Broccoli cheddar soup that does not turn grainy

Cheese breaks if you boil it. The proteins seize and the fat floats, and no amount of whisking brings it back. Melt the cheddar off the heat, in a soup that is hot but not bubbling. Grate it yourself. Pre-grated cheese is coated so it does not clump in the bag, and that coating makes the soup grainy.

The body of the soup is a roux, not a pile of cheese. 45 g of butter is about 3 tablespoons, and 30 g of flour is about 4 level tablespoons. Weigh them. A scooped spoon and the butter chart or the flour chart will not agree. Cook the flour in the butter for a full minute or the soup tastes raw. Then the milk goes in slowly.

Broccoli, cream, and the swaps

Cut the florets small so they cook in 10 minutes. Big trees stay raw in the middle while the stems go olive. Stems are good if you peel and slice them thin. 500 g is one large head plus a bit, or two small heads.

80 g of heavy cream is about 1/3 cup. It rounds the soup. Double cream is the same job in a UK kitchen. The heavy cream chart covers the weight. If you have none, the heavy cream substitutes page tells you what changes. Whole milk already in the pot is not a second substitute. You would just have a thinner soup. Whole milk itself is on the milk conversion: 750 ml is a little over 3 cups.

Sharp cheddar, not mild. Mild disappears. 250 g looks like a lot and tastes right. Add it off the heat.

The soup keeps three days. It thickens in the fridge. Loosen it with milk when you reheat it, over low heat, and do not let it boil.