My cheese sauces have been curdling and watery lately. I'm wondering if it's the cheese as I've been making them for years and they've been successful in the past. I use Edam but different brands as it depends what's on special at the time.
I used to heat milk and butter and add milk and flour(previously mixed) when it comes to boil. Take off heat and add cheese but have tried melting butter, add flour then milk and add junks of cheese whisking continuously and not letting boil. Either way, sometimes it's ok and other times its watery or curdles ???

cottagerose - 2014-10-02 15:15:00

Make a roux by melting butter and adding the flour season with pepper and salt a little dry mustard powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper and stir to combine and cook. then slowly add your milk stir well till no lumps. take pot off the element before adding the cheese ... add your cheese then place back on element to heat through and melt the cheese.

petal1955 - 2014-10-02 15:38:00

why bother using a roux,, i put milk in a container and put it in a microwave , when the milk is warm i add cornflour and cheese.. i take out the container frequentley and give the sauce a whisk or stir, when the sauce is real hot i add more cornflour if needed or more milk if the sauce is to thick.. my sauce never splits and i add chopped parsley to it to give the sauce some colour.

aktow - 2014-10-02 15:50:00

Make a roux with equal parts butter and flour i.e 40 grams flour and 40 grams butter. Cook until it looks a bit like sand. Slowly add warmed milk (approx 300-400 mls depending on how thick you want your sauce) stirring inbetween each addition until all milk is used.

Add your grated cheese and season with salt and white pepper.

This is how I do mine and how all us chefs are taught to make it when you're training. Mine always turns out perfectly and I use tasty cheese to give it a bit more flavour.

Adding your cheese to a roux means you also don't need heaps of cheese either and don't need to add extra flour to thicken it.

tazdevil38 - 2014-10-02 16:01:00

aktow wrote:

why bother using a roux,,

Because you need to cook out the flour so it doesn't taste awful and floury, that's why you should make a roux.

tazdevil38 - 2014-10-02 16:03:00

petal1955 wrote:

Make a roux by melting butter and adding the flour season with pepper and salt a little dry mustard powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper and stir to combine and cook. then slowly add your milk stir well till no lumps. take pot off the element before adding the cheese ... add your cheese then place back on element to heat through and melt the cheese.

This is how I do it, but I don't add cayenne. Oh and I use cornflour not ordinary flour.

Edited by biggles45 at 4:06 pm, Thu 2 Oct

biggles45 - 2014-10-02 16:06:00

I always make a roux when I make cheese sauce, nothing nicer.

lodgelocum - 2014-10-02 16:44:00

Microwaves destroy all nutritional value from all foods why would you use them!,,,,,

angelwoman - 2014-10-02 16:56:00

For an wee extra taste, try adding a little bit of grated Parmesan, about 1/4 cup, very nice end taste.

valentino - 2014-10-02 16:58:00

cottagerose wrote:

My cheese sauces have been curdling and watery lately. I'm wondering if it's the cheese as I've been making them for years and they've been successful in the past. I use Edam but different brands as it depends what's on special at the time.
I used to heat milk and butter and add milk and flour(previously mixed) when it comes to boil. Take off heat and add cheese but have tried melting butter, add flour then milk and add junks of cheese whisking continuously and not letting boil. Either way, sometimes it's ok and other times its watery or curdles ???

It may be the cheese or it may be the butter or milk you are using, I use butter from the old style block for making sauces, not the spreadable butter blends I use for sandwiches, but even then the water content in them varies a lot from brand to brand if you take a look at the ingredients list. Full fat milk would probably be the best milk for sauce but I use the light blue one as that is what we always have. I have used various cheeses and have not had it curdle though, I make a roux using equal quantities of butter and flour and let this cook out for at least 2 minutes, then add the milk and stir till it thickens then add grated cheese and sometimes mustard powder or wholegrain mustard, salt and pepper to taste.

tigerlilly16 - 2014-10-02 17:41:00

angelwoman wrote:

Microwaves destroy all nutritional value from all foods why would you use them!,,,,,

Pffft

wheelz - 2014-10-02 21:22:00

aktow wrote:

why bother using a roux,, i put milk in a container and put it in a microwave , when the milk is warm i add cornflour and cheese.. i take out the container frequentley and give the sauce a whisk or stir, when the sauce is real hot i add more cornflour if needed or more milk if the sauce is to thick.. my sauce never splits and i add chopped parsley to it to give the sauce some colour.

I do this too and have never had any issues with any sauce made by this method, works everytime and it doesn't taste floury. Used to do the roux way many years ago but not anymore. Make my custard this way too.

Edited by nauru at 9:48 pm, Thu 2 Oct

nauru - 2014-10-02 21:45:00

I make mine in the microwave, use equal amounts of flour and butter. I cook the roux then whisk in milk. Once its thickened I add cayenne, mustard powder and tasty cheese. I don't cook it after I've added the cheese. Have never had it split or curdle.

Edited by sarahb5 at 10:22 pm, Thu 2 Oct

sarahb5 - 2014-10-02 22:19:00

I make a roux, add a bit of milk, then about 1 tbsp of a strong, aged cheddar and more milk as needed......

Friend used to make hers with Colby and such - you ended up with a barely flavoured glue.
She now uses strong cheese.

lythande1 - 2014-10-03 07:20:00

Like sarahb5 I only make mine in the microwave. SO easy, works perfectly every time. NO lumps. You just need to give it a good stir once you have finished heating it. Looks all lumpy until you stir it. If you ever see the old Alison Holst microwave cook book at a garage sale/fair etc grab it. (red cover, half size) I find it the best book for things like this. Although I don't cook in the microwave as such, I do use it for sauces, vegetables etc. and this book is fantastic.

lynja - 2014-10-03 07:35:00

lynja wrote:

Like sarahb5 I only make mine in the microwave. SO easy, works perfectly every time. NO lumps. You just need to give it a good stir once you have finished heating it. Looks all lumpy until you stir it. If you ever see the old Alison Holst microwave cook book at a garage sale/fair etc grab it. (red cover, half size) I find it the best book for things like this. Although I don't cook in the microwave as such, I do use it for sauces, vegetables etc. and this book is fantastic.

Mine isn't lumpy at all but I do whisk it every minute or so

sarahb5 - 2014-10-03 07:40:00

sarahb5 wrote:

I make mine in the microwave, use equal amounts of flour and butter. I cook the roux then whisk in milk. Once its thickened I add cayenne, mustard powder and tasty cheese. I don't cook it after I've added the cheese. Have never had it split or curdle.

This is how I make mine too, a no fail method. .

kiwilion - 2014-10-04 14:54:00

sarahb5 wrote:

I make mine in the microwave, use equal amounts of flour and butter. I cook the roux then whisk in milk. Once its thickened I add cayenne, mustard powder and tasty cheese. I don't cook it after I've added the cheese. Have never had it split or curdle.

Me too....but Interestingly I saw Heston making his much different version which includes wine and stock and uses cornflour. He said he didn't care for traditional cheese or white sauce and I have to agree, unless I use huge amounts of cheese (even tasty) it's a bit blerk to me.... Family love it tho....and if it gets the kids eating lots of veg then alls good!

wendalls - 2014-10-05 00:16:00

tazdevil38 wrote:

Make a roux with equal parts butter and flour i.e 40 grams flour and 40 grams butter. Cook until it looks a bit like sand. Slowly add warmed milk (approx 300-400 mls depending on how thick you want your sauce) stirring inbetween each addition until all milk is used.

Add your grated cheese and season with salt and white pepper.

This is how I do mine and how all us chefs are taught to make it when you're training. Mine always turns out perfectly and I use tasty cheese to give it a bit more flavour.

Adding your cheese to a roux means you also don't need heaps of cheese either and don't need to add extra flour to thicken it.

This is how I make mine but check for salt AFTER cheese has been added, Cheese has a lot of salt in It, I sometimes add a tsp of grainy mustard just because I love it!,

Edited by kiwiscrapper1 at 6:04 pm, Sun 5 Oct

kiwiscrapper1 - 2014-10-05 18:03:00

microwave butter until melted, add flour. Microwave milk until quite hot, stir into roux- will start to thicken pretty quickly but microwave until fully thickened. I usually heat it again before serving and add cheese, stir it in to melt it but don't add any extra heat or it will curdle. salt and pepper to taste. Never fails.

apollo11 - 2014-10-05 18:25:00

kiwiscrapper1 wrote:

This is how I make mine but check for salt AFTER cheese has been added, Cheese has a lot of salt in It, I sometimes add a tsp of grainy mustard just because I love it!,

Yip, that's why I said add cheese then season ;-)

I agree, wholegrain mustard is nice too, and nice in mayonnaise.

tazdevil38 - 2014-10-05 20:32:00

Cream, cream cheese (philli block not spreadable), cheese and half a teaspoon of colmans mustard (already mixed).

Gently heat all ingredients while mixing, until melted. Ta da! Done! I haven't tried this in a microwave though.

It doesn't take long and is very cheesy tasting. I normally use mild cheese and I like a strong cheese sauce! Gluten free depending on the mustard. :)

amiri1 - 2014-10-06 12:38:00

wendalls wrote:

Me too....but Interestingly I saw Heston making his much different version which includes wine and stock and uses cornflour. He said he didn't care for traditional cheese or white sauce and I have to agree, unless I use huge amounts of cheese (even tasty) it's a bit blerk to me.... Family love it tho....and if it gets the kids eating lots of veg then alls good!

Ah yes - I believe this is more like a veloute rather than white sauce/bechamel flavoured with cheese

sarahb5 - 2014-10-06 13:17:00

amiri1 wrote:

Cream, cream cheese (philli block not spreadable), cheese and half a teaspoon of colmans mustard (already mixed).

Gently heat all ingredients while mixing, until melted. Ta da! Done! I haven't tried this in a microwave though.

It doesn't take long and is very cheesy tasting. I normally use mild cheese and I like a strong cheese sauce! Gluten free depending on the mustard. :)

Sounds very rich with the cream and cream cheese

sarahb5 - 2014-10-06 13:18:00

angelwoman wrote:

Microwaves destroy all nutritional value from all foods why would you use them!,,,,,

That is arrant nonsense. The fact is that microwave cooking can often increase the nutritional value when compared to some other cooking methods. Are you aware that canned tomatoes have a higher nutritional value than raw ones due to an increase in licopene?

janbodean - 2014-10-06 13:30:00

sarahb5 wrote:

Sounds very rich with the cream and cream cheese

It is, so you only need to drizzle it on! :)

amiri1 - 2014-10-06 14:15:00

amiri1 wrote:

It is, so you only need to drizzle it on! :)

If I'm having cheese sauce I like lashings of it - especially for lasagne, cauliflower cheese, etc. I have stirred herb & garlic cream cheese through pasta for a quick meal but that's about as rich as I can handle.

sarahb5 - 2014-10-06 15:02:00

recycling..

bev00 - 2015-10-05 21:12:00

I make mine out of the packet!!

sapphire152 - 2015-10-06 10:07:00

ha ha

rainrain1 - 2015-10-06 10:25:00

rainrain1 wrote:

ha ha

Not joking

sapphire152 - 2015-10-06 10:29:00

sapphire152 wrote:

Not joking

Didn't say you were, your comment at the end of all those recipes amused me....that's all !!

Edited by rainrain1 at 10:35 am, Tue 6 Oct

rainrain1 - 2015-10-06 10:32:00

rainrain1 wrote:

Didn't say you were,

waiting to get told how gross that is

sapphire152 - 2015-10-06 10:35:00

it's esay to make a cheese sauce
as many others have mentioned start with a roux...
I usually use about 40g butter and a heaped table spoon of plain flour and cook that out then add milk a little bit at a time - switch to a whisk and continually whisk until the milk has been incorporated (about 1 cup) then add in about 2-3 cups of cheese either grated or cut into cubes.
turn the heat right down and stir until cheese has melted

muffin2 - 2015-10-06 10:45:00

amiri1 wrote:

It is, so you only need to drizzle it on! :)

Your recipe sounds awesome amiri. I will certainly be trying it out.

buzzy110 - 2015-10-06 12:45:00

I make my sauces in the MW, for cheese sauce, I coat the cheese in the cornflour before adding to the heated seasoned milk. Giving it a good whisk before putting back into the MW, then giving an occasional whisk until thickened, never had it curdle yet.

nauru - 2015-10-06 19:44:00

Oh amiri... I tried your cheese sauce. Oh it is LETHAL! Very rich and very, very, YUMMY! I love it!

earth_moon - 2015-10-06 19:44:00

amiri1 wrote:

Cream, cream cheese (philli block not spreadable), cheese and half a teaspoon of colmans mustard (already mixed).

Gently heat all ingredients while mixing, until melted. Ta da! Done! I haven't tried this in a microwave though.

It doesn't take long and is very cheesy tasting. I normally use mild cheese and I like a strong cheese sauce! Gluten free depending on the mustard. :)

Can you post quantities please?

wasala - 2015-10-06 20:30:00

I measure with my eyes for this! Maybe start with 1/3 cream cheese to 2/3s cream and then mustard and grated cheese (or slices or chunks depending on how lazy I am) to thicken and taste. Sorry I couldn't be more specific wasala. I'll try and remember to measure when I next make it!
Thanks earth_moon, it's also an easy gluten free, low carb alternative to normal cheese sauce!
Even though I say to drizzle it in a post above, I swamp my veges with it because I like a lot of cheese sauce and I can handle rich! :)

amiri1 - 2015-10-07 00:23:00

Cook 25g of butter, 40g of flour (equal volume, not weight) and 450mls of milk in the microwave for a minute until butter has melted. Whisk to ensure no lumps and microwave in 1 minute bursts until it's thick enough. Add 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder, some cayenne pepper and 75g of grated tasty cheese. Beat until smooth but do not "cook" again once cheese is added

sarahb5 - 2015-10-07 00:31:00

mine is smiliar to Sarah5... 1 cup milk 2 table flour. Give it a whisk. Throw in good blob of butter and cook in micro for about 1min. take out whisk and put back in micro for another 30secs. Whisk and then keep microwaving till its thick. Once at desired thickness add 1/2 cup grated cheese. walaa. works everytime.

we_egg - 2015-10-09 19:56:00

Here is mine.

Melt 50g butter
When it is bubbling away add 2 small T flour and whisk so it foams and bubbles( about 1 - 2 mins it will go a bit lighter). Can add garlic here if you want.
Take off the heat and whisk in 1 C milk, or half and half (you may need more depending on how thick you like your sauce) and I T Dijon mustard
Stir in grated parmesan to your taste, let it melt into the sauce.
Taste, add any salt and pepper you think it needs.

Edited by awoftam at 8:07 pm, Fri 9 Oct

awoftam - 2015-10-09 20:04:00

This message was deleted.

kindajojo - 2015-10-09 20:24:00

if its for a large crowd and I need large quantities, then mix flour and oil together then fry off adding warmed milk, until thickened. Then cheese and seasoned. Finely chopped chives, parsley added before serving

If intimate gathering then butter fried until nutty adding flour then fried again until frothy, slowly adding simmering full cream milk and cream that has had spices herbs infused stirring until thickened. Then good quality grated cheeses of your choice and well seasoned. Or for a fondue style add a glass white wine.

For richer flavour for a particular dish then also add block cream cheese or marscopone. Stir on low heat until deliciously melted and velvety.

rexavier - 2015-10-09 20:34:00

I used to cook for 60 - 80 people a day & always made cheese sauce simply & never failed.
Put flour into saucepan, add little curry powder & salt & pepper. Pour in cold milk while whisking. Place on low heat stirring frequently until thick. Turn off heat & add grated cheese. Make same way in microwave.
The addition of beaten egg/eggs improves the texture but not necessary.

roseann48 - 2015-10-09 22:10:00

cottagerose wrote:

My cheese sauces have been curdling and watery lately. I'm wondering if it's the cheese as I've been making them for years and they've been successful in the past. I use Edam but different brands as it depends what's on special at the time.
I used to heat milk and butter and add milk and flour(previously mixed) when it comes to boil. Take off heat and add cheese but have tried melting butter, add flour then milk and add junks of cheese whisking continuously and not letting boil. Either way, sometimes it's ok and other times its watery or curdles ???

The milk may be more suspect than the cheese. The way milk is produced has changed to allow/include what is called by the industry permeate (whey - by product of dairy products). Which type of milk are you using for your cheese sauce?

sampa - 2015-10-09 22:22:00

This message was deleted.

kindajojo - 2015-10-10 07:40:00

Check the butter you are using. Some of the cheaper brands have added water (Budget, Pams, Dairy Maid). It will say on the label.

nadznz - 2015-10-10 07:55:00

bump

pixiegirl - 2016-10-07 14:24:00

As an aside, how do you serve it? do you have it in a jug? gravy boat or bowl with spoon?? (when you have guests and are being fancy?)

worzel6 - 2016-10-07 14:30:00