what am I doing wrong with my cauliflower cheese?

[LowLevelWhinging]

please advise.

1. my cheese sauce ALWAYS catches on the bottom of the pan, even when I think I'm being careful. Why?

1. grainy texture. Why?

1. I make it ahead for reheating but it ends up runnier than it was when I prepared it. Why?

It's always a nice flavour, just bad textures with specks of burnt bits!

I use half cheddar and half gruyere if that makes a difference.

You really do need to have it on a low heat and stir, stir, stir.

The grainy texture is probably because you're not cooking out the flour when it's at the roux stage. When you add the flour to the melted butter you need to stir it and cook it for a good few minutes.

To stop it going too watery, make sure you don't overcook the cauliflower and drain it really well.

My cauliflower cheese is legendary the best received part of my roast dinner, any suggestion by me that I won't bother is met with

Are you using 'proper' cheese? I won't buy tescos or morrisons own brand cheese as i find the texture really weird to eat and i've come across cheese that doesn't behave like cheese when it's melted.

Sainsburys ttd cheese is okay though.

I recently discovered a really easy recipe, from a book of vegetarian cookery for kids. I've made it several times, all successful.
There is no flour or butter involved, just a blender. Happy to send you the recipe if you like. Obviously you might need to amend quantities, but that shouldn't be a problem.

Microwave cheese sauce:

INGREDIENTS
300ml milk
25g flour?
25g butter
50g grated cheese

METHOD
Use Pyrex jug/bowl that can go in the microwave. It needs to? be quite big - 0.5 litre is a bit risky as the sauce may rise in the jug as? it cooks.????

Put milk in jug first, add flour and butter, whisk briefly.

Heat for 1 minute in the microwave on high, whisk.
Repeat until it's been microwaved for 4 minutes.

Stir in grated cheese.?

Brilliant, thank you.

I've got cathedral city grated cheese and tesco grated gruyere.

Right so, low low heat, stir stir stir.

Cook the roux longer than I think.

Drain cauliflower well and slightly undercook it.

Does anyone else find the sauce gets runnier after reheating? Or is that my soggy cauliflower doing that?

yes, i cook my cauliflower cheese in the oven til its brown on top, it can get runny
my cauliflower cheese, like everything is pretty hit and miss from that perspective, 75% of the time I woudl say perfect

I think the rice flour used for the ready grated cheese may be your problem.

I used to use the roux method, now I dollop in full fat Philadelphia, double cream & grated cheddar, gently heat and it's heavenly! Silky & delicious.

I use a Delia recipe I've adapted slightly. - I bung equal ish quantities of butter and flour in a pan and add a splash of milk at the same time. Whisk together using a balloon whisk constantly, adding more milk as it thickens. Keep going until it stops thickening, add Cheddar and parmesan. Never goes grainy or catches (but I do stand over it like a hawk til it's done). Also every few minutes I scrape round the edge of the pan with a spoon and whisk in any thicker bits.

i use delia too - i wear by delia

Mine hugh fernly thingymajig is simple. ..cook cauliflower until soft and drain well.
.Mix a tub of creme fraiche with some grated cheese...I use Cheddar. Mix with the cauliflower. Top with breadcrumbs and bake in oven for 10 mins.

It's delicious and faff free.

oops
swear not wear
arf

I don't boil my cauliflower at all, I give it a quick roast on it's own for 20 minutes then add the sauce and cook. Roasted cauliflower is amazing, you'll never go back...

If you don't want to make a roux you could heat up a jug of milk, mix cornflower with a little cold water and stir in to thicken milk, then add cheese.

I find a chicken stock cube crumbled into sauce whatever way you make it gos really nice.

ooh that's a good idea at roasting!

I'm stuck with the ingredients I've got for today, but I'll have to have a go at some of the other suggestions at a later date.

I grill my cauliflower cheese mainly because I have a small oven

I used to make proper cheese sauce, now I cheat. Half a tub of mascarpone, 1tbsp English mustard, grated cheddar (or whatever hard cheese I have in fridge), 2tbsp cooking water(from macaroni or cauliflower depending which I'm doing) mix together well, sprinkle top with a mix of panko breadcrumbs and more grated cheese. Cook in oven or under grill if eating immediately, until top browned.

that sounds good pantah

1 tbsp cornflower
1 tbsp butter
1/2 pint milk

mix together
microwave for 1 min, stir
continue until thickened.

Add some cheese

Meanwhile steam cauliflower for 20 mins.

drain and add sauce
grate more cheese over the top

cook for 20 mins - 1/2 hour

I often put cooked leeks under the cauliflower

you could cook the cauliflower in the milk you then use for the sauce to stop it becoming watery

I usually steam my cauliflower so it isn't so watery.

I use the all-in-one white sauce method for my cheese sauce. Cold milk, butter and flour all bunged into the saucepan (I guess the quantities - and I probably use more flour than the recipes would recommend, but it does work, and tastes great). Heat, whisking all the time, until the butter melts, and the flour is all whisked in, then continue whisking until the sauce thickens to the consistency you want.

If it boils right up, and looks as if it is going to overflow, bung in a bit more flour and whisk hard.

When you have the right consistency of sauce, whisk in the cheese - I use extra mature cheddar.

The water that is making your sauce too runny probably comes from the cauliflower - if you leave it in the colander to drain, and then let it sit and steam for a while, that might help.

right.

I roasted. then did low heat and a careful eye. And it was perfect!

But quite involved. I'm definitely going to roast again, but I will try some of the other ideas here too. Gruyere and cheddar is a great combo.

Thanks y'all!