Cooking with Cheese

Early in my culinary life, I learned some sharp lessons about cooking with cheese. Never reheat cheese unless it has been blended with other ingredients as in a sauce and even then reheat very gently. Reheated cheese simply solidifies into a block of rubbery protein sitting in a pool of yellow oil. Apart from dishes that are being quickly browned, such as macaroni and cheese or cauliflower with cheese, never cook cheese with a high heat. If you do, it may “oil” – that is separate into solid protein and liquid fat, or it may bum, giving off bitter, acrid, toxic fumes.