What Makes Raclette Cheese So Melty? The Science Behind It

Jan 07 2025

Any cheese lover enjoys picking at a slice of cheese on a cheeseboard and pairing it with various nuts, fruits or pickles, and of course a nice wine. But if you offered them the option of melting a cheese for some awesome gooiness and indulgence then it would be a tough call. Nothing makes a cheese lover salivate more than a soft and creamy cheese oozing free like an erupting volcano and ready to be scraped onto some crusty bread, a slice of carrot or a tangy cornichon. Raclette is famous for its melting characteristics, and even gets its name from these melting properties, but why does it melt and how can you control this in the cheesemaking process? Here we will have a look at the science.
Raclette is a smooth and mild cheese that originates from the Swiss Alps and is usually consumed hot. Its name comes from the French verb ‘racler’ which means ‘to scrape’. This describes the way herdsmen in the Middle Ages used to scrape melted Raclette onto bread and potatoes to eat it, and today, this same practice is a common way to relax after Winter sports.

How cheese melts

So as a popular cow’s milk cheese, Raclette melts really easily and breaks down into a gorgeous creamy mess. But some cheeses will go really tough when heated up, or they become stringy and oily. What’s the difference and what makes Raclette melt so easily?

Cheese is made up of three main elements; proteins, dairy fat and water. The main proteins are called casein proteins which give cheese its structure. These effectively stay bonded together at normal temperatures to provide body, while the fat and water are suspended in the holes in the cheese. There are two factors which then contribute to providing a cheese with good meltability, this is a high fat and water content – fat turns to moisture when it is heated up - and the addition of acids.

If you want a cheese with good meltability, you want to add more dairy fat and water, such as with a Mozzarella, Brie or Camembert. However, acid affects the meltability also, but only if you get the balance right. A high acid content causes the casein micelles to bind together more, so there is no room for fat and water. And at the lower end of the scale, a low acid content has a higher calcium content, which keeps the casein strands glued together so that the cheese can’t stretch and melt. Therefore, to create a cheese with good meltability, the sweet spot is a high fat and water content, and also a medium acid content (acid is added when bacteria combines with milk to create lactic acid).

Supplying delicious melting Raclette to the UK

In summary, in cooler temperatures, cheese stays solid, but as you warm it the fat starts to reach a liquid state, because the bonds joining the casein proteins together are starting to break, and the protein structure sags and stretches. The right acid content will also help this meltability. This process is demonstrated with some cheeses left at room temperature for a long period, ie. after they have been removed from the fridge. If you see moisture droplets appearing on the surface of the cheese, like small beads of sweat, this is the fat content starting to reach a liquid state as the cheese warms to room temperature.

So this is why Raclette cheese is the ultimate melting cheese, and why it is perfect for scraping on crusty bread and potatoes when warmed, and is also fantastic on gratins, pasta bakes and as a topping for burgers. So check out our recipes devised with melting Raclette in mind, and contact our experts at Sodiaal to discuss how we can supply delicious Raclette cheese to your café, deli or restaurant in the UK.