advantage of this fact and use the melted version in recipes. If you want to know why this cheese melts so easily, then it all comes down to its structure.

Type Of Melt

Before completely understanding why mozzarella melts so easily, it is important to understand what type of melting cheese it produces. In general there are several different consistencies that you can get from melted cheese: stretchy and stringy, smooth and flowing and ones that don’t melt. If you have ever worked with mozzarella, then you know it is a stretchy and stringy cheese when melted. This means that when you melt it, it can make long strings (thing of the stringy melted cheese on your pizza) and will generally stay where they are, making them great for sandwiches and pizza.

The Moisture

So we mentioned that the reason mozzarella melts so easily is because of its structure, but what exactly does that mean. It comes down to the fact that when you make mozzarella at a high pasteurization temperature, the cheese will have more moisture which means that you need to be careful with it as it will melt easily, giving it a higher risk of burning. At the same time, the moisture is part of what gives it the melted consistency that we have grown to love. One thing to remember when cooking your mozzarella, however, is that if you cook it at higher temperatures, there will be less moisture.

Other Factors

The moisture is just one of the factors that cause mozzarella to melt so easily. If you want to use mozzarella that melts easily, it is best to avoid reduced fat cheese as this will have more protein content. This in turn means that the cheese is harder to melt so if you plan on melting your mozzarella, stick to the full-fat version. You will also notice that cheese made with a bulk starter culture will melt better because of the increased microbial activity. Another way to make your mozzarella melt even more easily is to increase the time it is stored in refrigeration as this will help it develop more which in turn helps with melting.

How Do You Do It?

Now that you know why mozzarella cheese melts so easily, it is a good idea to know the best way to melt it. Ideally you should use a double boiler (or make your own using a small pot and a large pot). Shred the cheese and put it in the top part of the double boiler. Then fill the bottom with water halfway putting the heat on medium high. Put the top part (with the cheese) on top of the bottom part and stir it frequently while it melts. You should have melted mozzarella in no time.

How Does Cheddar Cheese Get Its Color?

One of the things that distinguish cheddar cheese from the other cheeses (in addition to its flavor of course) is its color. While most cheeses are traditionally light in color, cheddar is almost always yellow or even a bright orange. Although people enjoy cheddar’s distinctive color, not everyone knows where it comes from or what the difference in color is. Well the most important thing to know about the color of this cheese is that it is not naturally that way; instead the color is produced using an all-natural dye. Here is how exactly cheddar gets its color as well as information on why it was first dyed.

The Dye

We already know that cheddar cheese is not naturally yellow and most certainly not naturally orange, but the good news is that the color of the cheese does not involve chemical additives such as those in other colored products. Instead, this coloring is all-natural. The cheese is dyed using annatto which is a coloring additive that comes from the achiote tree, a tree that is common in South and Central America’s tropical regions. Annatto is actually the name of the seeds that are then ground up to be used as a natural dye.

Uniformity

Part of the logic behind coloring cheddar cheese is to help create uniformity. This is because the cows that produce the milk which is made into cheese can greatly affect the color. It all comes down to the amount of beta-carotene that is produced by the cows and included in their milk. Cows that eat in the pasture (such as in the olden days when cheese was first created) will have higher levels of this nutrient during the spring because of their diet of fresh grass. This will produce cheese that is more yellow. In the winter, however, when they have less beta-carotene in their diet, the cheese made from the milk will be whiter.

Sales

Another reason that cheddar cheese was traditionally dyed was to increase the sales. When cheddar was first produced, most of the cheeses at the time were white. People who bought cheese liked the richer flavor of the yellow cheddar that was produced from cow’s summer milk. Cheese manufacturers quickly realized that by adding a bit of color to white cheddar (or other cheeses for that matter), buyers would associate it with that better quality yellow cheddar and be more inclined to buy, paying higher prices.

Variations

Today you will notice that not all cheddar cheese is one color. Some are yellow, while others are white or even that deep orange. The white cheddars are the ones that do not include the coloring additive annatto. Yellow cheese will usually include the standard amount while the deep orange cheddar cheese will have an extra bit of annatto. Because the annatto doesn’t affect the flavor, the differences all come down to custom. The yellow and orange varieties are popular because that is simply what people expect to see when purchasing their cheddar cheese and while the white cheese is more natural, it is not necessarily any different in taste or healthiness.