This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
Cutting soft cheeses
As you may have already noticed, when you have to use a "soft" cheese in a recipe - their exact name is "soft cheese" - such as Camembert, Munster or Mont d'or, it's not easy to make anything other than thick slices.
9,197 5/5 (2 reviews)
Keywords for this post:CheeseStuffCutCrustDecrustSoftColdSoft pasteLast modified on: February 20th 2024
Cutting soft cheeses
Well, yes, you can, with small cubes for example, but unfortunately you run the risk of obtaining a kind of cheese purée...
It's quite normal though, with this kind of cheese, unlike Comté for example, the center is very tender, and so is the rind, which is usually eaten (yes, it's a question of taste too).
So with these "soft" cheeses, it's impossible to cut them properly?
Well, normally not, but there's a very simple trick.
The trick is to put the cheese in the freezer for 1 or 2 hours, depending on its size. Say 1 hour for a cheese like camembert or saint-marcellin, and more like 2 hours for a cheese like mont d'or.
At the end of this time, the cheese has hardened, but is not frozen, so it can be cut much more easily.
This is particularly effective if you need to decrust (remove the rind from a cheese), which is normally almost impossible, but after this passage in the cold becomes perfectly feasible.
Be careful not to freeze the cheese completely, as this time it would be almost impossible to cut as it would be too hard.
The best thing to do is put it in the freezer for 1 hour to start with, then come and feel around to see if it has firmed up sufficiently. If not, go back for another 30 minutes or 1 hour, and so on until you reach the right texture.
Once you've finished cutting the cheese, you'll need to let it come back to temperature, unless you're going to cook it afterwards, in which case there's no need.
To sum up: to be able to cut a soft cheese, nothing beats a little time in the freezer to firm it up.
It's quite normal though, with this kind of cheese, unlike Comté for example, the center is very tender, and so is the rind, which is usually eaten (yes, it's a question of taste too).
So with these "soft" cheeses, it's impossible to cut them properly?
Well, normally not, but there's a very simple trick.
The trick is to put the cheese in the freezer for 1 or 2 hours, depending on its size. Say 1 hour for a cheese like camembert or saint-marcellin, and more like 2 hours for a cheese like mont d'or.
At the end of this time, the cheese has hardened, but is not frozen, so it can be cut much more easily.
This is particularly effective if you need to decrust (remove the rind from a cheese), which is normally almost impossible, but after this passage in the cold becomes perfectly feasible.
Be careful not to freeze the cheese completely, as this time it would be almost impossible to cut as it would be too hard.
The best thing to do is put it in the freezer for 1 hour to start with, then come and feel around to see if it has firmed up sufficiently. If not, go back for another 30 minutes or 1 hour, and so on until you reach the right texture.
Once you've finished cutting the cheese, you'll need to let it come back to temperature, unless you're going to cook it afterwards, in which case there's no need.
To sum up: to be able to cut a soft cheese, nothing beats a little time in the freezer to firm it up.
Lasts posts
Oven height
When we put a dish or cake in the oven, we naturally tend to put it on the middle shelf, and that's what we usually do. But in some cases, this position and height can be a little tricky, so let's find out why.October 8th 20251,7025
The importance of sieving
In recipes that use a fine powder (flour, powdered sugar, etc.), you'll often see the advice to sift before using it. To sift is to pass the powder in question through a sieve (a very fine strainer) before incorporating it into your recipe. It's often advice, but is it really useful?September 3rd 20256,9963
The grease spray
As soon as you have something in a recipe that sticks to the mold, the question always arises as to how difficult it is to remove from the mold. There's nothing more frustrating than breaking your cake when unmolding it, because part of it has stuck in the mold. The classic way to avoid this is...August 26th 20256,4615
Cake moulds
When we make a cake, or a cake of the same rectangular shape, we usually take out our usual mould and tell ourselves that the recipe is anyway "for a cake", but is it really that simple?August 25th 20256,5575
Thinning out herbs
If you need to add a long-stemmed herb (tarragon, mint, verbena, thyme, etc.) to a recipe, you'll probably only need the leaves and not the stem, so you'll need to remove the leaves. Leaf removal means keeping only the beautiful leaves, and eliminating the ugly stems and leaves, but how do you do...August 8th 20254,6775
Other pages you may also like
Burgers and cheeses
A quick look at burgers(article from 2 weeks ago), and in particular the cheese in burgers, many of you have asked me about this, and how to get cheese to melt in your burgers.April 24th 20219,4164.8
Clean your mixer easily
If you use a "bowl" or "blender" mixer, as opposed to a plunger, you've probably noticed that it's a bit of a hassle to clean it after use. And yet, with a simple trick, it can be done very quickly. See how here.June 26th 20247,8355
The different cooking modes
In cooking, cooking means bringing food into contact with a source of heat, to transform it: improving its taste, and sometimes its texture. This contact with the heat source can be achieved in a number of ways: these are the cooking methods, and let's take a look at the main ones.July 24th 20248,7054.7
The so-called "nervous" meats
You've probably heard this before, we're talking about "nervous" meat, or meat with nerves, to describe what is indicated by the blue arrow on the left. This is a piece of beef, and what we call a nerve is not a nerve, it is in fact collagen (chemists sometimes call it a "collagen sink"), a...April 16th 202136 K4.5
In praise of Mont d'Or cheese
Do you know the Mont d'Or, this extraordinary cheese from the Haut-Doubs in France, with a unique taste and appearance, which can be eaten both raw and cooked? I'll tell you a few words about it, and with some tips on how to choose it and cook it. .November 27th 202113 K5
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.