We at Arteflame take our cheese consumption seriously. So we set out to find which ones melt better without clumping. We tested a total of seven commonly used cheeses and this is what we found.
In first place is Muenster. Are you surprised? We were too! In test after test Muenster was the easiest to melt with a wonderful gooey texture and taste. It was superior for melting directly on the grill and indirectly on a piece of meat.
Next up, cheddar cheese. Sharp or mild, cheddar was a great cheese for all around taste and ease of melting.
The next two cheeses are Gouda and gruyere. Make sure that you use young Gouda and Gruyere not the aged versions referred to as ‘old’. These young cheeses packed a punch with flavor and texture. Definitely choose these when you want a sophisticated dimension and flavor to your dish.
So what cheeses didn’t stack up to our criteria?
Mozzarella cheese was one. This cheese just didn’t melt efficiently and did not add real flavor to many of our test dishes. The same disappointing results with Parmesan cheese. As a whole, Parmesan cheese simply climbed up with high heat. It formed a hard blob when grilled over direct heat. However, When grated and added off the heat, this cheese works great.
The same disappointing results with blue cheese, and aged Gouda. The blue cheese was better added to the meat or dish off the grill. While the food is still warm enough to melt but cool enough to prevent clumping. The aged Gouda just transformed into a hard rock almost immediately after placed on the hot grill surface.
So that’s it! Cheese grilling 101. For more tips on how to grill and to find what we are testing please sign up for our newsletter.
We love your suggestions! Please write comments below on what you would like us to test next.
These are some of the products we use in this recipe:
