In article >,
"James Silverton" <not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not> wrote:

> Kate wrote on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:11:21 GMT:
>
> KB> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
> KB> ...
> ??>>
> KB> What? Since when? It's one of the go to cheeses for
> KB> gratins as well as fondue and grilled cheese sandwiches.
> KB> It has wonderful melting properties. Maybe this fellow got
> KB> a bad batch but to suggest that it is not "intended" to be
> KB> used with potato gratins is just plain... well...
> KB> ill-informed. On what could you possibly have based this
> KB> answer? I have dozens of cookbooks that have gratins made
> KB> with gruyere and/or emmental plus it's frequently used in
> KB> French onion soup gratinee and cheese quiches.
>
> I wonder what cheeses *are* unsuitable for use in melting or
> gratins? Off the top of my head, I can't think of many but
> perhaps feta and those containing water like cottage cheese.
> However, cream cheese and cottage cheese can be incorporated in
> baked mashed potatoes. I've never tried feta there!

I do a lot of gratins, especially when the garden is doing nicely or
when local produce is available. And, I use *lots* of different cheeses
too, though I don't get any kinds of processed, low fat or non-fat
cheeses for anything (ugh!). Cheeses with even a moderate amount of fat
are going to melt well. I tend to sprinkle drier cheeses like parmesan
or asiago, on top when the gratin is nearly done roasting to prevent
premature browning or burning, however.