Post B67ehAput2s6vEdOEq by WhistlingStella@c.im
(DIR) More posts by WhistlingStella@c.im
(DIR) Post #B67ZYpMkKX9sFGBu5Y by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-09T13:06:59Z
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Cheese Sauce can seem like a complex and advanced food, it will impress your friends. But, it turns out it's very simple to make. When you try to melt most cheeses they will become more like a liquid, but the fat will separate making a lumpy texture, and when it cools it will harden. To prevent this you need corn starch. Mix the corn starch with water and slowly blend it into the melting cheese. Add more water than you think!
(DIR) Post #B67ZqAoZpxANgsToDQ by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-09T13:10:10Z
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The harder the cheese the more water you will need. 1. Blend 1 part corn starch to 4 parts water by volume (you can eyeball this, you are making milk-like liquid)2. pulverize or grate the cheese, heat in a dish with low heat and slowly VERY SLOWLY add the corn starch water and mix it well as you go.3. Once you have blended in the corn starch water and the sauce is runny turn up the heat and let it bubble. 4. It will get thick and be ready to serve!
(DIR) Post #B67ZwhD0JGkttd11NY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-09T13:11:20Z
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I always need recipes to explain WHY. I'd try to add the corn starch directly to the cheese and didn't understand the point of the water...This is hard won knowledge. You can put browned onions in it too. Go nuts.
(DIR) Post #B67aW7s3AmPgir6oEq by wyatt_h_knott@mstdn.social
2026-05-09T13:17:40Z
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@futurebird I have never made a cheese sauce this way. I always make a flour roux, extend it with cream or milk into a mother sauce (Bechamel) then add cheese. I never get lumps or cheese separation unless I leave it on too high a heat for too long. 100% on the onions. One good way to start is to brown onions in butter, add flour and cook until the flour is light brown, then add the dairy.
(DIR) Post #B67acPnFRyIs2trTto by hal_pomeranz@infosec.exchange
2026-05-09T13:18:51Z
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@futurebird Interesting. I’ve always made cheese sauces starting with a roux (butter/flour mix) and then adding milk and slowly adding the cheese bits to the warmed milk/roux mixture. Your way sounds simpler.
(DIR) Post #B67aiO8eW1GweQindA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-09T13:19:57Z
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@hal_pomeranz Using milk is a bit of an upgrade perhaps. But it's easy to scald milk. This method takes less skill! Which is good!
(DIR) Post #B67b4H79JPNLEjSGBc by webhat@infosec.exchange
2026-05-09T13:22:13Z
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@wyatt_h_knott @futurebird same, the roux is the basis I use to make a vegan cheese sauce too
(DIR) Post #B67b4IjTIPckFsONYe by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-09T13:23:53Z
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@webhat @wyatt_h_knott Cornstarch works with vegan cheese! you can use Nutritional yeast and it makes a wonderful sauce, that I call "yeast sauce" because it really has it's own good flavor that isn't the same as cheese.
(DIR) Post #B67bIQsdnbSjZzQ4TA by catflyhigh@troet.cafe
2026-05-09T13:26:25Z
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@futurebird @hal_pomeranz I usually only make Gorgonzola Sauce1. I heat cream in a saucepan. Cut the Gorgonzola into pieces and add it to the cream.Stir, stir, stir.2. Season with pepper and nutmeg. Optional: A dash of Maggino salt neededIf it curdles, I add one or two tablespoons of cold water and stir it in. However, Gorgonzola is a soft cheese, and the cream is already an emulsion. I think hard cheeses separate more when cooked. So I will remember your trick.
(DIR) Post #B67bMG1M7GFr3eJsSO by Catfish_Man@mastodon.social
2026-05-09T13:27:08Z
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@futurebird have you tried the sodium citrate version? Food science is SO COOL :D
(DIR) Post #B67bUTCczSi6G0VZC4 by webhat@infosec.exchange
2026-05-09T13:28:39Z
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@futurebird @wyatt_h_knott I make the roux with nutritional yeast, so technically a yeast sauce
(DIR) Post #B67boSwBgaLVE6Lwiu by jjLitke@wandering.shop
2026-05-09T13:32:15Z
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@futurebird The WHY matters for me too! The long time it takes to caramelize onions made no sense to me until I stumbled across an article explaining details of the chemical process. I had refused to take the time before, now I do it regularly
(DIR) Post #B67byJriGqoPz9xV4q by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-09T13:34:02Z
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@jjLitke Sometimes when I don't know what I want to make I just start caramelizing onions while I think about it and rummage around the kitchen to see what can be eaten. This always works out well!
(DIR) Post #B67cWAiOnVYDS6kCTQ by australopithecus@mastodon.social
2026-05-09T13:40:08Z
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@futurebird Instead of so much water, add a little bit of acid (wine, lemon juice) to make it smooth. Sodium citrate salt is the standard industrial-scale option if you're feeling brutalist, and is the reason American Cheese is melty.
(DIR) Post #B67dtnCjxdk3RJlNhY by Wharrrrrrgarbl@an.errant.cloud
2026-05-09T13:55:32Z
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@futurebird if you use beer instead of water you get rarebit
(DIR) Post #B67ehAput2s6vEdOEq by WhistlingStella@c.im
2026-05-09T14:04:31Z
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@futurebird And now for a bit of science magic... Use Sodium Citrate for the silkiest cream sauces, no roux required!
(DIR) Post #B67emAztiR3Irxgjpo by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-05-09T14:05:28Z
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@WhistlingStella I'm a little confused but will try it.
(DIR) Post #B67f3djM8iJuuHHJuS by WhistlingStella@c.im
2026-05-09T14:08:37Z
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@futurebird It's easy and you can turn all those cheese ends into the best mac and cheese or a sauce or soup without clumping or separating.
(DIR) Post #B67fl7A8aW44dlXGJU by webhat@infosec.exchange
2026-05-09T14:16:06Z
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@MostlyDrawing It's super easy for me, just some vegan butter melted in a pan and flour until it's a sticky paste, aka roux. Then I add some nutritional yeast and salt and pepper. Then I start adding soy milk until everything's a liquid again, then I stir on soft heat until it slowly congeals. Add a little milk if it's too thick and serveProbably 250gr of vegan butter, 3 or 4 tablespoons of white flour, 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and maybe 250ml of soy milk. As I've been making it for a while, I tend to eyeball it, so there measurements might be way offcc: @wyatt_h_knott @futurebird
(DIR) Post #B67gS5uh6kCxDbo3jk by msh@coales.co
2026-05-09T14:24:13Z
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@futurebird @WhistlingStella the gooey lumps in melted cheese are proteins stuck together with calcium atoms. Citrates like to bond pretty strongly to calcium and adding it to cheese will sequester the calcium from the proteins and break down the lumps.Sodium citrate is very good at it and cost effective at scale, but at home you can even just use a bit of lemon juice as the citric part is what does the magic.The cornstarch is still needed for thickening/emulsifying but then you don't have to "dilute" the cheese with as much water.
(DIR) Post #B67gglODhGwBuPbySW by jjLitke@wandering.shop
2026-05-09T14:26:52Z
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@futurebird Same!
(DIR) Post #B67gqqvpwiBxzf9984 by nathanlovestrees@disabled.social
2026-05-09T14:28:41Z
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@futurebird the biggest game-changer for my home cooking has been heavy utilization of pasta water which serves as a starchy base for all sorts of great sauces/emulsions—cheesy or not!
(DIR) Post #B67lXQBJg7lvIVwNrk by BarneyDellar@mastodon.scot
2026-05-09T15:21:11Z
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@futurebird How do you pulverise cheese..??