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Cheese Crisps
Recipe By : Shirley Bumbalough
Categories: Snacks & Stuff
pasteurized PROCESSED cheese
-- shreds, slices or small chunks
Cover a heatproof or paper plate
and lay out pieces of cheese, leaving
space for them to expand.
Then microwave on high until they puff up. It's okay if they
get a
little bit brown--which may happen in spots as you try to get
all the
cheese to puff. Let them harden into crisp crackers or chips.
Cheese crisps stay crunchy for up to one week. Data are not available
for longer time periods because of an insufficient supply of
experimental material. ;-)
Please read the discussion before
making these. Feel free to invent
variations--but please don't do anything unsafe.
NOTES : No carb count is included
since it will vary by product and
quantity
Serving Ideas : Variation 1:
cut cheese into small squares before
microwaving, leaving
sufficient space for them to expand. Use like corn chips-- delicious
with salsa.
Variation 2: make them double-thick
and use as cheese toast or salad
croutons. The croutons are even tastier when spread with a little
minced garlic and/or herbs before microwaving.
Variation 3: (works with some
cheeses) microwave until puffed but not
crisp and use as cheese bread.
Variation 4: immediately after
cooking, but before the crisps have
hardened, fold them into taco shells. If your cheese slices aren't
large
enough
to make a satisfying taco shell, augment them with additional
pieces
laid
so they touch. They are prettiest if folded so that the puffy
top
becomes
the outside of the taco shell.
Discussion:
NONSTICK MATERIAL: The biggest trick is finding a material to
which the
cheese doesn't stick.
Waxed paper by itself is a disaster (the crisps look great but
eating
them involves getting extra fiber. ;-)
However, greased waxed paper works. I use very heavy duty plastic
freezer wrap
(Freeze-tite brand) which can be reused until you get tired of
looking
at it.
Saran Wrap also works--but doesn't last as long--while thinner
stuff
can't take the heat.
I've also had very good luck with the plastic wrap used to separate
the
cheese slices on every brand I've tried so far.
Some people use parchment paper or greased waxed paper.
Since, despite using the microwave oven, the cheese reaches high
temperatures, be sure to (non)stick with food-grade materials.
PLATES: Use paper plates covered
with heavy-duty plastic wrap or
parchmentm paper.
Or use pyroceram. Glass plates--even Pyrex and the other borosilicates--
can break when heating is uneven.
Be careful with any food that doesn't contain a lot of liquid.
You can buy a year's supply of paper plates for the cost of just
one
Pyrex pie plate. Plus it makes cleanup so much easier.
DO NOT COOK DIRECTLY ON MICROWAVE
OVEN TRAY.
Given the cost of replacing trays, it's never a good idea to
cook
directly on them.
They may be thicker than ordinary Pyrex but they too can fail.
(Any cheese crisp that breaks the glass tray in your microwave
oven is
definitely not my recipe. )
COOKING TIME depends on the power
and configuration of your microwave
oven.
Cheeses vary too--and short cooking times don't leave you much
room for
error. You have to determine the timing for each oven.
For example I have both a large and a medium-sized oven with
almost the
same power.
The smaller ones takes only two thirds the time of the larger
one.
In my ovens, puffing up and crisping one ounce of cheese takes
about the
same amount of time
as heating a cup of coffee. A half ounce slice of cheese takes
two
thirds of that.
For each variety (and brand!) of cheese I start out with less
time and
keep adding until the cheese comes out puffed and hardens into
a crisp.
Some cheeses can puff and still remain somewhat chewy (almost
like
cheese bread) when slightly undercooked while others will harden
even if they haven't puffed so you have to experiment.
CHEESE: If "pasteurized
process cheese" is not a standard product where
you live, you'll need to be able to tell the difference among
different
processed cheeses.
That difference is the amount of water added to the product.
If the cheese has about 100 calories per ounce (or 350 per 100g)
and
around nine grams of fat (or 31-2g per 100g),
you have what we call "process cheese." If it has less
than 90 calories
per ounce (or 325 per 100g)
and less than eight grams of fat (or 28g per 100g), you have
"process
cheese food."
And then of course there are the "process cheese spreads"
like
Velveeta--but they have about 70 calories per ounce (or 240 per
100g),
so you know there has to be even more water. For anything in
between,
you'll probably have to try it and see if it works.
Note: processed cheese has some carbs (depends on brand) as well
as a
lot of calories, so this is not an unlimited snack.
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