I've tried making Alfredo sauce several times based on a few online recipes.
It generally comes out pretty tasty, but also with one flaw: the sauce is grainy or gritty because the grated Parmesan cheese doesn't fully melt. Doing searches online, most people seem to recommend starting with block Parmesan cheese and grating or shredding it at home. However, at least at the stores around here, block Parmesan is much more expensive than the usual dried/grated stuff.
Does anyone have a technique for getting the cheaper stuff to melt smoothly into the sauce, or alternatively a cheaper source for the more suitable types of Parmesan?
Best Answer
Are you absolutely certain that the "grittiness" is caused by the cheese not melting, and not because the sauce is curdling? If you cook it too long or too fast, that is what will happen.
If you must use the Kraft stuff (personally, I think it has no flavour compared to real Reggiano), try melting the cheese on low heat in a very small amount of cream first, before you add it to the main sauce pan. If it's still gritty, either it's curdling or you need to use a better cheese.