Apple Cheddar Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do you avoid simmering your soup after adding the cheese? ›

At a temperature of 150 or so, the protein bonds in the cheese break down and as a result, too much fo the moisture escapes too quickly. Keep the heat very low, and make sure the cheese is one of the last things added to the soup.

Young cheddar will melt smoothly, while aged cheddar can become oily and grainy with heat. Save those two-year-aged options for a cheese platter.

Avoid too high of heat when using dairy (milk or cream) because the soup can curdle and separate. Try not to take it to the boiling point. Sometimes an acidic ingredient, like wine, can prevent the soup from curdling. Slowly add the cream or milk and continually stir after adding.

Cheddar cheese is made with the same ingredients as most other cheeses – milk, salt, rennet, and a bacteria culture. The bacteria is added to cow's milk to acidify it and the rennet is added to curdle it. The curds are strained to separate the liquid whey, then heated to release more whey as the curd melts together.

Mild cheddar, Colby, Monterey jack, mozzarella, Swiss and queso blanco can all work well. “The best cheeses to melt into soups are cheeses that are higher in moisture and have a lower melting point,” says Bauer. In addition to cheddar and Monterey jack, he recommends Fontina and Gruyère.

You can simmer with the cookware lid on or off, simply follow your recipe instructions. Keep in mind that when using a cover, you'll want to set your stovetop to a low setting as it can reach a simmer faster than without a cap. When you're not using a lid, adjust your stovetop setting to medium.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.

When it's time to add the cheese into the soup, sprinkle it in in batches, stirring until each batch is melted before adding the next batch vs dumping it all in at once. This will ensure there are no clumps in the final soup.

How do you keep cheddar cheese from curdling in soup? ›

Yes, adding a small amount of flour or cornstarch to the soup before adding the cheese can help stabilize the mixture and prevent curdling. Mix the flour or cornstarch with a bit of cold water before adding it to the soup.

But when heat is introduced, the protein structure falls apart and the emulsion breaks—the fat globules come together into a greasy pool and the proteins congeal to form a stringy mess. But American cheese is specifically designed to be extremely meltable and nearly impossible to break.

Your soup may become grainy if the cheese or dairy curdles. With a recipe like the one that follow you shouldn't have trouble because the cheese is added as a finishing component, off heat. But to avoid “breaking” the dairy while reheating (or with other dairy-rich soups), take it low and slow.

It's rich, creamy, super cheesy, and loaded with tender veggies. Broccoli cheddar soup is one of Jack's favorite foods. Ask him about the version at Panera Bread, and he'll go on and on about its creamy texture and rich, tangy, cheesy flavor.

cheddar, hard cow's-milk cheese named for the district of its origin in the southwestern county of Somerset, England. Cheddar is one of England's oldest cheeses. The original so-called farmhouse variety remains in limited production in modern times.

Is broccoli soup good for you? Most of the time, broccoli cheese soup isn't the healthiest option since it has lots of cheese and heavy cream. This version is lightened up with evaporated skim milk and less cheese. It also uses extra vegetables that are blended to create some of the creaminess in the soup.

It's also delicious on its own, topped with fresh herbs or olive oil, or enjoyed with a sandwich or salad.