[Sca-cooks] Frying Cheese, or, Thank you Stefan...

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On May 24, 2006, at 2:32 PM, ysabeau wrote:

> The cool thing about this cheese is that it crisps up on the
> outside and gets melty on the inside. I'm not sure how it does
> that without getting completely gooey first, but it does.

The way it works is, the milk forms a network of protein chains as it  
curdles, giving you curds from which you drain whey. If you press it  
into cheese, you'll get a firmish curd cheese, depending on how long  
and how hard you press it.

As the cheese ages, enzymes and [mostly] bacteria will break down  
those casein strands over time, giving the mass a more homogeneous  
and less "curdy" texture.

Queso Blanco is fresh, though, and the casein strands are pretty  
strong, and there's also not a huge amount of fat in it, compared to  
some other cheeses. So yes, it'll eventually soften and melt, but not  
before a good crust is formed, most of the time.

Adamantius, fan of saag panir




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