Cheese Recipes from Creamy to Golden and Crisp

Guide

Cheese recipes for hot and cold dishes

Cheese can be creamy sauce, spicy filling, golden brown crust, fresh topping or the center of a dish. The decisive factor is the right variety: Mozzarella melts mildly and elastically, mountain cheese seasons vigorously, feta remains rather crumbly and cream cheese combines sauces and fillings.

On this page you will find cheese recipes for pasta, casseroles, potatoes, salads, snacks and sociable food. Combine them with ideas from the categories Vegetables, Noodles, Potatoes and Fruit.

Which cheese type fits which recipe?

Water content, fat, ripeness and production influence taste and melting behaviour. Young cut cheeses usually melt evenly, hard cheese provides strong spice and fresh or soft cheese ensures creaminess. Not every cheese forms threads or a smooth sauce.

• Mozzarella: Mild and elastic for pizza, pasta, casserole and stuffed vegetables.
• Gouda, Edamer and Emmentaler: Good for baking, for toast, gratins and casseroles.
• Mountain cheese, Gruyère and Cheddar: strong for sauce, fondue, cheese parsley and spicy crusts.
• Parmesan and other hard cheeses: finely grated for pasta, risotto, soup, salad and crispy toppings.
• Feta and herd cheese: Reddish for salad, oven vegetables, fillings and dips.
• Ricotta, cream cheese and curd: creamy for fillings, spreads, sauces and pastries.
• Brie, Camembert and goat cheese: for oven, bread, salad and cheese plate.
• Blue cheese: economical for strong sauces, dressing and combinations with pear or nuts.

Which cheese melts particularly well?

Many young to medium-ripe cut cheeses are suitable for a uniform melt. Gouda, Emmentaler, Cheddar and Gruyère become soft and combine well with casserole or sauce. Mozzarella pulls threads, but can release liquid because of its high water content.

Feta and ricotta become warm and soft, but do not produce an elastic layer. Parmesan melts finely grated in sauce and risotto, but on its own forms a spicy crust rather than long threads. Very long matured or low-fat cheese can melt dry or less evenly.

Chewing casseroles and gratins golden brown

A good casserole needs a cooked or almost cooked basis, sufficient sauce and a suitable amount of cheese. Potatoes, pasta, rice and solid vegetables are pre-cooked according to the recipe, so that the surface is not already dark, while the interior remains hard.

Spread grated cheese evenly and mix it for a crisper crust with bread crumbs, chopped nuts or some hard cheese. If the surface browns too early, the shape can be temporarily covered. For more spice, mild processed cheese can be combined with a small amount of mountain cheese or parmesan.

Creamy cheese sauce without lumps

Finely rub cheese so that it distributes quickly. First prepare the liquid base or a tied sauce, then reduce the heat and stir the cheese in portions. Strong cooking can separate fat and protein, so that the sauce becomes oily or grainy.

Starch from a light roux, starch or some pasta water stabilizes many sauces. Too thick sauce helps a small dash of warm milk, broth or pasta water. Salts only after the cheese, because Parmesan, feta, blue cheese and mountain cheese already bring a lot of spice.

Pasta, gnocchi and risotto with cheese

With pasta, starchy cooking water combines cheese and fat into a sauce. Take the pot from the direct heat with delicate recipes, add finely grated cheese and stir only as much water until the sauce wraps the pasta. This reduces the risk that the cheese will clump.

Ricotta and cream cheese are suitable for fillings of ravioli, cannelloni or lasagne. Mozzarella melts in oven pasta, parmesan seasoning. In Risotto cheese is only stirred in at the end together with butter, so that the creamy consistency is preserved.

Cheese with potatoes and vegetables

Potato gratin, oven potatoes, roasts, cheese skewer with vegetables and filled potatoes combine a mild basis with spicy cheese. Emmentaler, Gruyère, Gouda or mountain cheese are suitable for Gratins. Fresh cheese and curd fit as dip, feta with oven potatoes and vegetables.

Broccoli, cauliflower, leek, spinach, pumpkin, tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms harmonise with cheese. watery vegetables should be fried or well drained before baking, so that the sauce does not water down. Fresh herbs and lemon juice only come in after the oven.

Vegetarian main courses with cheese

Cheese gives vegetable dishes taste and structure, but should not remain the only component. Combine it with vegetables, potatoes, pasta, rice or legumes. This creates lasagna, quiche, filled peppers, vegetable casserole, halloumi bowl or salad with feta.

For a balanced dish, opponents such as tomatoes, herbs, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard or a crisp salad help. More meatless combinations can be found at Vegetarian dinner.

Salads, bowls and cold cheese dishes

Feta, mozzarella, goat cheese, Halloumi, Parmesan and blue cheese set different accents. Feta matches cucumber, tomato and watermelon, mozzarella with tomato, peach or roasted vegetables, goat cheese with red beet and blue cheese with pear and walnut.

Give cheese to lettuce just before serving, so that dressing and salt do not soften the leaves too soon. Hard cheese is sliced, feta is roasted and soft goat cheese is distributed in small portions. Nuts, seeds, croutons and fresh herbs provide additional texture.

Fillings, snacks and hearty baking ideas

Ricotta, cream cheese, feta and grated cut cheese are suitable for dough pockets, quiche, strudel, puff pastry snails, filled mushrooms or peppers. A good filling must not be too moist. Let spinach, mushrooms and other water-rich vegetables cool down after cooking and squeeze out excess liquid.

For toast, quesadilla and sandwich, cheese is finely cut or grated and distributed between drier ingredients. Moderate heat melts it before bread or dough becomes too dark. A dip made of cream cheese or quark can be varied with herbs, vegetables, horseradish or spices.

Plan fondue and raclette relaxed

For cheese fondue, mild and strong well-melting varieties are often combined. Finely grated cheese melts in the prepared liquid at controlled heat. Some starch can support the bonding. As soon as the mass is smooth, it is only kept warm and not cooked strongly.

For dipping, bread, pre-cooked solid vegetables, potatoes and raw vegetables are provided separately in the Raclette. In this way, cheese, vegetables, potatoes, bread, pickled ingredients and small toppings are provided separately.

Putting together a cheese plate

A clear selection of three to five varieties is usually sufficient. For example, combine mild fresh or soft cheeses, a cut cheese, a strong hard cheese and, if desired, blue cheese or goat cheese. Different types of milk, ripeness and textures bring more variety than many similar varieties.

This includes bread, crackers, grapes, pear, apple, figs, nuts, olives, chutney or mustard. First take the cheese from the refrigerator for a manageable time before serving and then put leftover pieces back to cool. Use a separate knife for very strong varieties.

Can you eat the cheese bark?

Naturally matured barks and the willed noble mould of Brie or Camembert are generally edible for healthy people. Coatings made of wax, paraffin or plastic are removed. In case of loose goods or unclear marking, the demand at the cheese counter helps.

The Counsellor of the Federal Center for Nutrition points out that pregnant women, the elderly, young children and people with a weakened immune system should carefully remove cheese bark and take into account specific recommendations on raw milk and lubricating cheese.

Keeping cheese properly

Cheese belongs covered in the refrigerator. Original packaging, cheese paper or a suitable can protect against dehydration and prevent odors from passing to other foods. Very aromatic and mold-ripened varieties are packaged separately.

Fresh cheese, mozzarella and other moist varieties are used particularly quickly after opening and removed with clean cutlery. Hard and cut cheeses usually last longer, but dry on open cut areas. Noteful consumption date, package indication and visible changes. In case of unexpected mold on dairy products, the BfR to dispose of the food concerned; the intentional precious mould should be distinguished from that.

Freeze cheese and use it later

Hard and cut cheeses can be frozen in portions or grated. After thawing, the texture can be more crumbly, which is why the cheese is particularly suitable for cooking and baking. Grated cheese can often be directly frozen on casserole or pizza.

Fresh and soft cheeses can change more when frozen. Only freeze amounts that are later used in sauce, filling or warm dish. Pack the cheese airtight, label it and thaw pieces covered in the refrigerator.

Use of cheese residues sensibly

Small hard cheese residues give soup, risotto, pasta and sauce spice. Cut cheese fits in casserole, toast, omelet or stuffed vegetables. Feta and goat cheese complement salad and oven vegetables, cream cheese becomes dip, sauce or filling.

Finely rub various suitable cheeses for a residue crust and mix them with bread crumbs or nuts. Use very strong varieties only partially. Cool cooked cheese dishes quickly, keep them covered and later heat only the required portion.

Common errors in cheese recipes

• Wrong variety chosen: Feta or ricotta do not form an elastic melt layer such as mozzarella or gouda.
• Too high heat: Cheese sauce separates and becomes oily or grainy.
• Mozzarella not drained: Pizza and casserole become watery.
• Too soon salted: Spicy cheese quickly makes the ready dish too salty.
• Not pre-cooked: The crust browns before potatoes, pasta or vegetables are cooked.
• Cheeses in open storage: It dries out and transfers smell to other foods.

With the right variety, controlled heat and a fresh opponent, cheese becomes a targeted flavour carrier instead of a heavy additional layer.