Homemade Nacho Cheese Sauce Just as Good as the Canned Stuff (but better!)

Plain Nacho Cheese Sauce

8oz block of semi-firm cheese (I used Monterey jack)

12 fl oz can of evaporated milk

Optional: additional 5 fl oz can of evaporated milk

8g citric acid powder (approx. 2 tsp)

9g baking soda (approx. 2 tsp)

Combine citric acid and baking soda in a bowl. Add enough hot water to dissolve both. It will fizz as soon as it touches the mixture; keep stirring until it's completely dissolved.

Shred the cheese and add it to a pot with the dissolved water and evaporated milk. If you plan on serving the cheese hot, use 12 fl oz of milk. If you plan on serving it cold, use 17 fl oz. The extra milk will prevent it from thickening at lower temperatures. Turn the heat on low and stir constantly until the cheese is fully melted. Take off the heat and, while still warm, stir in herbs, spices, peppers, or any other flavorings you like. Serve immediately or refrigerate, and use just like you would premade cheese sauce.

I got the idea for this recipe mostly from this video by Adam Ragusea:

I'm a big fan of liquid cheese sauces, but could never make a version I was happy with at home. Usually I would buy something like that in a can or jar, but most of those have peppers and stuff mixed in with the cheese, and I think they get pretty gross after sitting in the jar for a while. Now that I have this recipe for it, I can make it just the way I like.

The trick to getting it as smooth and melty as the commercial product is the citric acid/baking soda mixture. They react to form sodium citrate, which allows cheese and milk to mix very well when melted. In Adam Ragusea's video, he does something similar with lime juice and baking soda, but I have pure citric acid so I decided to use that. This reddit post helped me figure out the exact proportions to use. This recipe also helped me figure out how much of it to use with a certain amount of cheese.

I've read on some websites that citric acid is common in grocery stores, I think it's used for canning or something. I've never actually seen it for sale at mine. The citric acid I have is from my local Indian grocery store, where they sold it in the spices section.

In the recipe, I gave approximate amounts for the citric acid and baking soda that were each two teaspoons. That should work, but every time I've done it, I used weight for extra accuracy. I have a jewelry scale, which is precise down to the milligram. A normal kitchen scale would work too, but I also like the jewelry scale for measuring spices for teas and syrups and stuff like that. If you're interested in that stuff too, I would recommend getting one.

If you make this and save it for later, remember that it will thicken a lot as it cools in the fridge. The first time I tried making this, it actually hardened back into a solid. Both options for the recipe here are liquid at fridge temperature, although the cold version is much easier to eat right away without microwaving.

I knew I'd need a nice photo for the recipe, so here's some nachos I made with the sauce. Ever since 5th grade, I dreamed of making nachos with Doritos instead of regular chips, so that's what I did here. It's everything my elementary school self could have imagined.