Go to the Recipe: Broccoli Cheddar Sauce
Yep!
This is a terrible recipe. What it fails to mention is that both the white wine and heat (implied by "reducing", wtf, they just mean thickening) will make the cheese/cream curdle and turn into a giant glob of protein that glues everything together and leaves you with a bunch of gross whey. You really should make a bechamel style cheese sauce with the broccoli added to it.
I accidentally added a little too much wine and the cream did curdle. I am wondering if I added the correct amount, if it would still curdle.
Question to everyone having the curdling problem......Did you reduce the wine ALL the way before adding the cheese and cream?
I have sodium citrate and sodium hexametaphosphate from the other cheese-centered recipes. Is there a way to use that here?
This is sooo good with pasta! I did not have a curdling problem since I used low heat, however I did not reduce it to the consistency in the recipe. Mine was a bit more liquid, however I think it was the perfect consistency. Seriously, so good with pasta!
Very tasty. Mine gets very thin after the Broccoli steams. Maybe that is what is intended but I might try to cook the broccoli separately.
You can avoid any curdling issues by keeping your liquid dairy temperature below 175F and being very, very patient.
I would also like to know about the use of sodium citrate and/or sodium hexametaphosphate to counter the curdling problem and make a smoother sauce. Can anyone weigh in on this question? Thx! (Love this site, BTW)
Great question. I remember about these additives from the poutine class.
Please explain what n/a means
not applicable
it's a/n not n/a. It stands for as needed whereas n/a stands for not applicable.
The recipes should not even use a/n since they put to taste after it. Kinda like a double negative. All my professional cookbooks simply use TT.
It looks to me like that's just the vegetables that are in the sauce. I'm sure you could just figure out a way to make smaller chunks or remove them if you wanted.
Actually, I don't think you'll need any of it here, man. Considering there is a much higher amount of cream(and other ingredientes) for cheese, it propably won't curdle if you take care not to heat too much the cheese alone.
Besides that, tartaric acid is present in dry white wine(one of the ingredients in this recipe), specially the more acidics ones, obviously. It removes calcium from the caseins, bonding to it and depriving the proteins from the glue that makes cheese curdle. That's why almost all fondue recipes demand white wine.
Citric acid, present in lemon juice, does the exact same thing. The disadvantage of using those is the interference of flavor, of course. And that's where sodium citrate and hexametaphosphate shine.
Actually, tartaric acid is present in dry white wine, specially the more acidics ones, obviously. It removes calcium from the caseins, bonding to it and depriving the proteins from the glue that makes cheese curdle. That's why almost all fondue recipes demand white wine.
Using low heat and adding the cheese slowly may help too. If not, try adding some lemon juice, the cictric acid works like the tartaric.
And, finally, if non of this works, you can add just a tiny amount of starch of any kind. If you want a more refined result, add sodium citrate and/or hexametaphosphate .
Actually, tartaric acid is present in dry white wine, specially the more acidics ones, obviously. It removes calcium from the caseins, bonding to it and depriving the proteins from the glue that makes cheese curdle. That's why almost all fondue recipes demand white wine. So, the wine problably wasn't the problem here.
Try lower heat. If it doens't work, add some lemon juice, the citric acid acts like the tartaric. But if you want to guarantee it will work, add some starch of any kind, like tapioca, corn starch or wheat flour.
Hope it helps.
ha!!! one step away from a buerre blanc...yes??!!
think buerre blanc consistency..i like mine hollandaise thickness....this way the sauce wont break during service!
Hey David, rodrigo actually posted a pretty good reply to my similar question. I'll quote it:
"Actually, I don't think you'll need any of it here, man. Considering there is a much higher amount of cream(and other ingredientes) for cheese, it propably won't curdle if you take care not to heat too much the cheese alone. Besides that, tartaric acid is present in dry white wine(one of the ingredients in this recipe), specially the more acidics ones, obviously. It removes calcium from the caseins, bonding to it and depriving the proteins from the glue that makes cheese curdle. That's why almost all fondue recipes demand white wine.Citric acid, present in lemon juice, does the exact same thing. The disadvantage of using those is the interference of flavor, of course. And that's where sodium citrate and hexametaphosphate shine."
Hope this helps answer your question!
Yes, now that I'm actually looking closer, you are certainly right. The grainy appearance is likely the processed vegetable stems, scraps and onions.
So much good info in three short paragraphs. Thank you! I'm still learning the chemistry behind it all, so this sort of info helps a lot. But it also raises more questions... )
What's a substitute if I don't want to use wine?
It was delicious, my husband loved it too.
Water
Or stock.
Probably the software required to fill in that field.
If you substitute water for the wine you should add a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten things up a bit.
What's about using milk instead of heacy cream?
Would lack that thick fat flavor cream gives
I wonder if adding a little roux would help with the thickening if you use milk instead of cream.
