Used Monterrey Jack, sharp cheddar, and smoked Gouda. Added a few sautéed onions, poblanos, and finely chopped serranos, and some chopped tomatoes at the end. Outstanding.

epiphany...

Any one going to thicken their gravy with Sodium Citrate over a stand roux?

No. In this case, roux is just fine.

Did the mac and cheese Saturday. Outstanding.

To DonaldFDraper the sodium citrate works specifically with the casein protein in cheese and not just as a general emulsifier.

Ah. Did not know that. Thank you for the info.

Just ordered some today - excited to try this!

Is there any reason this wouldnt work with lactose free cheese like Cracker Barrel or some of the aged gouda that is available?

Long answer- Lactose is the sugar present in all dairy naturally. As the cheese is made lactose is converted by various "good" bacteria into acid and various other molecules that contribute to the wide variety of cheeses available to us. As the acid level increases or the pH level falls the structure of proteins in milk, specifically casein change their tertiary structure. As the charges present from the acid increase further the proteins slowly are allowed to coalesce as they fall out of solution at the isoelectric point for casein pH 4.6. The longer time a cheese's microbiota are allowed to act on a cheese the more acidic or tangy it will become. You're no lactose or aged Gouda just less residual sugar and more acidity. The protein levels should be roughly the same.

Short answer- Yes it will work

[This message has been edited by htc0008 (edited 11/19/2013 6:35p).]

Ttt for quick reference

I bought some and am going to make some this weekend!

Shipped some Sodium Citrate down to Corpus, gonna pick up some cheese on my way down there for Thanksgiving and give this a shot.

Finally have it a go. Mixed the melted cheese with my SA breakfast taco green sauce and holy cow......best queso ever

[This message has been edited by dba fido (edited 11/26/2013 6:23p).]

Bricked and forgot to order before thanksgiving. Any ides where to find any at a brick and mortar store?

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SA breakfast taco green sauce

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Go on...

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Bricked and forgot to order before thanksgiving. Any ides where to find any at a brick and mortar store?

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would love to know this as well, for DFW. I tried the Central Market in Southlake this past weekend. No dice.

I have two extra packets (I bought extra since I was already paying for shipping) but I think you boys are a little far north from me for an easy pickup.

made some bacon mac to take to the inlaws tomorrow. going to blow some redneck minds

Does anyone make queso with Mexican cheeses? If so, will you post your recipe?

Freaking amazon didn't deliver my order. I paid extra to get it here by Wednesday.

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SA breakfast taco green sauce
Go on...

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Trim stems from 6 jalapeños, 10 serranos, and peel 2 large cloves of garlic. Simmer in salted water until tender. Hope you've got a good vent hood as this will make some serious fumes.Transfer peppers and garlic into a food processor and pulse a few times adding enough of the reserved water to reach your desired consistency. Salt to taste

This is what restaurants in SA serve with breakfast tacos. It's firey and highly addictive.

To elaborate on htc0008's answer: aged cheeses that have the flavors you want are all pretty much lactose free. If anyone has you paying more for lactose free chddar, it's a scam. First, a lot of the lactose is in the whey. More importantly, the aging that develops flavor is from bacteria that digest the lactose.

Processed cheese products are a different story. They may have whey added back. Some already have phosphate or sodium citrate added. Chek the ingredients.

so i made the mac and cheese recipe from modernist off of here for a side dish yesterday. it was truly amazing and got lots of compliments! ended up doubling the recipe and using a mix of white cheddar with about 30% pepperjack and finished with parm and breadcrumbs on top. fantastic and easy.

You use water or milk?

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so i made the mac and cheese recipe from modernist off of here for a side dish yesterday. it was truly amazing and got lots of compliments! ended up doubling the recipe and using a mix of white cheddar with about 30% pepperjack and finished with parm and breadcrumbs on top. fantastic and easy.

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Made it as Sooner described. Delicious! Gonna up the recipe tomorrow and mix together some different cheese.

Good stuff!!! With the secret "sauce", pretty quick and easy to do!!

I used the cheese recipe for au gratin potatoes; switched the original recipe's cheese mix with this one. The surprise was how much the sauce boiled over and into the oven. Very good potatoes.

coopag,
Sorry im late i replying, I used milk to get a thicker sauce based on what people were saying on this thread about it being to runny. In a second batch I'll probably use water though.

So far, I prefer water for queso and milk for mac & cheese.

Made another batch last night - Monterrey Jack, sharp cheddar, white cheddar w/ sauteed onions, poblanos, and serranos. Added chopped tomatoes at the very last. Best yet.

Full disclosure: Queso at my house usually consists of velveta, rotel, and ground beef. It's delicious, but I'm sure the gourmands over here would hate it. Anyway, last night we made a batch with the sodium citrate by going montery jack cheese, rotel, ground beef, and a heavy hand of cilantro. Man oh man. Light years ahead of velveta. I'll likely never purchase another block.

So for the bums out there that still cook like bachelors or college kids, this stuff is pretty fool proof.

MWO3

Care to share the proportions of your ingredients in previous thread?

8 oz block of medium cheddar mixed with some homemade salsa.

Mine was as follows:

-Boil 1 cup water with 1 1/4 teaspoon sodium citrate
-add one 8 oz pack shredded natural Monterey Jack and hand full at a time while whisking
-once melted, add a whole can of spicy rotel (note: I didnt drain because I like runny quso)
-add half pound browned 95% lean ground beef (I go low fat to limit the grease. Straining would work too)
-add lots of chopped fresh cilantro (didn't measure, but I love cilantro so hard to get too much for me)
-added some cranks of garlic salt

Pretty great. Just don't "boil" the cheese as I did first time around. It burned a bit to the bottom of the pot