Cheese Sauce

From ATK. These quantities are for half a recipe. 

Notes from the first make 

No need to use their immersion blender tip. Nothing was "shiny." Also, the immersion blender is hard to clean.

We didn't use sharp cheddar--next time try sharp cheddar.

Tips for grating: place medium bowl on the scale and tare it then tare it after shredding each cheese into the bowl. 

We used the 3 qt saucepan and it's far too large. A smaller pot would be better.

Ingredients

99 g sharp cheddar cheese, grated

39 g Gruyere cheese, grated

10.5 g Swiss cheese, grated

79 g water plus another 79 g water, divided

1.5 tsp sodium citrate

Instructions

Combine cheddar, Gruyère, and Swiss in medium bowl. 

Whisk 79g water and sodium citrate together in small saucepan until sodium citrate dissolves. 

Bring to simmer over medium heat. Whisking constantly, gradually add cheese mixture, about 1/8 cup at a time, to simmering water, making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next bit of cheese mixture, about 2 minutes. (Mixture will be very thick.) 

Reduce heat to medium-low and, whisking constantly, gradually add remaining 79g water. 

Scrape down saucepan with rubber spatula and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 45 seconds longer. (Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.) 

Remove saucepan from heat and either transfer sauce to serving bowl or make it extra-shiny with an immersion blender. 

Serve warm, with plenty of tortilla chips. Serve in a microwave safe bowl and reheat on high 15-30 seconds. (The sauce can be refrigerated separately in an airtight container for up to 1 week, and bring to room temp before reheating.)