The Expert Trick That Keeps Nacho Cheese Sauce Melty

Nacho cheese is warm and melty and provides a cozy blanket for dishes like nachos, steamed vegetables, and baked potatoes. If you're serving your nacho cheese right after it's melted, then you don't need to worry about keeping it warm. Just pour it over the food and eat. However, if you're not eating the cheese until later, keeping it warm is of paramount importance, and possibly even problematic. Fortunately, Dan Whalen, blogger at The Food in my Beard and the author of "Nachos for Dinner," has a perfect — if not a bit unconventional — solution to this dilemma.

"This might sound weird but I keep cheese sauce in a thermos," he tells Chowhound. It was an idea that Whalen got from a pal's father, who used an insulated vessel to keep his Thanksgiving gravy hot. After you're done melting your favorite cheese, the same thermos trick keeps your gooey good stuff hot, too.

Whalen has one more tip to impart to ensure that you don't accidentally cool the cheese off before it's time to serve it. A cold bottle equals cold nacho cheese sauce. To sidestep this eventuality, he adds hot water into the insulated bottle to heat up the inner lining. Once he's sure that it's toasty inside, he pours out the water, and pours in the cheese. "If you have a good and well-insulated thermos, it can stay hot for a while!" he says.

Given that your vacuum flask will be tasked with keeping your food hot, possibly for a long time, you'll want to choose a container that's up to the job. Some insulated vessels can keep hot food hot and cold food cold for up to 40 hours. While it's unlikely that you'll be waiting 40 hours to drizzle your nacho cheese sauce all over your favorite store-bought tortilla chips, it's important that you choose a jug that can pack heat for a while.

Secondly, durability is a concern, too. Although some types of insulated jars can weigh up to two pounds, they're worth the extra weight (and effort it takes to carry them around). These are heavy-duty, and able to take a little jostling without the worry of damage. (Still, if you're worried about it being too unwieldy to carry around, choose a container with a durable handle that won't break.) If you're concerned about a glass interior of the insulated jar possibly shattering, you may want to go for one that has a ceramic or plastic lining instead. 

Finally, if you're not doing a full-blown order of nachos and instead are using the cheese for dipping, you may want a container that comes with a removable lid. This feature is typically used to allow for coffee service, but there is no rule that says you can't turn the lid into a small bowl for the cheese sauce.

To be sure, one of the most common and easiest ways to keep hot, melted cheese warm for a long time is to use a slow cooker. With a variety of temperature settings and sizes to choose from as well as easy portability, your average slow cooker is the right appliance for the job, most of the time. If you're keeping the nacho cheese sauce warm for an event, like the Super Bowl or a Christmas party, then this option offers a lot of convenience.

However, if you're participating in an outdoor activity, like tailgating at a football game or a family outing in a park, then you may want to try Dan Whalen's suggestion. Vacuum insulated containers come in a variety of sizes and styles. If you're serving quite a lot of cheese sauce, then the 40-ounce-er may be the best option for you. On the other hand, if you're carrying around a single serving for lunch at work, you may find something like a 16-ounce insulated food jar to be more to your liking. 

If, after careful consideration, you're not sure which size to choose, go with the bigger one. It's better to have too much hot, irresistible nacho cheese sauce than not enough to cover all those nekked corn chips.