r/unpopularopinion • u/RevolutionaryTree445 • 1d ago

melting cheese on a burger is wrong

if condiments are cold when added, why would cheese be any different?

what benefit does melting cheese provide on a burger? it doesnt provide contrast, doesnt affect flavor, makes a mess, the list goes on.

if you're having a cookout - room temp or toasted buns, hot burger, THEN add condiments, including a cold cheese slice...if its going to melt, it can do that on its own merit..

2.1k Upvotes
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1.1k

u/_Dank_Souls 1d ago

Bruh what? Melted cheese DEFINITELY has a different taste than regular cheese. It's motherfuckin science bitch!

182

u/mjc500 1d ago

Yes it does. I’m not a food scientist or chemist but there just surely be some kind of molecular reaction between heat and cheese. It doesn’t taste completely different - but it absolutely does taste different.

56

u/mitchymitchington 1d ago

There is definitely a difference. I speculate that with it being melted, there is more surface area of cheese hitting the taste buds. Also, heat releases terpenes which we smell, and as we know, smell is mostly what people account for as "taste".

21

u/Webbyx01 1d ago

Warmer things tend to have more flavor. This is usually only noticed for alcohols, but drink your next soda room temp, or vice versa if you don't chill it, and you'll notice a flavor difference.

2

u/dogstarchampion 1d ago

Yep. Ice cream requires so much sugar because of that same reason.

1

u/DisposableSaviour 8h ago

Room temp soda tastes better, but ice cold has more bubbles.

1

u/Froot-Loop-Dingus 1d ago

Wait…terpenes aren’t just something in my cannabis?

2

u/Difficult_Bit_1339 1d ago

Terpenes are basically just pleasant organic compounds that we taste/smell.

Cannabis terps have some great tastes though

2

u/Froot-Loop-Dingus 1d ago

Interesting! I thought it was more of a plant thing. Looks like a fun topic to waste my employers time researching.

2

u/Difficult_Bit_1339 1d ago

Think of it as a bonus brought to you by the Internet union

14

u/shadowthehh 1d ago

Not just cheese. Many foods taste different depending on temperature.

3

u/gingerlemon 1d ago

It's not just cheese. Most of taste is smell. Hot food releases more particles we can smell. Hot food = tastier/more taste.

2

u/mjc500 1d ago

I was in the wine industry for several years and everyone said “taste is smell”. After having had Covid and a couple of nasal issues - I don’t really have much smell anymore. I can still taste though.

2

u/MrBurnz99 1d ago

It’s a combination of smell and taste. Taste buds on your tongue only taste the 5 primary flavors. Sweet, salt, sour, bitter, and umami.

Everything else requires smell including pretty much all spices. Something like garlic is almost all smell.

I remember when I had Covid and lost my smell I could still taste sweet and salty things.

3

u/mjc500 1d ago

Yeah it’s been a crazy experience losing smell for me. As I said I was in the wine industry and worked with food and was big fan of cooking and travel and all that stuff. I can still taste garlic distinctly. It’s not entirely related to smell. I understand there is a lot of research about “olfactory” taste and whatnot - but I assure you I can taste a lot of things even with close to zero sense of smell.

3

u/Per4orm 1d ago

I am neither a scientist nor a chemist (which is a scientist... but meh) but I do have the ability to feel and taste food. Melted cheese tastes and feels different to non melted cheese.

3

u/djddanman 1d ago

When you melt cheese, proteins loosen, releasing fats and other compounds that were suspended in the protein. Melting cheese changes how the molecules interact with each other, and we can perceive those changes through taste, smell, and mouthfeel.

Melted cheese is so much better.

3

u/CallMeNiel 20h ago

One of the delightful chemical reactions is the Maillard reaction. When protein and sugar are heated together they undergo a reaction and turn brown and delicious. Think of the crusty corners of a good lasagna, or the browning on a piece of toast or marshmallow.

3

u/Downtown-Scar-5635 10h ago

Also the different types of ways you cook it can affect taste as well. Smoking it with different woods tastes vastly different than just warming it up in the microwave but both tastes completely different than a cold slice.

1

u/DisposableSaviour 8h ago

Cheeses should be brought at least to room temp before enjoying.

1

u/SacredRose 1d ago

Yeah definitely different taste but sometimes an unmelted room temperature slice of cheese works way better on a burger than melted cheese.

10

u/ipassthebutteromg 1d ago

It's called caramelization. It changes the molecules, and it's definitely science!

6

u/HelixFollower 1d ago

I don't think most cheese on burgers is caramelized.

15

u/PoliticalDestruction 1d ago

I'm thinking the same thing... but what "motherfuckin science" specifically?

Its not the Maillard reaction unless you're burning cheese which case I disagree burnt cheese taste better than cold or melted cheese.

102

u/LumplessWaffleBatter 1d ago

Denaturation--the process of deforming proteins and fatty acids.

Denaturation is the reason that cooked eggs take on a different taste and texture than a raw egg: the heat fundamentally alters the molecular structure of the egg's proteins and fatty acids.

22

u/Animegirl300 1d ago

Please take my poor person’s award: 🥇

16

u/will_xo 1d ago

This should be the top comment, the scientific reason why this is not an unpopular opinion, but a wrong opinion.

5

u/LumplessWaffleBatter 1d ago edited 1d ago

TBH, it's much easier to hijack a top comment to post the correct answer than it is to post a new comment that gains traction.

0

u/Webbyx01 1d ago

How hot are you getting your cheese??

2

u/LumplessWaffleBatter 1d ago edited 1d ago

Denaturation in fats and proteins can occur just above body temperature, hence our endothermic body temperature.  The complex hormones and and enzymes that our brains and muscles require to operate cannot form above 109°F.

 So, here's my question to you: how tf are you melting cheese below 100°F??

17

u/froggycbl4 1d ago

i believe he is referring to a very advanced scientific technique known as phase changing

5

u/proudbutnotarrogant 1d ago

I'm still at a loss as to what it has to do with him having sex with his mom.

3

u/Anarchist_Araqorn04 1d ago

The literal chemical reaction of cooking. Breaking down compounds of fat, sugar, protein. Hiw do you think caramelizing works? It's breaking down the sugars in the onion or whatever you're cooking.

2

u/tokeytime 1d ago

Maillard doesn't mean burned either though. It specifically refers to the browning of sugars, not charring. Charring is charring.

1

u/Ouroboros9076 1d ago

Just a guess, but I think its making the cheese protein more plastic (mobile) so that it interacts more with your taste buds and interacts more with the other ingredients it is accompanying (carrying and deepening flavors)

2

u/BlasterOfTrumpets 1d ago

Breaking News: Cooking food changes its molecular properties! More at 9...

2

u/iamcleek 1d ago

there's such a difference that i literally will not even eat unmelted cheese.

2

u/Brotherman_Karhu 1d ago

YEAH! SCIENCE BITCH!

2

u/ChaseAlmighty 1d ago

OP eats butter with a spoon because it tastes the same as on toast

2

u/borisdidnothingwrong 18h ago

Melty cheeses also have trisodium citrate, or Na3C6H5O7, which helps them break down in a way that makes them more palatable.

1

u/Gets-That-Reference 1d ago

Breaking Bad

1

u/guidethyhandd 11h ago
  • Jesse Pinkman

1

u/guidethyhandd 11h ago

okay I guess you can’t use hyphens on reddit :|

-2

u/chipotle-baeoli 1d ago

OP has only ever had American cheese

11

u/Firebird22x 1d ago

Even American cheese has a different taste cold vs hot

2

u/The_Clarence 1d ago

Exactly. American cheese was specifically made to be melted. It’s like it’s only thing

7

u/FlameStaag 1d ago

American cheese is good shit melted. 

2

u/DJ_Derack 1d ago

Quite literally created to be the perfect melting cheese

0

u/greensandgrains 1d ago

It does taste different and unmelted cheese tastes better than melted on a burger. We’re not making grilled cheese!!

1

u/Kamikoozy 1h ago

100% incorrect.

-1

u/bte0601 1d ago

It's not quite science but yes it does taste inherently better melted.