Science Has Determined The Best Cheeses For Melting (And One Of Them's A Fan-Favorite)

Science isn't all beakers and test tubes. It dominates the food world, dictating why certain foods act the way they do, including cheese. There are more kinds of cheese than you can probably name, but they don't all behave the same. For example, there's nothing quite like gooey melted cheese (if a melty grilled cheese with a parmesan crust doesn't get your mouth watering, nothing will). But, not all cheese melts well, such as feta and haloumi. These cheeses are great for grilling and baking because, like a good goat cheese you can bread and bake for a perfect salad topping, they maintain their shape better than others. 

Those that do melt like a dream do so because they have a perfect storm of components. Cheese, at least cheese derived from dairy, contains a protein called casein. When milk is turned into cheese, the casein it contains works with water and fat molecules to hold together. This bond, in turn, is directly affected as cheese is heated, causing it to weaken and loosen. Thankfully, because of the nature of casein, the cheese turns gooey rather than liquid. This gives you that perfect melt that makes eating it so enjoyable (and lets you photograph that perfect cheese pull for Instagram). The cheese that has everything it needs for the perfect melt? None other than a fan-favorite cheese found on appetizer menus everywhere: mozzarella.

Mozzarella may be the king of melters, often found in deep-fried breaded stick form, topping a hot pizza, or added as the perfect melty touch to a cheesy chicken Parmesan spaghetti bake, but it isn't the only one that does the job. Cheeses such as Colby, Gruyère, and fontina not only melt well, but add great flavor to any fondue. Cheddar makes a great melting cheese for nachos and grilled cheese sandwiches alike, while Asiago turns up on bagels for good reason: The melting process of the cheese gives the bagel a delicious flavor and, as it melts during the baking process, you also get that crispy, nearly burnt cheese flavor that makes your mouth water.

Cream cheese also makes for a perfect melting cheese, although it often gets overlooked in the cheese world. As a dairy product, it has the casein needed for bonding with fat and water, which it also has in spades. As a melting cheese with a rich flavor that's not overpowering, it's the perfect addition to creamy spinach artichoke dips where you want to create a mixture of melted cheeses (many recipes also include mozzarella).