There is nothing worse than slaving away in the kitchen to make the best pasta dish possible and finding out as you tip your homemade sauce over the pasta that is indeed not so perfect and is instead clumpy. While you may want to blame the bumpy mess on the cheese, you are using it’s not; it’s the way you are using it. Here are three tips that will have you making sublime smooth cheesy sauce in no time.
SIZE MATTERS
When the recipes asks for cheese to be added, it doesn’t mean slices or grated tasty cheese. They mean parmesan and they mean finely grated. Picture the parmesan in the shakers. Turn the box grated to the smaller side and use it. It may take longer, but it will stop the clumping. Cheese that is grated in larger shreds has a larger surface area and so is more likely to clump.
CHEESE NEEDS LIQUID
Sprinkling cheese onto directly onto pasta will result in a lumpy mess. Hot liquids help to melt cheese evenly by covering it in hot liquid so that it melts at the same rate. Liquids such as beaten eggs, cream, water or melted butter are ideal.
BIT-BY-BIT
It’s tempting to throw your finely grated cheese into a sauce all at once but stop it, as adding the cheese in sections will help it to melt evenly and stop it from going lumpy. Stir the liquid or pasta as you slowly add the cheese bit-by-bit. Adding it this way ensures a smooth clump-free finish and lightens the load.
