When I make homemade soup, my cheese clumps together and doesn't evenly disperse, how do I remedy this?

Answer 1

You didn't mention what type of soup you are making. Cheese is used in various ways with soup.

If you are making soup like french onion, then you need to put it in an oven-safe bowl, layer the cheese on top of the soup and broil it in the oven until it melts and browns slightly on top. The onions in the soup keep the cheese from dropping to the bottom of the liquid.

If you are making a clear broth soup like tortilla soup, you just sprinkle cheese on top. It should melt slightly and is eaten just like that.

If you are making a broccoli & cheese type soup that is "cheesey", than you have to start with making a roux. A roux includes flour, water/broth/milk for liquid, and butter. This is the base of your thickening agent for the soup. The cheese then adds the "cheesey" flavor. You can start out with a little flour (anywhere from 1/4 cup to more) and then add some butter (for 1/4 cup of flour, I'd add about 2 tablespoons). Do this in a pot. Turn the heat on low. As the butter melts, mix well adding water or broth little by little. You want to keep mixing until you have a smooth, pasty white goo. It should be the consistency chocolate syrup. Thickened, but not watery.

This then becomes your soup "base". You then add your cheese, slowly, mixing it, incorporating it, allowing it to melt into your roux. For 1/4 c. of flour + 2 tblsp. of butter with anywhere from 1/4 to 3/4 of water, I would add about 1/2 cup of cheese.

Just make sure you don't put in more cheese than there is flour and water. You'll end up with a messy, coagulated, oily mess. The flour will absorb a lot of the oil from the cheese and your mixing ensures that it mixes evenly.

Be careful of what types of cheese you use as different cheeses melt differently. Hard cheeses like gruyere can be sliced or grated to be broiled. Commercial grated cheeses (some look like cheddar, but are actually processed american cheese can melt really nicely, like Velveeta) melt easily. And then real cheese can slightly more difficult (like parmesan) which seep out oil during the melting process and require flout to balance it out.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Add the cheese last when the stock is hot. Make sure the cheese is cut into small pieces or grated or shredded.It will melt faster. Once you add the cheese turn the heat back to low and stir continuously so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

Answer 3

I've found that the cheaper the cheese I use, the more it clumps. Try getting better cheese - an extra couple dollars will give you a smoother melt and creamier texture.

Answer 4

you don't say what kind of soup, but it sounds like you need to start with a white sauce, then incorporate the cheese into that . or grate the cheese and sprinkle into the soup a little at a time.

Answer 5

Don't allow the soup to boil. It should only be hot enough to melt the cheese, otherwise the soup ruins.

Answer 6

If it is a cream soup, like cheddar cheese and bacon, try this professional recipe....

one pound chopped raw bacon
three cups shredded white or yellow cheddar cheese
four peeled and diced medium potatoes
one quart milk or half and half
some flour
salt and pepper, and maybe parsley

1 in saucepan, boil potatoes till just done

2 while potatoes are cooking, fry bacon till almost crisp, rendering as much fat as possible

3 when bacon is done, reduce heat and dust flour into bacon and fat, stirring and adding flour till very pasty and thick.

4 when potatoes are almost done, add milk to bacon/flour, pour potatoes AND boiling water into pot with milk.., turn heat to medium, and stir slowly and frequently. will get thick!

5 when soup starts to thicken, add shredded cheese and stir in slowly... keep stirring. add water to thin if needed, a little at a time. add salt and pepper to taste. cook till almost boiling, stirring constantly to keep from sticking.

takes me about 30 minutes from start to finish

Answer 7

Sarita !!!!!!! i admire cheesy!!!!!!!! they are maximum of yet right here some cheese + cheddar Genesis- follow me follow you The Rolling Stones- Angie, fool to cry definite-proprietor of a lonely heart Supertramp- lady, see you later stranger Jethro Tull- Too previous to rock n'roll too youthful to die Marillion- Kayleigh and each and all of the great hair steel ballads..... so cheesy yet unsurpassable and classic

Answer 8

Try melting the cheese separately and then adding it in.