Questions about stabilizing cheese when melted without separating but not becoming 'sliceable'

southbaydog

Okay, yeah, I've read what I've read and watched the videos on YouTube and the info on this website. However, the answers I'm seeking elude me. I am a former cooking professional, but some things are still a challenge and mystery to me.

I don't want to replicate gruyere, parmesan, or other cheeses to become 'sliceable' or necessarily flow as smooth and silky as Velveeta. I just want to use various cheeses that would otherwise separate and become greasy into a smooth, emulsified form.

I haven't found that info here, despite finding a lot of technical/scientific information—but maybe I've missed it despite having read everything. Maybe my bad.

I don't want a super smooth, (basically non-cheesy, IMO) texture like Velveeta. I want real cheese that will might or might not, pull in a somewhat stringy way, but not separate without becoming oily. Can anyone please help? Thank you all!

tim.d.chin

If I'm reading you correctly, you're aiming to thread a tricky needle: You want the reliable, smooth, possibly stretchy melt of a cheese like Monterey Jack/mozzarella—but not a trace of the blocky-when-cold/sliced/ultra-emulsified qualities of processed cheese. And you want to do it with something that can't naturally do it—like Parmesan cheese.

I'm gonna level with you right now: That is difficult! If your goal is to engineer, for example, a Parmesan cheese product that slices like cheddar cheese when cold (i.e. isn't a rubber block), but melts reliably without breaking, and has a little stretch/pull, then you likely need to implement several strategies. Let me paint that picture in broad conceptual strokes:

• Your base texture cheese would likely be young cheddar or mozzarella cheese (~50%)
  • The key here is a young cheese, which provides the requisite stretch/elasticity/moisture that you're looking for
• Your flavoring cheese (e.g. Parmesan) (~50%)
• Moderate liquid amount (e.g. milk) (~20-25% against total cheese weight)
• Very low concentration(s) of sodium citrate/SHMP (1% or lower)

That last point is probably the most important idea. It sounds like you're looking for the "lowest effective dose" of additives. You don't need a cheese slice; you simply don't want your product to break when melted. Sodium citrate alone (at very low concentrations) can accomplish this effect. You likely will get a product that's firmer/crumblier than the cheese slices in our Krafting Melty Cheese Perfection Guide.

And to clarify: Melting salts are not responsible for stretch/cheesy pull. Phosphate salts like SHMP can give slight elasticity, but real elasticity comes down to protein structure (age) and moisture content. That's why we recommend selecting young, high-moisture cheeses in any cheese blend for that stretchy effect.

If you're looking for an exact formula, then this is probably not a very satisfying answer. But the crux of it is: You will need to experiment by starting at lower concentrations of sodium citrate (<1%) and possibly SHMP (~.5%) against your total cheese weight.

Hope this helps!