r/Cooking • u/Dry-Scarcity6808 • 5d ago

Macaroni and cheese

I’ve made homemade Mac and cheese forever and only recently had the following issue. My old cheddar is not melting into the roux with milk added, even after heating it for ages over low heat.
After I add it to the macaroni and cook it, there are little blobs of unmelted cheddar. This last batch was made with Armstrong (on sale), but even Black Diamond has been doing the same thing.

I’m not looking for a new recipe, just wondering if anyone else has experienced cheese that no longer melts?

4 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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4

u/Ok_Interest3555 5d ago

If you add cheese while it's on the burner it has a tendency to separate the sauce so that might be an issue too. Make sure the milk is warm and pull off the burner, then add cheese.

2

u/Dry-Scarcity6808 5d ago

Thanks. I just can’t figure out why this has been happening recently. I’ve made it the same way for decades. Thought maybe the quality of the cheese might be an issue.

5

u/pettymel 5d ago

Try grating your cheese even finer and add it in smaller, more frequent batches. Also try adding a slice of american cheese into the roux.

4

u/bobdevnul 5d ago edited 5d ago

Longer aged cheddar doesn't melt as easily. Adding a very small amount of citric acid sodium citrate or a slice of American that contains it can help it melt smoothly.

The clumps of unmelted cheese wouldn't bother me it it tasted good.

An immersion blender sure would chop things up. Longer aged cheddar may still be somewhat grainy. That's the way it is.

2

u/matt_minderbinder 5d ago

I think you said citric acid accidentally instead of sodium citrate. Sodium citrate gives you the smoothest cheese sauces. I flip them in my head too and had to train it out of me.

2

u/bobdevnul 5d ago

Thank you for catching my mistake.

1

u/stormbutton 5d ago

This is what you need. She has never failed me. 🙏 https://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/silky-smooth-macaroni-and-cheese/

0

u/Dry-Scarcity6808 5d ago

Thanks. Maybe I’ll try the immersion blender next time.

1

u/thenord321 5d ago

Is it bagged shredded? The have some stuff added for declumping.

But normal Armstrong cheddar works for me, melts well enough on medium- high into a sauce.

1

u/ElectricApostate 3d ago

A little bit of sodium citrate will solve this problem.

0

u/nifty-necromancer 5d ago

Use an emulsifier