Why doesn’t cheese melt anymore?

Maybe it’s something to do with the way it’s made? Perhaps it’s been chilled. I love cheese on toast with mature cheddar. I’ll give Aldi cheddar a go and see if the same thing happens.

I find Cathedral city fine tbh. Are you using the full fat version?

I don’t see this with ours, which is usually Asda Extra Mature.

Well that my Aldi cheese!

Is it pre-grated?
That usually has cornflour or something similar in it.

It’s full fat, I grated it fresh. I’m going to give some of the others a try. I think they’ve changed the recipe for this one. It does make lovely cheese sauce for macaroni though, just not nice grilled or as a topping on something in the oven like a cottage pie or fish pie when it stays in blobs on top.

I buy cheddar from Tesco, it melts beautifully, but I never grate it and just slice it with a sharp knife.Had it yesterday, toasted a Sheldons bap, sliced in two, buttered and piled with cheese slices then under a hot grill for a few minutes.Perfect.

I usually buy Castello Tickler Mature or Extra Mature Cheddar which makes superb cheese on toast or melted-cheese sandwiches.

I usually use Red Leicester for cooking, it melts well and gives a rich colour to sauces. On toast it does, however, leave a puddle of orange grease!

Thank you for the suggestions, I’m going to go through them all!

Yes I found something similar with Cathedral and mine was the full fat, freshly grated version. I'm going back to my usual Tesco cheddar that always made lovely cheese on toast.

I like my cheese on toast to have brown toasty bits on top, it never seems to happen these days.
When I was a little girl, I remember my Dad toasting a cube of cheese on a toasting fork bother fire. It didn't melt but charred around the edges and was soft in the middle. It was delicious.

By the fire!

i remember going on a nutrition course and the tutor talked about how the slimy mess of cheese stays like that as it travels through your system, i now do not eat cheese.

I think ours still melts ok, haven’t noticed anything different. The Italian cheeses like mozzarella are good melters. What they sell here as cheddar is different I think. Doesn’t taste as nice as yours.

I agree - cheese doesn’t go brown on top any longer and oozes oil when grilled. I’ve got round this by adding breadcrumbs (always have some in the freezer from homemade bread) at a ratio of about a 1 to 4 of breadcrumbs. I’ve never liked Cathedral City. I buy Waitrose Davidstow mature cheddar which is my favourite.

I use Tickler cheese melts lovely ,but its the best we find.

I’ve had problems too when I grated cheddar on top of the children’s pizzas when they were a bit short of topping. I use the block as the grated cheese definitely has some sort of flour coating. I used to love the Cathedral City cheese but find it goes sticky/slimy when I store it now, even if I wrap it in paper. The more traditional cheddars store better I think.

My advice would be add a little milk to your cheese when I was a chef everyone loved the way I did it and couldn’t never work it out how I did it. But my grandad taught me to add a drop of milk it really does make a big difference. You will get the look you after and it doesn’t affect the taste.

The cheese I buy cheese from the Fromagerie is good and full of flavour and cooks/ melts beautifully. However, supermarket processed ones even in France, have an emulsifying agent added so as not to separate when melted and have a longer shelf life.

Good tip thank you Nannashirlz, will try that. You are so right on the storage of Cathedral city cc, it’s definitely going a bit wet soon after opening. Time for a change! I look forward to going through the various ones noted above.

Aldi mild cheddar melts and hoes brown.

We use Cathedral Extra Mature and find the same thing. I'll have to give some of the others a try. I find that if you wrap it in greaseproof then foil it doesn't get wet or go mouldy.

I have not noticed this. I suspect a lower fat content cheese may not get gooey? I do know pre-shredded packaged cheeses are tossed in flour or cornstarch (blend) that may prevent the goo factor. Shred your own off a block.