I really enjoy making cheese sauces but still have yet to make it right It always seems to turn out too grainy tasting. Not sure if I'm using too much flour or if something is just missing.

SO....Can anyone help?!?!? Please share any and all cheese sauce recipes!! I noticed thats the one type of sauce I haven't seen on this thread lets change that...for my sake,lol!

I think I've only tried it once, and I had the same problem as you MrsW. I wonder if cooking the base longer before adding the cheese would help. I used pre-shredded cheese, and I suspect the anti-caking agent they add to it might have made the problem worse.

Do you mean starting with a white sauce (bechamel) and adding cheese, Mrs W? I've never had mine turn grainy, but I've had it too thick. It's because I wasn't adding enough milk before adding the cheese. And on Rob's note, I never tried it with pre-shredded. I always buy those 8oz bricks unless I'm making a fatty, then I'll buy shredded mozz. That makes sense though.

ETA; come to think of it, if it's too thick it might be considered grainy. It depends on the cheese, cheddar yes, cream cheese no.

Rob, I wonder the same thing but then I wonder if there's a sub for using flour. The first time I made a cheese sauce I used pre-shredded cheese as well and felt that might have been the problem too so....my next attempt I bought a block of cheese, shredded it myself, and it turned out much thicker but that 'grainy' taste was still there.

Fred, yea pretty much...starting with melted butter, adding flour then the milk slowly, and then cheese. The thickness I wanted from it I've conquered,lol...but that taste!!! And don't get me wrong, it still taste alright but the grainy taste stands out more than I would like for it too. grrrrrr!!!!

Try adding the cheese off the heat. The warm milk should melt the cheese just fine. It may be cooking too fast and not melting completely and that's why it's grainy. Just my .02.

i make a white sauce .. but with my rue(sp) i let it cook on low until it is light brown and nutty smelling ..
then i add more milk than normal .. the cheese thickens it so thats why i go with more milk ..
and i use mild cheddar for the base .. it melts into a more velvet type consistency ..
then pull off heat and add sharp cheddar .. the sharp will break down rather fast and makes it
grainy feeling .. at least to me ...

(Roux) You do know that the darker the roux the less thickening power it has. Maybe thats the key to your smooth velvet consistancy. I cook my roux only a minute or 2 and build my white sauce adding the milk on low heat stirring till it has a thin thickness then add cheese (I have used both pre-shreded and hand grated. I use cheddar and swiss usually but sometimes add muenster or that mexican blend of pre-shredded cheese for tacos etc) a small amount at a time stirring it in well before adding the next bit of cheese. I also add dry Coleman's mustard and hot sauce. It is pretty smooth also. Oh and I don't always do the equal amount of butter and flour. Sometimes I use less flour for a thin roux consistancy.

Thanks for all of your inputs everyone! Very much appreciated.

Barb I'll have to remember that next time, that's something I don't normally do. I just let it melt while on the warm stove.

bbqSteve that sounds interesting...I like the thought of a velvet consistancy cheese sauce.

Peeps, I just realized you were the 2nd one to say "on low heat". Maybe thats my problem. I make it on med heat. Could that be it??? If there's no difference in the ingredients then it has to be the way its cooked...

I have found that high heat can "break" the sauce and cheese into curds sometimes.

makes sense to me. I'll just be sure to try my next one on low heat. Thanks Peeps.