If you are a "health freak"
and don't want to buy an American cheese
products to make your favorite grilled cheese sandwich or burger - you can easily make it at home.
You will get a similar taste without all those hard to pronounce additives. You can also add your favorite flavors like coarsely ground black pepper, or sliced olives, garlic, red pepper or jalapeno.
All you need is:
- 12 oz Colby cheese ( or use cheddar for stronger flavor) but you can also experiment with other medium dry brands ( Swiss, Jack, Mozzarella etc)
- 1 tbs powdered Knox gelatin ( vegans can use agar )
- 1/2 cup Carnation evaporated milk for the extra creamy taste
- 1 tbs water ( for gelatin )
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 rimmed baking sheet 13x18
- saran wrap
Preparation ( about 10 min )
- line baking sheets with saran, let it hang over the side for easy cheese removal
- in a small bowl or saucer dissolve gelatin ( agar) in water, let it sit a minute or two
- grate the cheese as fine as possible ( do not use pre-grated cheese)
- pour milk into a saucepan or stainless steel bowl and heat over low heat till hot ( STIR or it will burn )
- add gelatin/agar, whisk to mix, till dissolved
- add cheese, salt, cream of tartar, whisk, then blend with handheld immersion blender till all is glossy and smooth; it should have consistency of very thick ( but still running ) sauce
- continue cooking and STIRRING till 165F
- pour the cheese over saran to make an even, thin layer of cheese ( thickness similar to sliced cheese)
- toss into the fridge, leave to cool till firm to touch
- after about 15 min take it out and transfer the entire extra-large cheese slice to a cutting board
- cut through the cheese and the plastic wrap together to make ready to use slices, stack them on top of each other ( the saran will prevent them from sticking ) - remember to remove the wrap before use
- store in a container, in the fridge up to a month
Total time 10 min + 15 min cooling = 25 min
This recipe yield 1 lb cheese, so you will get a 12 slices per pan. The cost of making them should be just about the same as the Kraft American cheese, but yours will be much healthier, because is made from real food
Extra tip:
if you want to make a perfect cheese sauce for your nachos or fries, use:
8 oz cheese ( jazz it up with minced jalapenos and bacon bits )
1 cup/can Carnation milk
1 tbs corn starch
hot sauce to taste
In a saucepan mix home grated cheese with cornstarch, add milk and hot sauce
cook over medium heat and STIR with whisk for 5 min till bubbly, thicker and melted
it will get thicker after you stop heating, you might have to add some milk or water if too thick
pour over fries, hot dogs, chips or burgers.
Yum!!!!!
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