Finishing Sauces with Fresh Cheese

Fresh cheese can be used to thicken sauces traditionally finished with heavy cream or crème fraîche. It is used in the same way as yogurt, but since it contains less acid, it is more appropriate than yogurt for meat sauces. The amount of fresh cheese needed to thicken a given amount of liquid will vary according to the style and freshness of the cheese. Because fresh cheese sometimes has a grainy texture, finish these sauces in a powerful blender or with a rotor stator homogenizer to smooth them. Hydrocolloids such as lambda carrageenan are excellent emulsifiers for sauces made with fresh cheese or yogurt.