"Cheddar? You Americans have no taste."
September 25, 2010 5:00 AM Subscribe
What can I use as a replacement for cheddar cheese?
I want to make this mac and cheese recipe next week in bulk. I'll be feeding about 20 to 30 people. The problem? I'm in Europe and cheddar cheese here costs a ridiculously amount when I can even find it. Every other kind of cheese here is abundant and inexpensive. The dreaded American Cheese slices (which, personally, I find okay) are also cheap and available here.
What can I use in lieu of cheddar for this recipe that wouldn't alter too drastically (obviously, different cheese = different taste) the taste (cheddar-y) I'm going for?
I want to make this mac and cheese recipe next week in bulk. I'll be feeding about 20 to 30 people. The problem? I'm in Europe and cheddar cheese here costs a ridiculously amount when I can even find it. Every other kind of cheese here is abundant and inexpensive. The dreaded American Cheese slices (which, personally, I find okay) are also cheap and available here.
What can I use in lieu of cheddar for this recipe that wouldn't alter too drastically (obviously, different cheese = different taste) the taste (cheddar-y) I'm going for?
I don't make mac and cheese often, but when I do I make it with gruyere, parmesan, asiago, and/or pecorino. I don't like cheddar cheese. It doesn't taste exactly like cheddar mac and cheese, but it's really, really good. The sharpness of the aged hard cheeses will probably give you what you're looking for from the cheddar, taste-wise.
posted by phunniemee at 5:20 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by phunniemee at 5:20 AM on September 25, 2010
Response by poster: phunniemee, does it matter what the gruyere/parmesan/asiago/pecorino ratio is or is it an equal amount from each type?
posted by apophenia at 5:26 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by apophenia at 5:26 AM on September 25, 2010
I think it was an equal amount of each, but it doesn't really matter. I would just do it by taste, if I were you, as long as it gets to the final amount called for in your recipe.
Something else that's really good in mac and cheese is mushrooms. I don't know if they'd be right for this particular recipe, but mushrooms really make it delicious.
posted by phunniemee at 5:42 AM on September 25, 2010
Something else that's really good in mac and cheese is mushrooms. I don't know if they'd be right for this particular recipe, but mushrooms really make it delicious.
posted by phunniemee at 5:42 AM on September 25, 2010
Where in Europe? Matters a lot.
I'd try to find a mild local cheese (such as, in Holland, medium-young Gouda; in Sweden Herrgårdsost [yes. Not the locally produced Cheddar, which is very unlike what it should be]; in Germany probably also Gouda; in Tuscany mild Pecorino...), and test-tweak it into tastiness by using good Parmiggiano and adjusting the salt level.
Heck, even in the US I'd first check if the Cheddar I got actually does bring out a fine taste in my cooking. Make a few small batches with different cheese mixes for yourself, can be fun. Or even better, turn it into a mac-and-cheese-testing party and offer different variations. (When I see this recipe, I itch to run wild on further adjustments...)
And as others said, you're more than half-way there already, because there's already Gruyère in the mix.
posted by Namlit at 5:45 AM on September 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'd try to find a mild local cheese (such as, in Holland, medium-young Gouda; in Sweden Herrgårdsost [yes. Not the locally produced Cheddar, which is very unlike what it should be]; in Germany probably also Gouda; in Tuscany mild Pecorino...), and test-tweak it into tastiness by using good Parmiggiano and adjusting the salt level.
Heck, even in the US I'd first check if the Cheddar I got actually does bring out a fine taste in my cooking. Make a few small batches with different cheese mixes for yourself, can be fun. Or even better, turn it into a mac-and-cheese-testing party and offer different variations. (When I see this recipe, I itch to run wild on further adjustments...)
And as others said, you're more than half-way there already, because there's already Gruyère in the mix.
posted by Namlit at 5:45 AM on September 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Cheese substitutes: In the abscence of chedder, I'd go with maybe Havarti or Manchego or even perhaps a Gouda. (though not a smoked one.) I usually use a bit of paremsean, but I'd tend to think that a mac n' cheese with parmsean or pecorino as a main cheese would taste distinctly different than mac n' cheese.
Also --- does your recipe call for you to do a bechamel and melt the cheese into the sauce, or do you do it southern style and mix the cheese and the sauce into the pasta separately? If the latter, I would be curious whether you'd get the same creaminess with aged hard cheese as you do with the softer cheeses.
Factoid: American cheese is cheddar cheese, it's just terrible. (Unless it's not actually cheese at all, but "cheese product.")
posted by Diablevert at 6:05 AM on September 25, 2010
Also --- does your recipe call for you to do a bechamel and melt the cheese into the sauce, or do you do it southern style and mix the cheese and the sauce into the pasta separately? If the latter, I would be curious whether you'd get the same creaminess with aged hard cheese as you do with the softer cheeses.
Factoid: American cheese is cheddar cheese, it's just terrible. (Unless it's not actually cheese at all, but "cheese product.")
posted by Diablevert at 6:05 AM on September 25, 2010
I've used a young queso de mahón as a cheddar substitute once or twice: it's a fairly mild, unremarkable cheese, but cooks well.
posted by misteraitch at 6:11 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by misteraitch at 6:11 AM on September 25, 2010
"American cheese is cheddar cheese"
“American cheese” has a legal definition in the United States as a type of pasteurized process cheese via
posted by kmennie at 6:25 AM on September 25, 2010
“American cheese” has a legal definition in the United States as a type of pasteurized process cheese via
posted by kmennie at 6:25 AM on September 25, 2010
Maybe Reblochon from the French alps? I had a local mac and cheese equivalent made with it that was yummy.
posted by mkuhnell at 7:53 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by mkuhnell at 7:53 AM on September 25, 2010
Response by poster: I'm in the Netherlands.
Diablevert, it's the former.
[Also, yeah, the American cheese is labeled as cheddar cheese and it makes me cringe every time.]
posted by apophenia at 8:27 AM on September 25, 2010
Diablevert, it's the former.
[Also, yeah, the American cheese is labeled as cheddar cheese and it makes me cringe every time.]
posted by apophenia at 8:27 AM on September 25, 2010
So it calls for Tillamook Vintage White Cheddar and Gruyere? Knowing Tillamook's rather unique, slightly fruity acidity, I would suggest Cantal if you can swing it. Cantal does not undergo the full cheddaring process that gives cheddar its unique flavor, but it's the only French cheese I know of for which the curds are milled (as is also the case with cheddar), which contributes to its cheddarlike texture. While it's not going to be quite as "sweet" as the Tillamook, I think you'll find the flavor remarkably similar to a good sharp cheddar. (Though I love them, I would steer clear of sheep and goat milk cheeses in this application...they're not going to deliver the "American comfort food" aspect.)
posted by jocelmeow at 8:28 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by jocelmeow at 8:28 AM on September 25, 2010
I just thought to suggest Mahón, and I see that misteraitch has already done so. I would tend toward a medium-aged one, rather than the super young stuff, for the sake of matching the sharpness, but that'd also be a reasonable choice. Maybe try Cantal and Mahón next to each other and see what you think.
posted by jocelmeow at 8:37 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by jocelmeow at 8:37 AM on September 25, 2010
Ah the Netherlands. Try get jong belegen boerenkaas, preferably from the market where they let you have a taste. It tends to be less salty than the normal Gouda and usually has a less rubbery melting characteristic.
Mixing this with the Gruyère should bring you close to where you want to be, even though this is most definitely not real Cheddar.
posted by Namlit at 9:13 AM on September 25, 2010
Mixing this with the Gruyère should bring you close to where you want to be, even though this is most definitely not real Cheddar.
posted by Namlit at 9:13 AM on September 25, 2010
American cheese is cheddar cheese
Falseoid! It most certainly is NOT. Cheddar cheese and American cheese are two very different entities. They are completely (not even close) different in flavor, color and texture. That is like saying Parmesan is the same as Swiss.
I have no further suggestions, but wanted to clarify that.
posted by magnoliasouth at 9:47 AM on September 25, 2010
Falseoid! It most certainly is NOT. Cheddar cheese and American cheese are two very different entities. They are completely (not even close) different in flavor, color and texture. That is like saying Parmesan is the same as Swiss.
I have no further suggestions, but wanted to clarify that.
posted by magnoliasouth at 9:47 AM on September 25, 2010
Can you find Cantalet? I believe it is technically a cheddar, and it melts beautifully.
posted by Gilbert at 10:31 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by Gilbert at 10:31 AM on September 25, 2010
I was glib. American cheese is not, it is true, the same as cheddar; it is a processed mix of cheeses. If I may quote from Chp. I, Part 133, Subpart B, Sec. 169 of the regulations of the Food and Drug Administration, "Pasteurized process cheese":
"These limits do not apply to the quantity of cheddar cheese, washed curd cheese, colby cheese and granular cheese in mixtures which are designated as 'American cheese'."
If one adulturates the cheese to much you can't call it cheese anymore, according to the FDA it becomes "cheese product." But if you can still call it cheese it's likely mostly cheddar.
posted by Diablevert at 11:06 AM on September 25, 2010
"These limits do not apply to the quantity of cheddar cheese, washed curd cheese, colby cheese and granular cheese in mixtures which are designated as 'American cheese'."
If one adulturates the cheese to much you can't call it cheese anymore, according to the FDA it becomes "cheese product." But if you can still call it cheese it's likely mostly cheddar.
posted by Diablevert at 11:06 AM on September 25, 2010
You'd definitely use Gouda for that. I've used it for mac and cheese many times and it's delicious. Mixing it with Gruyere sounds like a good idea (but Gruyere is more expensive, I assume).
posted by The Toad at 11:27 AM on September 25, 2010
posted by The Toad at 11:27 AM on September 25, 2010
When I was living in Germany, and even sometimes now that I'm living in the UK, I use(d) Emmenthal cheese in lieu of (American) cheddar, which I find much milder than English Cheddar. I find Emmenthal similar in taste and consistency to US cheddar.
posted by sueinnyc at 12:08 PM on September 25, 2010
posted by sueinnyc at 12:08 PM on September 25, 2010
Cotswold -- it's fantastically delicious and melts really well.
posted by rhartong at 12:31 PM on September 25, 2010
posted by rhartong at 12:31 PM on September 25, 2010
One idea: have you consulted any expats from cheddar-producing countries, such as the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the like? All these countries make some cheddar cheese, and there may be a store tucked away somewhere doing business mostly with compatriots.
posted by tellumo at 1:31 PM on September 25, 2010
posted by tellumo at 1:31 PM on September 25, 2010
Fontina's a fantastic melting cheese and has a pretty mild flavor.
posted by TheBones at 6:29 PM on September 25, 2010
posted by TheBones at 6:29 PM on September 25, 2010
When I lived in Denmark I used Havarti as my go-to cheese for all recipes that required cheddar. It worked fine, and was one of the cheapest cheeses around.
posted by lollusc at 6:55 PM on September 25, 2010
posted by lollusc at 6:55 PM on September 25, 2010
Ex-pat in Rome here, where cheddar is right up there with unicorns & the Tooth Fairy.
N-thing the Gouda suggestion with an additional suggestion of possibly chucking in some scamorza/scamorza affumicato if it too is readily available; the latter will add a smokey quality if you should need.
I usually use a 50/50% Gouda/scamorza affumicato when making my bastardised ex-pat Tex-mex. This time around I chucked in some provolone piccante as well and it turned out well enough that I'll probably readjust my recipe. So you might also consider the provolone dolce for your recipe. Again, if they are readily available.
posted by romakimmy at 3:20 AM on September 26, 2010
N-thing the Gouda suggestion with an additional suggestion of possibly chucking in some scamorza/scamorza affumicato if it too is readily available; the latter will add a smokey quality if you should need.
I usually use a 50/50% Gouda/scamorza affumicato when making my bastardised ex-pat Tex-mex. This time around I chucked in some provolone piccante as well and it turned out well enough that I'll probably readjust my recipe. So you might also consider the provolone dolce for your recipe. Again, if they are readily available.
posted by romakimmy at 3:20 AM on September 26, 2010
I once had Gouda mac & cheese, and it was pretty damn amazing, so I would say you probably couldn't go wrong with gouda!
posted by you zombitch at 11:52 PM on September 27, 2010
posted by you zombitch at 11:52 PM on September 27, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by kmennie at 5:17 AM on September 25, 2010