Food Styling for Photographers

BURGERS, SANDWICHES, AND BEYOND

Now you are ready to shape the cheese using your steamer

and place it on the hero. Unwrap one slice of cheese and

place it on the spatula so two or three corners of the

cheese are overlapping the spatula edges. Be sure to use

a spatula without slots. A spatula with slots won’t work

for this task since the cheese will melt down through the

slots and hold that formation. If you are using more than

one slice of cheese in your burger, at this time place the

additional cheese slices on the spatula, positioning the

slices with the corners in the arrangement you chose,

because during the steaming process the slices will stick

together, making later repositioning impossible. Maneu-

ver the spatula near the steam so the cheese is in the

direct path of the steam. Hold it in this position just until

the cheese corner goes limp. Rotate the spatula if neces-

sary so each of the corners of cheese the camera will see

is steamed until limp. Place the cheese onto the patty so

the wilted corners of cheese are visible to camera in the

predetermined position.

SAFETY NOTE Always read the manufacturer’s instructions and

warnings before using a steamer. Remember that steam is very hot!

The direct fl ow of steam from my Jiffy Esteam makes it easy for me

to safely use it for cheese. Be sure to unplug the steamer immediately

after use.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE Gently brush the wilted cheese edges

with a soft artist’s brush dipped in liquid household cleaner that has

a pine or orange oil ingredient base. It seems strange, but a light

coating of liquid cleaner helps the cheese look freshly melted for a

longer period of time and slows the drying process. If the cheese

starts looking dry, it will need to be replaced.

Because the tomato on our burger is a one-slice arrange-

ment, I shopped for rather large tomatoes. However, the