Repeat with 10-second intervals until the cheese has completely melted and the mixture is smooth. After 10 seconds take out and stir again. If the cheese hasn’t completely melted return to the microwave for a further 10 seconds. Your cheese may have completely melted into a smooth mixture with the milk. Once the 30 seconds are up take the bowl out and stir. Make sure to watch the mixture as the cheese has a low melting point. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook for 30 seconds. You will need one teaspoon or approximately 5 millilitres of milk for every cheese slice you have in your bowl. Place the cheese pieces in a bowl and add milk to the bowl. Firstly cut or break up your cheese slices into quarters or thereabouts sized pieces. All you need to pull this off is a microwave-safe dish, your cheese slices and some milk. This method works great if you intend to use the cheese in a dipping sauce or want to pour it over something like nachos. The quick and easy method of melting American cheese is in the microwave. Due to this fragility using American cheese in a direct high heat situation like grilling is not ideal. However, this comes with the disadvantage of the cheese burning quickly when it is exposed to extreme and direct heat. So when melting American cheese you will find it does not take much to get it to the melting point. Other agents used in the processing of American cheese give it a soft texture. Firstly it is usually processed from cheddar and/or Colby both of which are moisture-rich cheeses. It owes this characteristic to the way it is made. What To Watch For When Melting American CheeseĪmerican cheese has a low melting point. The cheese is sold in individually wrapped slices. It is made by grinding the traditional cheese and mixing it with an emulsifying agent and other ingredients such as colourants and heated until the elements can be mixed. The cheese is used in many applications including cheeseburgers, sandwiches and other fast food. It traces it’s history back to the 1910s when James L Kraft began marketing processed cheese under the name American in 1916. It has a low melting point and can be yellow, orange or white. It is often made with Colby and/or cheddar cheese. 5 Melting American Cheese In a Toaster OvenĪmerican cheese is mildly flavoured cheese which is often creamy and salty and has a firm, almost rubbery texture.
3 Melting American Cheese In The Microwave.2 What To Watch For When Melting American Cheese.Overheating can make the cheese harden and release fat creating a lumpy sauce. Bring the cheese to room temperature before using, grate or finely chop the cheese, thicken the sauce before adding the cheese, and heat only until the cheese has melted. When melting cheese, the following tips will help insure a smooth sauce. Blue cheeses and soft cheeses such as Brie and Camembert also melt well if you remove the rind.
If you follow the tips below, you can count on a smooth sauce when you use Asiago, Cheddar, colby, fontina, Gouda, Gruyère, Havarti, Monterey Jack, or Muenster. Many hard grating cheeses don’t melt well and those known for their stringiness and chewy texture tend to maintain that texture when warmed, but the list of those that do melt well into sauces gives pretty much choice at the cheese counter. 1.22.12 / Cooking Tips, Kitchen Shrink Cheese: What are good melting cheeses?īlondell recently e-mailed the Kitchen Shrink to ask, “Which cheeses can be melted and poured?” While most people know that processed cheeses melt smoothly and easily into sauces, selecting a natural cheese that behaves as well isn’t always easy.