09/25/2022
Processed Cheese!
I am currently seeking to perfect my smash burgers to the fullest of my capability. In this step, I processed my own cheese. Incredibly easy to do and it only takes a few minutes.
Here is how you can do it:
- 25 oz of Cheddar, Colby, or Monterey Jack. Get scrap cheese, don’t bother with expensive stuff.
- 10 oz of 2% milk
- 3 1/2 tablespoons of butter
- 3 1/4 teaspoons of sodium citrate
- 1/8 teaspoon of sodium hexametaphosphate
Heat the milk and butter to 150° in a pot. Drop in your sodiums. Stir. Add 5 oz of cheese at a time. Keep stirring until it looks like nacho cheese.
Ok now you gotta be quick with this next step. Get a mold, preferably a silicon mold. Pour it in, cover it with cling wrap, and refrigerate. Oh and clean up your pot before it cools.
Next morning, you’ll have enough processed cheese to feed an army of kids!
Believe me when I saw that this tastes better than the Kraft American cheese. Like, leaps and bounds better!!
But is this worth it? From start up costs, no. But if you wanna do this in the long run, let’s math and see!
Here in the Bay Area:
32 oz of cheap cheddar = $10.99
32 oz of American cheese at the deli = $22
32 oz of Kraft cheese = $15.99
Milk and the sodiums are your start up costs. Both sodiums go for about $20 online, so add $2 to each batch to round up. That’s $13 per block of high quality cheese!! Cheaper than Kraft. Better than Kraft. And you did it!
That’s a no-brainer for me.
Next step…. Making fresh brioche buns. 
Then…. Grinding fresh meat. 
The ultimate smash burger is in the works!
