Very much depends on the cheese. Most American type cheeses? Yeah, probably. But there are so many great aged cheeses out there, which are infinitely better not melted.
I spent the last couple of years selling and eating fancy cheeses and I’d say that isn’t true. Some are better melted, some I let come to room temperature long before eating and some (almost none, though) I prefer cold.
Trust me, some cheeses will turn into an oily puddle when melted.
My guess is your experience is with young, semisoft, and American cheeses?
I left to work for a non-profit a little bit ago. I seriously miss getting invited out to visit cheese, beer and wine (and whatever else local) producers. I spent my vacations just going from place to place.
My dream is to produce goat cheese, so maybe someday I’ll be back in the life.
Temperature affects the taste of many foods. Temperature change doesn’t affect the specific basic flavours (e.g. salty, bitter, umami, sweet) in the same way. So increasing or decreasing the temperature of a food item will change its taste profile.
The source I found says that it is difficult to tell if temperature change will make a food taste “better” or “worse”. It depends on too many factors.
In your case it seems that increasing the temperature of cheese makes it taste better for you. It’ll probably be because you like the taste profile of melted cheese over solid cheese. Maybe try and perceive what specifically it is about the taste profile that changes for you. Maybe you perceive it as more or less salty, more or less umami.
I would think that the heat releases flavors or causes chemical processes in the cheese that produce additional aromas not present in the normal state. I have no idea and am not qualified in any way.
Doesn’t Maillard refer to the browning/toasting of foods though? I know there is some overlap like cheese browning on a pizza, but room temp cheese tastes better than cold. Genuinely curious and couldnt find any info myself
I’ll see if I can find any supporting articles, but IIRC, it has to do with the fats being softer or more reactive with your taste buds at warmer temps.