COOKING TIP: Cooking with Cheese

Semi-hard (high moisture) cheeses should be grated rather fine before cooking. A box grated or food processor will make that easy. Semi-soft (high moisture) cheese should be cut into very small pieces since they are too soft to grate. Cutting them while they are still cold from the refrigerator will make cutting easier.

 High moisture cheeses used for soups or sauces should be added to the cooking liquid at a low simmer, in small batches to avoid grittiness. Tossing the cheese with a small amount of flour or corn starch will thicken the cheese slightly and reduce the chances of the fat separating from the cheese.

Hard (low moisture) cheeses, e.g., Parmesan, Romano, etc., stand up to high heat of a broiler and are ideal to put on top of a casserole (alone or mixed with breadcrumbs) to obtain crispy toppings.

Cut goat or any other soft cheese using un-waxed dental floss. Stretch a piece taut and saw through the cheese.

 When shredding semi-firm cheese (Cheddar, Mozzarella, Monterrey Jack), freeze for 30 minutes to firm up before shredding using the large holes of a box grater. Spray the holes with non - sticking spray to prevent sticking.

Keep cheese rinds (Parmesan, Romano) in your refrigerator or freezer and add to soups or vegetable and meat broths. It will give an additional dimension of flavor to whatever you are cooking. When finished cooking, rinds that have not melted can be minced and added to whatever they were cooked in as part of the dish to give an additional textural aspect to the dish or be discarded. In either case, the liquids in which they were cooked will have their flavor enhanced by having had the cheese rind added during cooking.