Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Put the measured drained yogurt cheese and completed cultured cream in a saucepan. Set over medium-low heat. Stir and scrape the bottom and edges as the cheese softens into the cream, about 7 minutes. Keep the mixture below a boil and reduce heat if it starts bubbling actively or sticking.
- While the base warms, grate the weighed cheddar and divide it roughly into two halves. Keep both portions beside the stove.
- Stir the first half of the cheddar into the warm base a large pinch, about a tablespoon, at a time. Let each addition melt before adding the next, stirring and scraping the bottom. Look for the shreds to disappear into the sauce rather than leaving unmelted piles.
- After the first half is incorporated, continue gently for about 3 minutes. Add the remaining half together and stir. Turn the burner to low. Allow a few more minutes until melted through, stirring and scraping the bottom. Move the pan off the burner if retained heat keeps the sauce bubbling; do not boil or reduce it.
- Give the finished sauce a thorough final stir and serve warm over cooked vegetables or meat. Expect about 2 1/2 cups, or ten approximately quarter-cup servings. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in a shallow covered container at 40°F or below and use within 3–4 days. Reheat only the portion needed gently while stirring to 165°F; a little of the same cultured cream can loosen a reheated portion if necessary.
Notes
Full GAPS after homemade fermented dairy and natural cheddar are introduced. This is the cultured-cream version. Use thick cheese drained from completed homemade 24-hour yogurt and finished yogurt-culture sour cream. Making and draining the dairy happen beforehand. Not an early Intro or dairy-free sauce; no egg or nut ingredients.
Allow about 10 minutes preparation and 15 minutes cooking, approximately 25 minutes total. The physical endpoint is melted cheese evenly distributed through the warm base, not a hard deadline. Keep below a boil, stir and scrape the pan, and lower the heat for the last half of the cheddar.
Yield is approximately 2½ cups, or ten quarter-cup servings. The exact amount and texture vary with the homemade dairy and cheddar. At 2× use 16 ounces each of drained yogurt cheese and cheddar with 3 cups cultured cream, for about twenty quarter-cup servings. Use sufficient stirring room; do not automatically double cooking time.
Keep leftovers covered and refrigerated at 40°F or below, use within 3–4 days, and reheat only the portion needed gently to 165°F while stirring. A little of the same cultured cream can loosen a reheated portion. Do not add flour, starch, gelatin or unmeasured extra fat to the original three-ingredient batch.