What am I doing wrong?

rickismom

Low Carb Home Cook
Site Supporter
It seems every time I make a cheese sauce, it curdles. I've tried taking it off the heat & letting it cool before I stir the cheese in, I've left it hot and whisked the cheese in and it still turns out curdled & chalky :yuk: . I've used plain cheddar or mixed cheddar & jack or just used parmesan! Grrrrrrrr! What am I doing wrong??? :confused:
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
RM,

Post a recipe or two that you have tried, and maybe we can see something that can be adapted.

Lee
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
those proteins- they're coagulating. use a hefty pot & whisk. be patient. sauces take time.
the sauce may be broken before the cheese is added. is the Mother sauce a bechamel~
 

PanchoHambre

New member
sometimes i win sometimes i loose - i think its 90% patience - keep the heat low add slowly. I feel like most of the time when i curdle it I was rushing.
 

Miniman

Mini man - maxi food
Gold Site Supporter
Low and slow to make the white sauce base. Then stir in the cheese off the heat.
 

High Cheese

Saucier
Yes, post your current recipe. for a basic cheese sauce you start with a bechamel, then add your cheese. If I'm cooking alot of things at once, I'll allot some time just to focus on the sauce. I start with a bechamel, then stir in the cheese. Once it's smooth I take it off the burner and finish cooking. It's easy to reheat at the end if you need to. If it got a little thick just add a coupla tablespoons of milk and whisk it in over low heat.
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
the only thing I can add to this discussion is:

it can be cheese dependent

without question I agree the #1 cause of a roux/roux based sauce "breaking" is too high a heat.

the "softness" and "fat content" of cheeses vary.
which means, after combining the flour / butter / fat for a roux, one needs to "cook"that mixture so there's no "raw flour" taste. - oh, you'll know "raw" that when it happens.

I like to semi-thin my roux to a thick but stir-able mixture before adding the cheese.
"soft (cured) cheese" typically have a higher fat content. "hard" (cured) cheeses perhaps less fat.

this makes a difference. a softer cheese will give up its fat content faster than a hard cured cheese.

high heat, lots of free ranging fats/oils = sauce done broke.

so first one needs to concentrate on cooking the raw taste out of the flour/butter mix. next is incorporating the cheese into that mix. "low&slow" is the keyword(s)

how something like 'Swiss' vs the ubiqucous "cheddar" melts and incorporates is an issue. like it or not.

one of those topics where "how" trumps "dumb&simple" - not all cheese is the same.
 

High Cheese

Saucier
Roux and bechamel are two different things. I would never attempt to make a cheese sauce adding grated cheese to a roux, bound to have it break.
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
see what I wrote
"without question I agree the #1 cause of a roux/roux based sauce"

last I looked, bechamel is a roux based sauce.
then again, not up on modern French; I'm old, eh?
 

Shermie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
You're right, ChowderMan!!

Bechamel IS a roux-based sauce, and it is this sauce, its consistency and temp that helps determine the final outcome of whatever it is going to be used with and for. In any case, like gravy, it must be cooked enough so that the flour used for the roux is also cooked to aviod that pastey taste in flour.

Last time that I remember making bechamel was for a Tuna Noodle Casserole.

And you're NOT old.

Also, I think I should point out that for this sauce, whole milk is needed to make it. 1% or skim milk is not advisable because it is the added fat that is in whole milk that's needed to help things blend together smoothly. Might also be able to get away with using 2% milk, but anything lower than that, I wouldn't suggest it to be used. I wonder if Rickismom knows that.
 
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rickismom

Low Carb Home Cook
Site Supporter
Thanks everyone! I'm thinking that maybe I did have the sauce too hot. I always have it hot in order to make the bechemel thicken. Should I just take it off the heat & let it sit before I add any cheese?
And yes, Sherman I use 2% milk. Half/half is too rich for me lol
 

PanchoHambre

New member
Thanks everyone! I'm thinking that maybe I did have the sauce too hot. I always have it hot in order to make the bechemel thicken. Should I just take it off the heat & let it sit before I add any cheese?
And yes, Sherman I use 2% milk. Half/half is too rich for me lol

at least compromise on whole milk - personally I am not a fan of drinking whole milk (unless it's raw and that is something else, wow!) or half n half in my coffee - I find the cream cloying and gross. I prefer skim but for cooking I find whole milk and real cream to be essential and subbing reduced fat versions to not quite work. For Béchamel and Alfredo etc you need that fat. it't ok, its actually pretty good for you if nutrient rich. the cooking may take away much of what you found objectionable.
 

Brendenn

New member
Usually the curdling happens because the heat is too high. Also try adding a little bit at a time remember it's not a race! lol It is a tedious task but well worth it in the end
 
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