My Alfredo Sauce

by Matthew Rojas
(Los Angeles)

Hi,
I would just like a fellow chef's opinion on my version of Alfredo Sauce.

I use: butter,garlic,half n half, and parmesan cheese. Unlike your way i find that i have a hard time thickening my Alfredo and have a lumpy ending due to adding the mass amount of cheese to thicken my sauce. Even though the end result after all my stirring is great taste and my family loves it. I'm not sure if I'm taking the right approach to this classic sauce.
Thanks,
Matt


Chef Todd Says:
I thought I answered this question already for you, Matt.

The classic version of Alfredo uses egg yolk custard as a thickener. This is temperamental, can be difficult to do, and doesn't last long. With butter, garlic, half/half, and cheese, there's no thickening agent. You're just hoping that the cheese will melt with the milk and stay that way. It won't without a thickener.

My "Cooking Coarse" method is to use a roux, then make a white sauce with milk, then melt the cheese into the white sauce.

You can't depend on cheese as a thickening agent, there is no starch to absorb liquids and swell. Hard cheeses like parmesan, will not melt very well in liquids. They separate.

If you want to continue doing it your way, I'd recommend a softer cheese like ricotta or marscapone. Otherwise, if it's good to you, it's good. If you're disappointed in the results, find another way. Experiment.

Chef Todd.