Fried cheese (smažený sýr)

Why

A semi-hard cheese such as Edam first softens as its milk fat melts, then its casein network loosens, so the cheese flows and releases fat; according to the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, a fattier cheese melts more readily and at a lower temperature than a leaner one. Frying is therefore a race: in oil heated to roughly 160–180 °C the coating has to set into a golden crust before the centre melts enough to find a way out. Every gap in the coating, bare edge or crack becomes an opening through which cheese runs into the oil, where it spits and burns. A double layer of egg and breadcrumbs therefore forms a thicker, continuous shell, and cheese cold from the fridge, cut about 1 cm thick, gives the coating time to turn golden. In oil that is not hot enough the coating fries for a long time, soaks up fat and the cheese leaks out meanwhile, whereas in overheated oil it browns before the centre softens (Breaded and fried card).

How to do it

• Cut the cheese into slices about 1 cm thick without cracks and coat it cold, straight from the fridge.
• Coat it in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, then repeat the egg and breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs on firmly, especially at the edges and corners.
• Heat the oil to 160–180 °C and fry until the coating is golden, usually 2–3 minutes per side; turn only once and carefully.
• Fry in small batches so the oil doesn't cool, and drain the fried cheese on a rack (Breaded and fried card).
• Serve at once, but carefully: the molten cheese inside stays hot longer than the coating, sticks and easily burns the mouth.

If it goes wrong

If cheese starts to leak, take the piece out at once, fish the escaped cheese out of the oil before it burns and fry the next batch only once the oil is hot again; a split coating won't seal, so serve that piece straight away. Fry a pale, soft coating briefly again in properly hot oil. A firm centre under a finished coating means the slice was too thick or the oil too hot; finish the piece for a few minutes in the oven on a rack, watching that the cheese doesn't run out. Never put out burning oil with water (Deep-frying in oil card).