Cheese sauce.

[FrozenChocolate]

Hi, I need help with cheese sauce. I can do a beautiful white sauce but when I put the grated cheese in it all curdles. I have even tried waiting until the sauce has cooled down a bit, but it still curdles. I am using full fat milk and bog standard Sainsbury's cheddar. What am I doing wrong?

Mmm should not curdle. Make the white sauce as normal - take off the heat the and stir in cheese until melted. U must take off the heat. Hope it works!

Try adding the cheese in gradually, and do it when the sauce is off the heat and not boiling hot.

Cheat. Add grated cheese to creme fraiche, heat until cheese melted.

I just use the Delia way - add flour, butter to cold milk, heat slowly while whisking, simmer for a bit, add cheese.

I do take it off the heat!!! Any more ideas?

What recipe/method are you using for the white sauce? A flour/butter roux? The only time I've experienced anything that looks like curdling is when there's too much fat and not enough flour in the sauce.

Ah, thanks for that, I use about a tablespoon of each I think. I'll make it again and regulate the fat/flour amounts. Hopefully that's what it is.

What cheese are you using? Like YouChange I make white sauce using Delia's all-in-one method, which is foolproof and never goes lumpy. I usually use grated cheddar, although Red Leicester is a brilliant melting cheese as well.

You need much more flour than butter. Bet Delia would have a recipe to guide you with proportions.

Melt butter, add flour, mix well. Take off heat and add milk in small quantities, mixing in each portion well to avoid lumps. Return to the heat and slowly bring to boil. Then remove from heat and add cheese. Bit of mustard and/or nutmeg is lovely.

Yip, delia style here and has served me well for years. And I don't take off the heat neither, just add the cheese and stir.

I use equal fat to flour and it never curdles. Not quite sure what could be going wrong with yours.

Do you all use full fat blue milk? I am using standard cheddar, either medium or strong.

I use semi skimmed. Never have full fat milk in the house. This is the method I use, although I use equal quantities of butter and flour (1 1/2 oz of each in this recipe). It never goes lumpy and the sauce never curdles when I add the cheese.

I use semi skimmed and either do Delia's all in one one, which I find foolproof and fast, or equal fat to flour using the traditional roux method when I have more time (it's one of my favourite cooking activities). I have never had curdling, I normally use parmesan or cheddar but always turn the heat off before adding the cheese.

If I'm doing the long version I heat the milk with a quartered onion, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns and leave it to stand for half an hour before straining and using, adds a fabulous flavour, also grate a touch of nutmeg in at the end. Otherwise just a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, as per Delia. Either of these means you need less cheese for flavour.

is it for pasta? I make it in with the (drained) cooked pasta - just stir in some double cream and then all the cheeses (Gorgonzola, cheddar, red leicester, cubed mozzarella, maybe some pecorino) and keep stirring on low heat until you have very cheesy sauce

I use cornflour to thicken sauces; never had a curdling problem. Heat the milk, put some cornflour into a mug and mix into a splash of milk, pour the mixture into the hot milk stirring quickly until the desired thickness is reached. Then add the cheese.

It's the only way I can guarantee ending up with the right amount of sauce at the right thickness.

Am I the only one using this method?!

Hmmm maybe it's the milk then. I'll try it with semi skimmed next, and actually measure the flour and butter. Thanks!

I use semi skimmed too.

Okay, I've measured out 1 1/2 oz of butter and flour, mixed in 1 1/2 pints of semi skimmed milk and made perfect cheese sauce! Twice!!!

Thanks all!

I use Hestons version, its jus milk, cheese & corn flour, and makes perfect glossy sauce!

Well done! Always good when people come back and update