Why does adding commercial processed cheese to fondue change its consistency?
I like to experiment with cheese fondues. I've had good results with the traditional Emmentaler and Gruyère mixture, but the best result I've had was when I added some cheese from the supermarket that was labeled as a "Cheddar Blend". I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it resulted in a fondue that had a wonderful creamy consistency, which very quickly settled into a nice even coating when lifting out the dipped items. It didn't add a huge amount of flavour on its own, but it helped to carry the stronger flavour cheeses, which I've often had trouble getting into a good consistency on their own (they often either wind up too thin [leading to soggy wine-flavoured bread] or a bit grainy from the flour or cornstarch I try to use to thicken it a bit.)
My question, then, is what is it about this 'Blend' cheese that improved the consistency of the fondue? I imagine it's something they add to make it a blend in the first place.
Best Answer
The magic is from Sodium Citrate
Most mass produced cheese it based on "cheddar blends". Basically large (50 Kg to 1 Mg) blocks of cheese are made in a milk factory. When a consumer product is to be made from it, the cheddar is shredded, flavour and/or culture is added, and then using heat and pressure it is re-packed into consumer sized packages
In some cases Sodium Citrate is added to improve the hold-together of the cheese
Sodium Citrate is an old additive for "cooking cheese", and it can be made at home with baking soda and lemon juice. Gently heat the juice of half a lemon in a microwave safe bowl, then add 1/2 to 1 tsp of baking soda and heat until fully reacted (bubbles cease). Add about a cup of grated cheese (hard or soft) and repeat a gentle heat and stir cycle until it forms a smooth "sauce"
This will remain liquid while warm
If you let this cool you can mold it, or form "slices"
http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/silky-smooth-macaroni-and-cheese
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Quick Answer about "Why does adding commercial processed cheese to fondue change its consistency?"
Ionogenic emulsifiers can change dominantly the charge of the protein fractions in processed cheese, which can affect the final consistency of the processed cheese.Why is my cheese fondue not smooth?
If the fondue has been over-cooked and the cheese is turning into hard lumps then adding a teaspoon or two of lemon juice should help to restore the texture. If the cheese has split and looks greasy but not lumpy then adding extra cornflour (cornstarch) will help to re-emulsify the mixture.Why is my cheese fondue liquidy?
When cheese gets too hot, its protein, called casein, can coagulate into a toughened mass, squeezing out liquid and fat. This is probably what happened with your fondue last year.Does it matter what cheese you use for fondue?
The best cheese for fondue is a buttery, creamy cheese that melts smoothly. The best all-around cheeses for fondue are fontina, Gruy\xe8re, and gouda. If you aren't sure what to pick, use even amounts of these three.Why is my fondue cheese gritty?
Some cheeses are improperly aged and in addition, contain emulsifiers or coagulants that break down when heated causing a gritty texture.Cheese Fondue | Basics with Babish
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Answer 2
While I am not certain if any of these ingredients were in the brand of cheese you bought, I figured you may be interested to hear that according to Heston Blumenthal there is two ingredients, in addition to cheese, you need to make a good fondue. One is acid, which will keep the protein from "clumping together", in the recipe I saw he used a bit of white wine and lemon juice. In addition, he added in some corn flour to keep the fondue smooth, I note that you already mentioned this in your question.
Finally, his goal was to make the fondue "stringy", not "creamy" as you ask for, but I figured you might be interested anyway sicne it seems you are doing a bit of experimenting :) I found the entire cooking show where he dealt with cheese here, it was episode 5 of the first season of "How to cook like Heston".
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