What to use instead of sharp cheddar
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Cheese melted into a smooth sauce
Aging breaks the protein down enough to melt evenly and builds flavour strong enough to survive being thinned with milk, though that same age is why it breaks if the pan gets too hot.
GruyereRan out
1:1 by weight, plus 1/4 tsp mustard powder
Melts smoother and stretchier with a nutty sweetness. Much less sharp, which is what the mustard is covering.
Aged GoudaRan out
1:1 by weight
Sweeter and caramel-like, and drier, so the sauce wants an extra splash of milk to loosen.
Colby or mild cheddar with DijonRan out
1:1 by weight plus 1 tsp Dijon
Melts easily and almost never breaks, and the sauce is far milder, so lean on the mustard and a pinch of cayenne.
Plant cheddar-style shredsPlant-based
1:1 by weight, whisked into a starch-thickened base
Melts smooth but slack with a coconut-oil aftertaste and no sharpness. Add 1 tbsp nutritional yeast and 1 tsp lemon juice.
What doesn't work: Pre-shredded cheddar from a bag. The potato starch and cellulose dusted on the shreds stop it emulsifying, so the sauce goes grainy and drops a layer of grit at the bottom of the pan.
Dry sharp cheese in a cold spread or a dough
Aged cheddar is low enough in moisture to grate into dry shreds that work into a dough or a spread without wetting it, and the sharpness still reads when the food is cold.
Aged Gouda or aged GruyereRan out
1:1 by weight
Nuttier and sweeter, cheese straws brown darker, and the spread loses its tang entirely.
ParmesanRan out
3/4 cup grated per 1 cup cheddar
Saltier and drier, so cut the added salt. Straws come out crisper and a spread turns grainy on the tongue.
Plant cheddar-style block, gratedPlant-based
1:1 by weight
No protein network in it, so cheese straws spread flat on the tray and the spread goes oily at room temperature.
What doesn't work: Mild or medium cheddar. There is no heat here to bring the flavour forward, so pimento cheese made with it tastes of mayonnaise and pepper and nothing else.
Cheese that browns and blisters under heat
The fat and protein brown under a grill into a chewy, blistered blanket, and the moisture level decides whether you get bubbles or a puddle.
GruyereRan out
1:1 by weight
Browns faster into bigger bubbles and pulls into strings when you cut in.
ParmesanRan out
1/2 cup per 1 cup cheddar
Sets into a hard lacy crust rather than a chewy blanket, and it is much saltier, so pull the salt back elsewhere.
Low-moisture mozzarella with a little parmesanRan out
1 cup mozzarella plus 2 tbsp parmesan per 1 cup cheddar
Browns in patches and stretches a long way, with almost no flavour of its own without the parmesan.
What doesn't work: Fresh mozzarella or any high-moisture cheese. It sheds water under the grill, so the top stays pale and rubbery with a puddle sitting around it.