Houston's Canadian Cheese Soup - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is Wisconsin cheese soup made from? ›

Place 1 cup chicken broth, carrot, onion and celery in 4-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat 8-10 minutes or until onion is softened. Add 2 cups chicken broth, milk, cheese, and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Cheese can curdle when added to soup due to the high temperatures and acidity in the soup. The proteins in cheese are sensitive to heat and acid, causing them to separate and form curds.

Keep the heat very low, and make sure the cheese is one of the last things added to the soup. Whisk very quickly but add the cheese in gradually, one cup at a time, to make sure it melts before adding the next cup.

If your soup doesn't have the desired melted cheese consistency, you can try blending it with an immersion blender or transferring it to a regular blender. This can help break down any clumps and incorporate the cheese more evenly.

The flavor of any given cheddar depends on how long it's aged for. The older it is, the stronger the flavor profile. Wisconsin is one of the only places on the planet that has cheesemakers aging some of their cheddars for up to 20 years.

Wisconsin is the only U.S. state that requires that a licensed cheesemaker supervise the making of commercial cheese. It is also the only state to offer a master cheesemaker program, which is patterned on the rigorous standards of similar programs in Europe.

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

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.

What cheese doesn't melt in soup? ›

Ones to avoid are Parmesan and Pecorino (any hard, aged cheeses), goat and feta (any dry, crumbly cheeses) as they don't melt well.

High Heat: Cheese is sensitive to high temperatures. If you add cheese to your soup when it's too hot or boiling vigorously, it can become overcooked and develop a grainy or curdled texture rather than melting smoothly. To avoid this, reduce the heat to low or medium-low before adding the cheese.

What is the best cheese to melt in soup? I like to use mild or sharp cheddar, but you can use monterey jack, pepper jack, or a mix of several. If you really want to make it luscious, you could even stir in some goat cheese or gruyere.

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

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.

Milk and/or broth such as chicken broth or stock are used to form the liquid basis for cheese soup. Additional ingredients can include half and half, beer, bread crumbs, butter, eggs, onion, onion juice, garlic, vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and celery, spices and seasonings.

Once the milk is pasteurized, the cheesemaker adds a starter culture of bacteria or enzymes, which convert lactose to lactic acid, acidifying the milk and starting the process of breaking down the proteins in the milk. Rennet: After the starter culture is added, another enzyme called rennet is added to the milk.

Wisconsin has 1,290 licensed cheesemakers–more than any other state. Wisconsin has the country's most stringent state standards for cheesemaking and overall dairy product quality. Wisconsin ranks first among all states in the production of Cheddar, American, Mozzarella, Brick, Muenster and Limburger cheeses.

Today, mozzarella is America's most popular cheese, and Wisconsin makes more of it than anywhere else. Our cheesemakers produce nearly 1 billion pounds of this mild and melty, irresistible cheese each year.