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How To Fix Grainy Cheese Sauce – Easy Solutions

How To Fix Grainy Cheese Sauce – Easy Solutions for you today if you end up having a grainy cheese sauce.

Before we attempt how to fix a grainy cheese sauce – let’s first understand cheese and why cheese sauce is grainy & how to fix it.

How To Fix Grainy Cheese Sauce

Cheese is very high in fat. You have to think also about the fact that when you make a cheese sauce, you end up using butter as well, which adds more fat. If you have been cooking for a while, you will know that fat tends to separate and curdle.

Have you ever made cookie dough, and noticed that when you beat the butter, eggs, and sugar together, it tends to look very grainy, until you fold in the flour? Yep, that basically is what happens when you end up with a grainy cheese sauce.

If there is 1 thing that fat hates, that’s liquid. Water and fat don’t get along at all. There is a reason why, when you cook the flour/butter when making cheese sauce, you should be adding the liquid slowly for 2 reasons; to avoid lumps, and to prevent the sauce from getting grainy and separating.

So, How To Fix a Broken Grainy Cheese Sauce?

Add a splash of cold water! Cold water will help you bring back the structure of the cheese sauce. Whisk heavily and pour tiny splashes of cold water. That should bring it together. I know I mentioned earlier that fat and water don’t get along, but you have to remember, that when you make hollandaise, and you split the sauce, icy cold water is what saves it!

Saying that this won’t always save your grainy cheese sauce, so what else you could try is:

Add Lemon Juice To Fix Grainy Cheese Sauce!

The acidity of the lemon juicy should help bring things together. I won’t go into the details of the chemistry that occurs when you add lemon juice, but trust me on this!
It’s important that you use freshly squeezed lemon juice though.

Turn Down That Heat!

As we mentioned above, making a good cheese sauce takes time and patience. If you are cooking the sauce on high heat and rushing it, it will split and become grainy.
Cheese sauce should never be rushed, otherwise, you end up with lumpy or grainy sauce, we don’t want that.

Beat Things Up!

Another way to fix a grainy cheese sauce is to beat/whisk the sauce vigorously. This should help you bring everything together.

How To Fix Grainy Nacho Cheese Sauce

How To Fix Grainy Cheese Sauce - Easy Solution

The methods would be the same as mentioned above. Nothing is different, you still got loads of fat going on in the sauce, so you will need the above methods to fix the grainy nacho sauce. If you are wondering how to fix grainy mac and cheese sauce – again, the same method would apply to fix it.

Can You Eat Grainy Cheese Sauce?

The answer is yes, but the question would be – would you? You are much better off trying the methods above and fixing your grainy ass sauce, than eating it.

Cheese Sauce Too Thick – How To Fix It?

Now, this one should be an easier fix. If your cheese sauce is too thick, there are 2 things that have happened here; you either added too much flour or not enough liquid.
The fix is simple, gradually add more liquid (water, milk), and do not pour loads at once, as this will result in a lumpy cheese sauce. Slowly pour the liquid, beat vigorously, then add more and repeat until you achieve the desired consistency.

PRO TIPS When Making A Cheese Sauce:

The cheese matters!
Some cheeses will naturally have a higher chance of making your cheese sauce grainy due to the fact that they have additives.
Also, avoid buying pre-shredded cheese, the quality isn’t always great. Grating your own cheese from a whole block is a must, to achieve the perfect cheese sauce.

Always add the cheese at the end!
Every cheese sauce begins as a roux, you cook up butter and flour, then you gradually add milk. I always, always add the cheese right at the end before I am about to take it off the heat. Believe me, do this, and you will never have grainy cheese sauce ever again.

Ella
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