Cooking With Cheese: How to Choose, Melt, Grate, Store, and Use Different Cheeses
Different cheeses behave very differently in the kitchen. Some melt into smooth sauces, some stretch, some soften without becoming gooey, and hard aged cheeses are often best grated or shaved over a finished dish.
Knowing a little about moisture, age and texture makes it easier to choose the right cheese for a casserole, sandwich, salad, pasta, sauce or cheese board.
Why Some Cheeses Melt Better Than Others
Moisture, fat, acidity, age and the structure of the milk proteins all affect the way cheese responds to heat. Young, moderately moist cheeses such as Monterey Jack and many cheddars usually melt readily. Low-moisture mozzarella is prized for its stretch, while cheeses such as feta and ricotta soften but do not turn into the same smooth, stretchy melt.
Very high heat can cause even a good melting cheese to become greasy or tighten. For sauces, gentle heat and gradual melting usually produce better results than aggressively boiling the cheese.
Cheddar: Mild to Sharp
Cheddar ranges from mild and creamy to sharp and deeply savory. Mild and medium cheddars generally melt smoothly, making them useful for sandwiches, casseroles and sauces. More mature sharp cheddar brings stronger flavor, so you may need less of it to make an impact.
Orange cheddar gets its color from annatto; the color itself does not tell you how sharp the cheese will taste.
Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack
Monterey Jack is mild, creamy and an excellent melting cheese. Pepper Jack starts with that same basic style and adds chiles and seasonings. Both work well when you want melted cheese without the stronger flavor of an aged cheddar.
They are particularly useful for grilled sandwiches, quesadillas, casseroles and other dishes where even coverage and a creamy melt matter.
Fresh and Low-Moisture Mozzarella
Fresh mozzarella contains considerably more moisture than the firmer low-moisture mozzarella commonly shredded for pizza. Fresh mozzarella is soft, milky and excellent in uncooked or lightly cooked dishes, but its extra water can make some baked dishes wetter.
Low-moisture mozzarella is firmer, easier to shred and better suited when you want browning, coverage and the familiar stretchy melt of pizza or baked pasta.
Parmesan and Other Hard Aged Cheeses
Parmesan-style cheeses are firm, aged and concentrated in flavor. Finely grated cheese can disappear into sauces and pasta, while coarser shavings work well over salads and vegetables.
When buying Parmigiano-Reggiano specifically, look for the protected name and rind markings. Generic Parmesan-style cheeses can vary substantially in age, moisture and flavor.
Ricotta
Ricotta is soft and moist. Traditional ricotta is made by heating whey left from cheesemaking, although many supermarket versions include additional milk. It becomes warm and creamy when cooked but does not melt into long stretchy strands.
Feta
Feta is tangy, salty and crumbly. Traditional Greek feta is made from sheep’s milk or a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk. In cooking, feta softens and becomes creamier but generally retains more structure than cheeses designed for a stretchy melt.
Goat Cheese
Fresh goat cheese is soft, tangy and easy to spread or crumble. It can enrich dressings, pasta and fillings, and when warmed it becomes creamy without behaving like mozzarella or Monterey Jack.
For a more detailed look at choosing and cooking with it, see my Cooking With Goat Cheese guide.
Provolone
Provolone ranges from mild to sharper and more assertive as it ages. Younger versions melt particularly well and are useful for hot sandwiches and baked dishes.
Brie
Brie is a soft-ripened cheese with a creamy interior and edible bloomy rind. When gently warmed, the interior becomes fluid and creamy, making Brie especially good for baked appetizers and rich sandwiches.
Grating Versus Shredding Cheese
Finely grating a hard cheese creates small pieces that disperse readily through pasta, sauces and finished dishes. Shredding produces longer strands and is especially useful for cheeses such as cheddar, Monterey Jack and low-moisture mozzarella when you want even coverage over casseroles, pizzas or sandwiches.
Top: Grated Cheese — Bottom: Shredded Cheese
Block Cheese Versus Pre-Shredded
Pre-shredded cheese is convenient, but packaged shreds often contain ingredients that help keep the pieces separate. Depending on the cheese and recipe, those coatings can affect how smoothly it melts into a sauce.
When a very smooth melt matters, shredding cheese from a block is often worth the extra minute. For a casserole topping or quick weeknight meal, pre-shredded cheese may work perfectly well.
How Much Does a Cup of Cheese Weigh?
A cup is a volume measurement, so its weight varies according to the cheese and how finely it is grated or shredded. Four ounces is a useful rough reference for many shredded cheeses, but weighing the cheese is more accurate when a recipe gives ounces or grams.
How to Store Cheese
Keep cheese refrigerated and follow the package directions for unopened products. Once opened, storage depends on the style of cheese. Firmer cheeses benefit from being wrapped so they do not dry out while avoiding excessive trapped moisture. Soft, fresh cheeses such as ricotta should stay well covered in their original container or another clean covered container.
Cheese can also absorb strong refrigerator odors, so an additional container or loosely closed bag around a wrapped firm cheese can be useful.
Can You Freeze Cheese?
Many cheeses can be frozen for later cooking, but freezing and thawing can change texture. Firmer cheeses may become more crumbly, while high-moisture soft cheeses can become watery or grainy.
If the cheese will eventually be melted into a casserole, sauce or cooked filling, those texture changes may matter less. For a cheese board or a dish where fresh texture is important, refrigeration is generally the better choice.
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