How to Get Your Hands on One of Nvidia's New Graphics Cards

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Soon after Nvidia's new RTX 5080 and 5090 gaming GPUs went up for sale last week, they sold out pretty quickly—which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has tried to buy one of its graphics cards before.

According to PC parts seller Newegg, the company’s stock sold out “within minutes,” and none of the big-name retailers I’ve checked today have cards available. While that might sound like a success on Nvidia’s part, consumers and reviewers alike are responding to the short supply with ire, accusing Nvidia of a “paper launch,” a term for when a company only releases enough units to say that a product released on schedule, without actually making it readily available.

Starting at $999 for the 5080, these products were always going to be for a premium market, but buying them now can mean going through resellers, which could cost you twice as much and means supporting the same scalpers that make stock so hard to find in the first place.

Luckily, there are still a few steps you can take to get a new Nvidia graphics card through official means, although it will take some trial and error. But with enough diligence, you can be sure to get in line for a new card as soon as stock opens up.

Sign up for notifications

Credit: Best Buy

It’s boring, I know, but major retailers including Newegg, Best Buy, Amazon, and B&H offer the opportunity to sign up for stock notifications when a product is in limited supply. (You’ll usually see this to the right of or underneath a grayed out buy button on the product page.) These will often be incorporated into a wish list feature, so you can quickly check in on all of your desired products and keep track of them—useful if you have a specific PC build in mind.

Try visiting your local Microcenter

Microcenter is a popular electronics store that sets itself apart by offering the majority of its goods only in-store. Currently, its stock is as sold out as everyone else’s, although a big banner at the top of the store’s website says it’s working hard to restock as soon as possible.

Shopping at your local Microcenter drastically reduces your competition: rather than having to compete with the entire world, you only have to compete with your local community. Even better, you can still look products up online to ensure stock is available before making the trek to the brick-and-mortar location. Simply visit the product page, input your store (assuming your cookies don’t tip off your location for you), and you’ll know before visiting whether your visit will be fruitful. Some products will also let you reserve a unit for in-store pickup before arriving, although for new GPUs, Microcenter is more likely to take a first-come, first-served mentality.

Follow the right social media accounts

Getting notifications when a product comes into stock is well and good, but ideally, you’re getting prepped to click the “buy” button well before it’s even available. That’s where industry insiders come into account.

These are social media users who, through protected sources, sometimes know when sales happen before they go live. There are entire publications and newsletters dedicated to this, although you sometimes have to use your best judgment when knowing who to believe.

My favorite account for this purpose, personally, is @Wario64 on X and Bluesky. Down-to-earth with a good (but not overbearing) sense of humor, they haven’t let me down yet. In-Stock-Alerts-US has also proven reliable in the past, as has journalist Matt Swider. Unfortunately, many accounts that have been useful in the past have since stopped updating.

Alternatively, you can also use a stock tracking website like NowInStock.net or TrackaLacker to track stock across various storefronts.

Avoid resellers whenever possible

Going through the above process might seem annoying, but trust me, buying through a reseller is only going to make things worse for everyone. Yes, eBay is where you’ll find the most stock, but it’s also going to cost you way more than going through official sources, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll end up getting the real deal, or a GPU that hasn’t been used.

That said, when it comes to GPUs, Amazon can be as bad as eBay. Third-party sellers are abundant there, and it can be easy to confuse a legit seller with one that's a little more dubious. If you want to go through Amazon, be sure to check the “Sold by” tag underneath the buy button before you add anything to your cart. That will tell you who you're actually buying the product from.

Just buy a pre-built PC

Credit: Maingear

It might sound like sacrilege to a hardcore PC builder, but if you’re looking to get your hands on a new GPU as soon as possible, it can be easier to bite the bullet and go with a pre-built model. That’s because manufacturers like Maingear and Cyberpower often get special stock earmarked for them, and because their PCs are customizable, more expensive than a GPU alone, and are just all-around harder to stack in a warehouse somewhere, they’re less attractive to scalpers.

You’ll still pay a premium with this route, but you’ll get a whole PC alongside your GPU, plus save yourself the labor of construction. And if you price it right, you might actually still save money over what you’d pay for a resold card alone.

Baking Soda and Vinegar Are Good for Cleaning, Just Not Together

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From viral hacks to your grandmother, someone or something has, at some point, told you to clean with baking soda and vinegar. Even I have told you to clean with baking soda and vinegar. Yesterday, sadly, I learned that this approach isn't all it's cracked up to be. Let's discuss.

Why you shouldn't mix baking soda and vinegar to clean

The good news is that this mixture isn't toxic or dangerous in any way. You're not poisoning yourself over time if you mix vinegar and baking soda to get a bubbly paste to scrub onto your walls, countertops, or tile. The bad news is that it just doesn't do much.

See, yesterday, I wrote about the best methods for cleaning water stains off white walls. As I expected, I got better results when I cleaned the water stain with a mixture of lemon juice, baking soda, and vinegar than I did when I just went at it with soap and water. The famous combo won again—or so I thought.

The reason it was so much more effective, though, is because the true cleaning power was likely coming from the lemon juice at best and the sheer wetness of the solution at worst, not the baking soda and vinegar. In fact, these two products cancel each other out, according to some pro cleaning websites I read and Reddit threads I browsed.

Baking soda is a base, vinegar is an acid, and when bases and acids get together, they neutralize each other. The results are water, carbon dioxide (which escapes in the form of fizz), and a salt called sodium acetate. The vinegar and baking soda are reacting with each other, not with your dirty surface, which is why this combination is usually no better a cleaner than water. You're really just wetting and (hopefully) scrubbing, not cleaning. If that's all you want to do, fine. If you want to actually clean, you'll need soap or something else to make a difference.

What to use instead of vinegar and baking soda

First of all, don't overlook the power of bubbles. The classic trick of pouring baking soda down the drain and following it up with vinegar produces a lot of them, for instance, and while that doesn't really do much to battle actual clogs deep in the pipes, it can bubble out some dirt closer to the surface, at least.

Second of all, vinegar and baking soda do each have a purpose in your cleaning arsenal. Think of this like an amicable divorce: They work better separately, but they're both still great on their own. Vinegar's gentle acidity can sometimes loosen grime from surfaces when you aren't ready to reach for the big guns like, say, a hydrochloric acid-based toilet bowl cleaner.

Baking soda makes a great scrub because of its rough, gritty texture, and is also a solid odor eliminator, which is why you probably have an open box in the back of your fridge already.

If you're looking to replace what you thought were the cleaning effects of baking soda and vinegar mixtures, just opt for regular cleaner. I've had great results with the double-concentrated formulas of Fabuloso and Pine Sol and they're not very expensive. If you liked the feeling of scrubbing those abrasive, gritty bubbles into surfaces, consider plain soap and water on a sponge or, if the material can handle it, steel wool.

My Favorite French Onion Soup Recipe Doesn't Require Babysitting

The idea of eating a pile of onions seems absolutely absurd—until you caramelize them and make them into soup. Suddenly, and your entire family is talking about an onion dinner with great reverence.

You might think it’s the cheesy raft of bread floating on top that wins hearts, but students of umami know to credit the sweet, hearty, caramelized flavor from a mountain of slowly cooked sliced onions. Caramelizing onions is an annoying business, which is why I’d like to present you with a version that doesn’t demand helicopter babysitting. 

If you’ve ever successfully caramelized onions before, you know it takes at least 45 minutes to do it properly. In order to get silky-soft, deeply browned strands of onion in your average pot, you’ve got to cook them over low heat and stir them frequently to prevent burning. Knowing that you’re already signing up for a bit of a process regardless, why not make the technique less precarious with the mighty Dutch oven?

French onion soup was made for the Dutch oven

This method does take plenty of time to cook, but the weighty material of a Dutch oven allows for evenly distributed heat, allowing you to cook the onions slowly, without the dreaded hot spots that threaten scorched alliums. This method essentially braises them in their own buttery onion broth until they're extremely soft. The lid keeps the moisture in, so the flavors can fully blossom and the onions won't start browning too fast.

Eight to 10 cups of sliced onions will cook down to less than half of this volume. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Dutch ovens have the added benefit of being enamel glazed. When fond (the bits of food that stick to the bottom of the pot and brown) occurs in a regular pot, you have to scrape it up pretty quickly so it doesn’t scorch. The glass finish of a Dutch oven doesn’t seem to burn fond as quickly, and the slick surface easily releases it whenever you get around to stirring. 

With this low-maintenance method, you can basically chill for the first 45 minutes. You'll then face roughly 15 minutes of intermittent action in the middle, before letting the soup simmer away for another 20 minutes. (All the while, you’ll be enjoying the most intoxicating aroma of caramelized onions and butter.)

Caramelized onions before adding any beef broth. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

This soup is broth-y but full of soft, velvety onions, and rich in umami. Plus a slab of cheesy bread never hurt anyone. (Though they seem like small additions, I must insist on the herbs—they elevate the dish, and once you let them simmer for 15 minutes you’ll smell the difference.)

Low and Slow French Onion Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 8 to 10 cups sliced onions (use a variety or one type)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• A splash of sherry vinegar (about a tablespoon or so)

• A splash of dry red wine (about a tablespoon or so)

• 3 ½ cups of beef broth

• 6 sprigs of thyme

• 2 small bay leaves

• Slices of stale hearty bread for topping

• Semi-firm cheese for topping

1. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onions and salt, and give it all a thorough toss. Cover the pot with its lid and let it simmer and cook the onions for about 15 minutes. 

2. Remove the lid and stir the onions. They should be very soft and they’ll have released a lot of water. If it’s bubbling viciously, reduce the heat for a steady simmer. Let them continue to cook, uncovered, for another 30 to 45 minutes, but come around and give them a stir every 10 minutes or so to check on things. The buttery onion water will reduce during this time. 

3. At the end of this cooking time you’ll notice a few brown bits develop and the onions will become more golden. This is when you need to be more present. Continue cooking the onions, but scrape and stir them every three to five minutes. They’ll begin to darken. Do this until you’re happy with the color of your onions. If they ever become too dry, you can add a splash of water to help deglaze the fond on the bottom of the pot.

3. Stir in the sherry vinegar and wine, then add the broth and herbs. Let this simmer together for 20 minutes on low heat. You can cover the pot, but crack the lid.

4. Meanwhile, top the bread slices with cheese. (Classically a gruyère is used but you can use Swiss, pecorino, provolone, or anything with a little bite.) Broil the sliced bread to melt the cheese.

5. Remove the herbs from the soup. If you have extra stale bread, chop it up and drop some into the bottom of each soup bowl. Spoon the soup into the bowls and shave some cheese over it. Then top each serving with a slab of cheesy bread.

How to Choose Between Spotify and Apple Music

Apple Music and Spotify are the two most popular streaming services in the world; most of us already have our favorite. Fans get into endless debates about which service is better, and for many people, that boils down to two factors: pricing and recommendation algorithms. However, there are many other factors that settle the Apple Music vs. Spotify debate—you could be after better sound quality, sharing features, support for your preferred platforms, and many other things. But which service is superior? It depends on what you're looking for.

Apple Music vs. Spotify: pricing

If you're on a really tight budget and just cannot afford to pay for a music streaming service, Spotify's ad-supported free tier allows you to listen without paying a dime. Apple Music offers a three-month free trial, but once that's done, you will have to pay. It's worth noting, though, that Apple Music does not have any ads.

Spotify Premium has four plans, with Premium Individual at $11.99/month, Premium Duo (for two accounts) at $16.99/month, Premium Family at $19.99/month (up to six accounts), and Premium Student at $5.99/month (only for students). Apple Music costs the same as Spotify, without a "Duo" option: $5.99/month for the student plan, $10.99/month for an individual plan, and $16.99 for family. The student plan comes with free access to Apple TV+; Spotify's equivalent plan lets you access Hulu's ad-supported plans. 

If you're all in on the Apple ecosystem, you can get the Apple One bundle for a great discount. Apple One Individual costs $19.95/month for four services—Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and iCloud (50GB). The Apple One Family plan offers all of this with 200GB iCloud storage for $25.95/month for up to six people. The Premier plan includes all of the above for six people, plus Apple News and Apple Fitness, for $37.95/month.

Both services have something to offer for seasoned deal hunters, but Apple Music's promotions generally let you get more for free (assuming you don't just stick to Spotify's ad-supported tier). There are plenty of discounts on Spotify Premium, with the best offer being a three-month free trial. But for example, while Apple Music's free trial usually caps out at three months, at the time of writing, new users can get six months of Apple Music for a one-time payment of $2.99.

Apple Music offers better sound quality

If you're after the best sound quality, then Apple Music is a better option than Spotify. Apple Music allows you to listen to lossless audio files at no extra charge. With the right kind of wired audio equipment, you'll be able to hear the difference in sound quality. Spotify doesn't allow you to play lossless audio files yet. 

To be clear, the sound quality in both services is quite good—most people will not feel like they're listening to inferior audio. Especially if you use a pair of cheap earbuds, there's no point in trying to pick one service over another based on sound quality. This matters only for those who have high-end audio gear rather than those with low quality or Bluetooth earbuds. However, Apple also offers lossless audio for certain AirPods when paired with an Apple Vision Pro headset, since that circumvents Bluetooth. The company says, "AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, and AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C Charging Case provide Lossless Audio with ultra-low latency when paired with an Apple Vision Pro."

Apple Music has another advantage in Spatial Audio, which is a form of virtual surround sound and creates a more immersive listening experience. 

Both services have a vast music library

Spotify and Apple Music both have over 100 million songs at the ready. Most people will find everything they need on either service, but some niche artists or genres may be better represented on either of these services. For example, Apple Music has a whole app dedicated to classical music.

Playlists and recommendations

Music streaming services live and die by their recommendation algorithms. Although Spotify started out with a huge advantage in this area, Apple Music has been slowly catching up. At the moment, Spotify's algorithm is still better at recommending music, but Apple Music has lots of excellent human-curated playlists that may appeal more to some people. This is a highly subjective debate that swings one way or another based on the genres you prefer. That's why it's best to give both services a shot and see if the playlists are recommendations work for you. 

UI and app experience

Apple Music's apps are great on Apple platforms, but they're mediocre on other devices. The service has a web player, an Android app, a Windows app, and is available on other platforms too, but its experience remains sub-par on most of those. In my experience, and that of other users, Apple Music can be slow, laggy, and prone to crashing when used outside of Apple's own devices. If you're someone who's locked into the Apple ecosystem, you'll be pleased with Apple Music, but if you're more of a cross-platform person, Spotify is the better option.

Unique features

Apple Music and Spotify both also come with unique features that could help you gravitate towards either one. Apple Music Sing lets you view song lyrics in a karaoke-style UI and syncs them with the song that's currently playing. This makes it easy to follow lyrics, especially on a large-screen device such as an Apple TV. The experience is far more robust than Spotify's synced lyrics feature. Apple Music also offers a great accessibility feature—Music Haptics—on your iPhone. It uses the iPhone's Taptic Engine to create haptic vibrations for your songs, ranging from barely discernible to long reverberations, depending on the part of the song that's playing. It enhances the listening experience for everyone and in particular, helps people who face hearing-related challenges.

On the other hand, Spotify Connect makes it a lot easier to control music playback on other devices. Spotify also supports collaborative playlists—a feature that's still in beta on Apple Music. For collaboration, Spotify Blend automatically curates a playlist based on your and your friends' tastes and Spotify Jam makes it really easy to create party playlists. 

Non-music features

Spotify includes podcasts and audiobooks in its service, which has been a polarizing addition. Some people want their music app to have just that, while others don't mind listening to other forms of audio in Spotify. However, almost everyone is annoyed by the fact that Spotify plays ads in podcasts, even for premium subscribers. The service also offers a few hours of audiobook listening for free, but it charges an additional sum if you want more.

Sharing and social media

As hard as Apple Music is trying to catch up, Spotify is the service with the better sharing and social media options. Its year-end roundup—Spotify Wrapped—is simple to post to social media, and you also have neat options to share any song to Instagram Stories. Apple Music Replay's sharing options are rather limited, but you can load the roundup in the Music app itself and also view monthly recaps of your top songs.

While you can share song lyrics to Instagram via Apple Music, in general, Apple's social media game isn't as good as Spotify's.

This Apple Watch Series 8 Is Over $400 Off

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The Apple Watch Series 8 (GPS + Cellular, 45mm) is now $329.99 on Woot, down from its original price of $749—a $419 discount available for four days or until it sells out. This model comes in a silver stainless steel case with a white band that gives it a premium look and includes a one-year Apple limited warranty. Plus, Prime members get free standard shipping (while non-Prime users pay $6); note that shipping is not available to Alaska, Hawaii, PO boxes, or APO addresses.

Apple Watch Series 8 (GPS + Cellular, 45mm)

$329.99 at Woot

$749.00 Save $419.01

$329.99 at Woot

$749.00 Save $419.01

This PCMag Editors’ Choice and "Best of the Year 2022" winner smartwatch is built to handle real life, with its IP6X certification making it dustproof and its WR50 water resistance rating letting you swim with it or wear it in the shower. Additionally, its always-on OLED Retina display is reportedly bright at 1,000 nits, so it’s easy to read in any lighting. Swiping and tapping on the watch feel smooth and responsive, too (without any noticeable lag), even when you're running multiple apps at the same time. That said, its battery life is where you might pause—18 hours on a full charge is standard (you can push it to 36 hours in Low Power Mode), making it good enough for most people, but if you want multi-day battery life, this won’t cut it. Also, Apple doesn’t include a power adapter, so if you don’t have a spare plug, you’ll need to grab one, which might add to your overall cost.

The model isn’t just about telling time. It’s got cellular connectivity, which means you can send texts, make calls, and stream music without having your iPhone on you. It also supports Family Setup, so you can manage an Apple Watch for someone who doesn’t own an iPhone. Now, onto the health perks. The Series 8 monitors heart rate, ECG readings, and blood oxygen levels. Plus, its dual-sensor temperature tracking helps with overnight body temperature monitoring and improves cycle tracking accuracy. Safety is another big plus. Crash Detection can alert emergency services if you’re in a severe car accident and Fall Detection does the same if you take a hard tumble. It’s one of those features you hope never to need—but it’s still great to have, notes this PCMag review.

Five Questions to Ask Yourself When You Aren't Being Productive

When you have a project to work on but just can't get started or make significant progress, it's easy to beat yourself up about it—which also doesn't do much to put you in a go-getter mindset. When you're feeling stuck, you can certainly choose a productivity method that might work better for you, but before you do that, it's a good idea to orient yourself by asking yourself a handful of questions about what you are hoping to accomplish.

Here are five questions to ask yourself the next time you're stuck and feeling unproductive, so you can get moving again.

"When was the last time I was as productive as I wanted to be?"

We all go through periods where we're less or more productive, so don't feel bad if you're having an off week. Instead, try to recall the circumstances of the last time you felt really productive. Maybe it was before the holidays, when a sense of urgency propelled you to get everything done before a vacation; this aligns with the Yerkes-Dodson Law, which posits that you work better with when you're under a bit of pressure. Maybe it was when you had a clearly-defined goal in mind (I'll get to the value of that in just a moment). The more details you can piece together, the more likely you'll be able to replicate that environment and get back in action.

With this in mind, it's helpful if, whenever you do feel your next burst of productivity, you jot down some notes on what worked, what didn't, and what could have gone better. That way, you can generate an "after-action review" that you'll be able to look back on when it's time to ask yourself this question again.

"What is my ultimate goal?"

Sometimes you get into the routine of doing something because you know it has to be done, but you don't think about the higher purpose being served. Menial tasks, like clearing your inbox or doing the dishes, often fall into this category. All in all, it's hard to find the motivation to do those boring things that take up so much time—unless you think bigger.

Asking yourself about your ultimate goal can help. Take clearing out your inbox: This will make it easier to see important messages and respond in a timely manner, yes, but the ultimate goal is that responding more quickly will make you better at your job, which could lead to making more money, getting a promotion, or leaving the office earlier so you can enjoy more time with your family. Doing the dishes serves the ultimate goal of keeping the house in order, but that could lead to the bigger goal of having things tidy before your friends come over, avoiding bugs showing up in your sink, or having fresh plates on hand for when you try a new recipe tomorrow.

Defining the larger goal behind what you need to do is a key part of prioritizing your tasks and getting the motivation to do them. Work backward, asking yourself what your ultimate goal is, and then come up with the tasks you need to do to reach it. It'll keep you on track and make you want to get started. (Bonus points if you lay everything out using a SMART goals formula.)

"Why don't I want to get to work?"

This is the question I ask myself whenever I'm feeling unproductive. Most of the time, I know my ultimate goal already, and I know when and how I work best, so when I'm putting off a task, I try to figure out why, and address the root cause. Sometimes, I'm afraid to send an email because I'm nervous about what the response will be. Other times, I don't want to work on a project because I'm just not fulfilled by it. Obviously I can't control how someone will respond to my email, but I can work to make that email as clear as possible to make sure it's communicating what it needs to, and remind myself that the response could very well be positive—and that I won't know until I send it. I also keep track of times I find I'm avoiding something because I don't feel fulfilled by or interested in it. If that happens a lot, I know it's time for an after-action review and, possibly, a complete course-correction.

Figuring out why you're avoiding something is, in some ways, more important than forcing yourself to buckle down and do it. Try applying the hierarchy of needs to your current circumstances to get a better sense of what's not working, and what's holding you back.

"Can I break this work down more?"

Other times, the reason you're struggling to be productive is because the task in front of you is too big. Imagine you're attempting to prepare for a work conference in another city, but you keep putting it off. That could be because "prepare for the conference" encompasses too much: Scheduling your flight, booking your hotel, submitting for reimbursement from your company, figuring out your travel to the airport, packing, planning what you'll do every day of the trip, coordinating responsibilities with coworkers, and putting together your presentation—these are all related but are all pretty different activities. Breaking them down into smaller categories (handling travel, taking care of scheduling, and preparing for the conference itself) and then breaking those down into individual tasks can help you feel less overwhelmed.

This is where you use a system like Kanban or the jar method, which can help you prioritize and track the work you need to do on a given day. Trying to take on a bulk project without breaking it down into manageable parts will only frustrate you. (This is why I never recommend cleaning your whole house at once; you should instead focus on cleaning one room for a short period of time.)

"Is this work really necessary?"

Asking yourself whether your work is really necessary might feel like a cop out, since you're almost giving yourself an excuse not to do certain things.But there are always going to be tasks that are less important or even unnecessary, and eliminating them will allow you to focus on getting started on something that really matters.

First, use a prioritization technique like the Eisenhower matrix or ABCDE method to figure out which of the things you need to do are actually pressing and which ones are fluff. Once you've figured out what is and isn't immediately necessary, call on the 4D approach, which is often used for sorting through emails but can be applied to a variety of uses. The four Ds are delete, do, delegate, and defer. Delete (or forget about) anything that doesn't need to be done, delegate minor tasks to someone else (like asking your kid to clean up the living room or a coworker to take on part of a larger project), defer things that aren't important now but will be eventually, and then do the important stuff.

If you don't prioritize everything you have to do, you'll end up with a list of responsibilities that is much too long, which will overwhelm you and lead you not to do anything at all. Spending a little time weeding through it to determine what is most pressing will leave you with just the necessities, and working through that list is guaranteed to feel more fulfilling.

Fried Cheese Is My New Favorite (Cheaper) Protein

Lately, I’ve noticed my grocery money isn’t going quite so far, especially with meat. I’ve needed to change things up a bit. Specifically, the chicken that I usually toss into my salads, pasta dishes, and soups, well, I’m swapping it out for slabs of fried cheese. Is it weird? Maybe. But I love an excuse to eat cheese, and it’s really working for my wallet. 

Let me start by saying that my household consumes a great deal of chicken. What can I say: It’s a wonderful bird. And when you’re buying multiple pounds of it, and if it’s the bougie air-chilled chicken that I like, you can see how this quickly ends up being unaffordable. While my problem may be the price of chicken, it’s a likely story with numerous other meats as well. Steak, fish, lunch meats, you name it, the price is up. The answer to this problem is cheese. 

Why fried cheese works

Cheese—the grillable, fry-able kind of cheese—is actually helping me stretch my budget and, remarkably, it’s been pretty effortless. I haven’t given up on chicken completely, but replacing it in a few meals per week has been a nice switch-up, and it’s truly satisfying as a main protein. It’s even less prep and effort than replacing meat with slabs of tofu. (And this is coming from a person who adores tofu.) 

Where texture is concerned, fried cheese is a delight. Whether it’s halloumi, queso blanco, or any assortment of frying cheese, the outside becomes crusty and browned where it contacts the pan. The inside remains soft, chewy, or squeaky, depending on the variety, and you’re rewarded with creamy, salty flavors that pair up well with nearly any dish. 

In regards to preparation, frying up a batch of cheese slabs is a helluva lot faster than cooking meat. It requires nothing more than a knife and a dry frying pan, and you don’t have to deal with trimming fat, gristle, or the bacterial risks of raw meat. If you’re worried about the loss of protein, don’t fret too much. A serving of this type of cheese has the equivalent amount of protein to a large egg, about 6 grams. 

What cheeses are best for frying

If you haven’t done it before, frying cheese is easy. The best types of cheese for this purpose are firm or semi-firm high-protein cheeses because they don’t liquify when met with heat. You'll want halloumi, paneer, queso blanco, panela cheese, queso para freir, or kasseri cheese. Some packages will even say “grilling cheese” or “frying cheese.” When you’re in the grocery store, check the refrigerated aisle; they may be with other cheeses or potentially in a section with International cheese varieties. Depending on the cheese and your grocery store, a brick with 10 servings or more might cost $3 to $7 dollars

How to fry cheese

Cut the block of cheese into planks. I usually cut them about a quarter-inch thick, but you could certainly cut them to a half-inch or thicker. Add the cheese to a frying pan. Make sure there’s some space between the slices. They will expand a bit when the heat is on and you want to keep them from touching. Turn the heat up to medium-low and allow the cheese to cook for a couple minutes. Carefully lift one piece to see how it’s browning underneath. I like to fry it until it’s medium to dark brown. Flip all of the pieces to brown the other side. 

From here, the world is your cheese plank. Nestle these crisp, flavorful rectangles onto risotto, or serve them as the centerpiece for a green salad. Place the slabs of cheese on a pedestal of pasta with tomato sauce. Chop the planks into smaller pieces and stir them into soups or curry sauces. Or simply top a slice with a bit of jam and enjoy it as a tart and salty snack.