CHEESE CHART

The meltability of various cheeses can be affected

by a number of factors, including their manufacture
and their chemical makeup, but the most important
thing is age. Young, moist cheeses tend to melt a
whole lot better than older, drier ones. But what
exactly happens when cheese melts? Most cheeses
are made by adding bacteria and rennet§ to milk.
The bacteria consume sugars, producing acidic by-
products. Aside from lending tang and flavor, these
acids, along with the rennet, cause the proteins in the
milk (mainly casein) to denature. Imagine each
protein as a tiny spool of wire that gets slowly
unwound. The more it unwinds, the easier it is for it
to get itself tangled up with other bits of wire. This is
exactly what happens in cheese. The kinked wire–
like proteins tangle up with each other, forming a
stable matrix and giving the cheese structure.
Trapped within this matrix are microscopic bits of
solid fat and water.
As cheese is heated, the first part to go is the fat,
which begins melting at around 90°F. Ever notice
how a piece of cheese left out in the heat for too long
forms tiny beads on its surface? Those are beads of
milk fat. Continue to heat the cheese, and eventually
enough of its protein bonds will break that it’ll flow