Cheese is the most versatile of all foods, especially if you are looking for something to pair with your favorite beverage. This versatile ingredient is great for adding flavor and texture to dishes, and it’s also popular with many people as a snack.
It’s time to get your cheese on! No, not for your cheese plate, but for your cheese slicer. If you are on the hunt to find the perfect slicer, you are probably inundated with all kinds of differences between each one. You may have heard that the best cheese slicer is the one that does not require oil to slice cheese, works with any kind of cheese, is not prone to chipping the cheese, costs less, comes with a warranty, etc. But, how can we tell which one is the best?
If you’ve ever tried to slice a slice of cheese, you know it’s a delicate art form. The first rule is to not use a dull knife. The key is to slice the cheese as thinly as possible, so for this project you will be using a mandoline slicer.
You’ve probably heard there’s more than one way to skin a cat, but how many individuals nowadays have these skills? Slicing cheese may seem to be a more difficult job than it is, but we’ve got some excellent tips and techniques for you.
Who Was It That Cut The Cheese?
You may laugh all you want, but when it comes to preparing sliced cheese from a block, it’s all about understanding what you’re doing. Depending on the kind of cheese you purchase, it has a varied firmness. Softer cheeses are easier to cut, although they don’t necessarily provide consistent slices, while tougher cheeses need more finesse. Let’s take a look at some of the most fundamental techniques for consistently slicing excellent cheese slices.
Determine the Hardness of Your Cheese
When it comes to slicing Brie or Camembert vs Cheddar or Gouda, there’s a significant difference. It’s all about the moisture content, which determines how firm or soft your cheese is. Not every block or piece of cheese you use in a sandwich has to be cut into precise slices. For a party, picnic, or appetizer, you may simply want to prepare small snack servings.
Stick to a sharp knife for softer cheeses, as it will cut through the cheese with a beautiful clean edge. A sharp knife is also required for harder cheeses, although this is not restricted to specific devices with cutting wires or connected blades.
Cheese Gadgets vs. Knives
Make sure you’re using the right type of cheese-slicing device, regardless of what you see on the market. The most common claim that a device will be deceiving is that it will work on any kind of cheese. This isn’t true since milder cheeses would otherwise be crushed into a mushy, deformed mess. Slicing devices with a cutting wire work well with semi-hard and hard cheese.
Don’t be a fool and use a mandolin. Cheese has surface tension, but you also need a wire that can cut through it according to the wire tension. A easy option is to use a wire cutter with a roller attached, which enables the cheese to remain in one position while the wire passes through it. A cutting wire connected to a wooden cutting board is the same. While the wire cuts through the cheese, it will adhere nicely to the cutting surface.
If you’re going to cut cheese with a knife, make sure it’s clean and recently sharpened. Use an honing rod, a kitchen knife sharpener, or anything else to maintain the edge of your knife sharp and aligned. Whether you’re cutting soft or hard cheese, sharp knives will never let you down when it comes to cutting slices, blocks, wedges, or strips. It’s not a bad idea to wipe your knife clean with a soft washcloth or a damp kitchen paper towel.
This keeps each slice clean, which is particularly important when cutting soft cheese, which may deposit more cheese particles or cream onto the blade.
Tips for Troubleshooting
Slicing cheese requires good hand control and letting the knife do its work. If the blade is sharp enough, don’t push it. Allow gravity and the weight of your arm to perform the majority of the effort. The remainder is up to the density of your cheese to keep it from being cut too quickly. If you apply too much blade pressure, all cheese, like wax, will distort and even break.
There are specific techniques for producing unique forms like cheese balls, blocks, and cubes, as well as cheese sticks. You may use toothpicks inserted into the balls or cubes to make it simpler to pick them up. You may even insert extra thin pretzel sticks into the cheese to make the whole snack palatable. While this may not be as appealing for a cocktail party, youngsters will like the novelty of cheese on a stick that they can eat!
Balls of Cheese:
If you’re using semi-soft cheese, a melon baller is a wonderful method to scoop it, but it’s not ideal for hard cheese. To warm up your scooping tool, you’ll need a cup of warm water. Each cut should begin at one end and finish at the other, resulting in a single solid piece. For the greatest results, dunk and clean your scooper after each use. If you want to create deep-fried cheese balls, this is a fantastic way to go.
Making Diced Blocks and Cubes
Measure the thickness of your first slice of cheese from a block of cheese. It’s usually ideal to keep everything bite-sized, so nothing thicker than an inch is suggested. To begin, cut your slab into a 1/2-inch thick slab that can be sliced into half-inch sticks. Turn the stick 90 degrees toward you to create cubes with equally spaced -inch cubes. Reduce the thickness and continue the procedure according to that thickness to produce smaller cubes or chopped cheese pieces.
Sticks of cheese
If you like finger foods, this is a wonderful option that will appeal to everyone at the snack table. Determine the thickness of each slice and keep to it. To make them seem like thin-cut fries, don’t make them any thicker than an inch per piece. It’s simpler if you have a wire cutter connected to a cutting board, but if you don’t have one, a portable cheese cutter will suffice. Then you slice each slab to the same thickness to obtain consistent cheese sticks.
Additional Safety Advice
If you prefer to freeze your cheese to help it last longer, be sure to thaw it before cutting it. When frozen cheese is solid, cutting it is extremely dangerous. Because of the amount of pressure required to cut through it, you may easily cut yourself. Put it in the fridge for half a day to keep it from freezing and making it difficult to cut straight away.
If you’re going to perform any deep frying with cheese, choose one that will stand up better to the heat. Because it won’t turn into goop, grilling cheese is ideal for this kind of deep-frying. If you don’t enjoy grilled cheese, pick a semi-hard cheese. You can’t use mozzarella cheese if you’re going to put a batter on top of it beforehand. This kind of cheese is a disaster waiting to happen. As a result, use caution while cooking it in hot oil.
If you’ve ever tried to slice a block of cheese, or any other food for that matter, you know the struggle. It’s a time-consuming process that often results in a sad, torn mess. In this post, I’ll show you how to slice a block of cheese with just a little practice, and no tears.. Read more about how to slice cheddar cheese and let us know what you think.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest way to slice cheese?
The easiest way to slice cheese is with a knife.
What are 3 tips to cutting cheese?
Cheese is a food that can be cut with a knife, but its important to use the right tool for the job. For hard cheeses like cheddar and Parmesan, youll need a sharp knife. For soft cheeses like brie or cream cheese, youll want to use a wire whisk. And for gouda, youll want to use a rubber spatula.
What is the etiquette for cutting cheese?
Cutting cheese is a very personal preference. Some people like to cut the cheese in small pieces, while others prefer to cut it into large chunks. The best way to find out what works for you is to try cutting different sizes of cheese and see which one you enjoy more.
Related Tags
This article broadly covered the following related topics:
- how to cut cheese
- how to cut cheese for crackers
- how to cut cheese wedge
- how to cut cheese into cubes
- cheese cutting techniques
