Molecular Nacho Cheese Sauce

Molecular Gastronomy is the science of cooking. With just a few simple ingredients, you can transform your favorite cheese into a creamy delicious nacho sauce. The whole process takes less than five minutes. The secret ingredient for this nacho cheese sauce is Sodium Citrate, a commonly used ingredient in the molecular world for spherification. Sodium Citrate is the sodium salt of citric acid and the ingredient used to give club soda both its sour and salty taste. It is also used as a food additive to add flavor or as a preservative.

For these nachos, I used cheddar cheese and beer as the liquid. (You can't go wrong with that combo) but you can experiment with any of your favorite cheeses. I recommend using wine as the liquid for lighter cheeses like goat or sheep's milk.

Adapted from Huffpost

Ingredients :

8 oz of your favorite cheese shredded or block of cheese grated

Beer, Wine or Water - enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pan ( I used an IPA)

Sodium citrate - 1/2 teaspoon

Tortilla Chips

Optional but almost always necessary :

Sour cream

Salsa

Cilantro

Refried beans

Jalapeños

Tools:

Saucepan

Wooden Spoon

Measuring spoon

Recipe:

With your sauce pan on the stove and heat off, add 1/2 teaspoon of Sodium citrate. Add enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pan. Turn up the heat to medium and bring the liquid to a simmer. Once the liquid is simmering, add the cheese. Stir continuously until the cheese is melted.

Pour the melted nacho cheese sauce over tortilla chips and add your favorite toppings. Don't forget the hot sauce!

Cheers!

Comments

[ashleyjlong]

Tried this out on some mac and cheese this week: Watching the sodium citrate work was like magic! In the end the cheese was a little gluey and not as creamy as I'd imagined, but I can certainly see it being perfect for nachos with a little spice added! I'm going to keep experimenting with different cheeses and liquids until I achieve my creamy mac dreams!

[lizzie.jericho]

Where do you find sodium citrate?

[lmnopeas]

Click on Sodium Citrate under ingredients. It will driect to a site where you can order it online.

[ashleyjlong]

Sounds great! Would the sodium citrate be a good emulsifier for home made mac and cheese? I've tried making it from scratch before and the flour always leaves me with a grainy sauce.

[lmnopeas]

Yes. It would be perfect for mac and cheese. The sauce will taste great and save you a lot of time.

[lmnopeas]

Thanks!

[tomatoskins]

This looks so tasty!