4 ms·

Yes, some preparations even rely on cheese separating. E.g. parmesan tuiles, even when prepared with PDO Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano can be seen breakin

Yes, some preparations even rely on cheese separating. E.g. parmesan tuiles, even when prepared with PDO Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano can be seen breaking and expelling their fat before crisping. Every preparation of onion soup I've seen, even when using proper Gruyere or Comte, has an oil slick on top that has been expelled from the cheese. The cheeses used in saganaki (which I've never seen battered, only fried directly) weep oil before they melt. Processed cheeses, on the other hand, will typically burn before they break. And they flow very differently when melted.

YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
In that case I have no idea what you're talking about :) I think we may be talking about different things. I don't eat processed cheese so I don't know how it behaves. A quick search on the internet tells me that processed cheese can be melted to the point it is poured. It is then used in sauces. For sure, you can't pour real cheese. So I'm talking about the kind of melting you see, e.g. in a raclette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5U1crD18iM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5U1crD18iM Yes, real cheese will weep when you heat it but that's not "oil". Depending on the age of the cheese, some of it is whey and the rest is butterfat. But your description of "breaking" makes it sound like you expect cheese to cleanly separate in a puddle of butterfat and a chunk of protein, whereas real cheese will melt into a viscous fluid. That is - if it's cheese that melts in the first place. For instance, feta or haloumi don't melt, etc. I suspect I might misunderstand your description of "break" though. Regarding saganaki, it is prepared with many different cheeses, normally Greek cheeses. I have no idea how Greek-style cheese behaves, that is prepared outside Greece, but feta will not melt and only weep whey, whereas graviera, kaseri, kefalotyri etc "yellow cheeses" (as we call them) will melt. Saganaki is battered (or sometimes rolled in flour) for this reason- to keep the cheese from spreading after it melts. That's how it's made in Greece. I guess it's made in a different fashion outside of Greece. Finally- although I've never tried to make tuiles from parmesan, there is a large industry of counterfeit Parmiggianio Reggiano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5U1crD18iM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5U1crD18iM Which might well explain ill-behaved "Parmiggiano Reggiano".
- phonypc 7y ago
  I use oil interchangeably with butterfat in the context of dairy. I'm aware cheese does not contain vegetable oil or petroleum. The raclette in your linked video has begun to separate and formed an oily sheen on the outside. If you continued to cook it in a pan it would eventually form a puddle of fat. I don't consider (real) parm ill-behaved when making tuiles. They're yummy.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
    I'd expect it to form a puddle of molten cheese. So you 'd say that the raclette in the video is "breaking"? The way you said it I thought you were describing something really awful that you wouldn't want to eat. I don't see why you'd have to add er additives to cheese otherwise. Edit: OK, I still don't get it. Do you have a picture or a video of what you're describing?

YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago

In that case I have no idea what you're talking about :) I think we may be talking about different things. I don't eat processed cheese so I don't know how it behaves. A quick search on the internet tells me that processed cheese can be melted to the point it is poured. It is then used in sauces. For sure, you can't pour real cheese. So I'm talking about the kind of melting you see, e.g. in a raclette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5U1crD18iM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5U1crD18iM Yes, real cheese will weep when you heat it but that's not "oil". Depending on the age of the cheese, some of it is whey and the rest is butterfat. But your description of "breaking" makes it sound like you expect cheese to cleanly separate in a puddle of butterfat and a chunk of protein, whereas real cheese will melt into a viscous fluid. That is - if it's cheese that melts in the first place. For instance, feta or haloumi don't melt, etc. I suspect I might misunderstand your description of "break" though. Regarding saganaki, it is prepared with many different cheeses, normally Greek cheeses. I have no idea how Greek-style cheese behaves, that is prepared outside Greece, but feta will not melt and only weep whey, whereas graviera, kaseri, kefalotyri etc "yellow cheeses" (as we call them) will melt. Saganaki is battered (or sometimes rolled in flour) for this reason- to keep the cheese from spreading after it melts. That's how it's made in Greece. I guess it's made in a different fashion outside of Greece. Finally- although I've never tried to make tuiles from parmesan, there is a large industry of counterfeit Parmiggianio Reggiano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5U1crD18iM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5U1crD18iM Which might well explain ill-behaved "Parmiggiano Reggiano".

phonypc 7y ago
I use oil interchangeably with butterfat in the context of dairy. I'm aware cheese does not contain vegetable oil or petroleum. The raclette in your linked video has begun to separate and formed an oily sheen on the outside. If you continued to cook it in a pan it would eventually form a puddle of fat. I don't consider (real) parm ill-behaved when making tuiles. They're yummy.
- YeGoblynQueenne 7y ago
  I'd expect it to form a puddle of molten cheese. So you 'd say that the raclette in the video is "breaking"? The way you said it I thought you were describing something really awful that you wouldn't want to eat. I don't see why you'd have to add er additives to cheese otherwise. Edit: OK, I still don't get it. Do you have a picture or a video of what you're describing?