cheese bible

FIELD GUIDE TO CHEESE
All you wanted to know about cheese, from the people who know about it the most: our Gourmet Food Store Cheese Experts - who live, breathe, and well, eat cheese. Our mission: to transform you into a bona-fide cheese connoisseur faster than you can say “fromage” (that would be French for cheese). So study up (and feel free to eat your study aids)

Simple Beginnings
Who would have thought moldy Camembert and gooey Brie all come from the same place? Although there are a myriad of cheese-making processes, cheese basically begins with fresh milk that is thickened and separated into water (whey) and hard milk (curd - the heaviest part). Regardless of the finished product, all cheese is born in the same way. The curd is what we actually consume, after it has been drained, pressed and/or processed. At this stage the different varieties of cheese arise, as the curd is shaped, ripened, heated, orinjected with mold, and is subjected to dozens of different processes which will determine what kind of cheese it will become.

Growing Old
The aging of each cheese (also known as affinage) can vary dramatically from cheese to cheese, from weeks to decades. Rule of thumb: The more time cheese is left to age, the stronger, more acidic, saltier, and harsher the flavor. So, conversely, a very ‘young’ cheese – one which has only been aged a few weeks or so - will be much milder and more subtle-tasting.

Cheese Categories
The astonishing variety of cheeses, as well as the immensely different ingredients, washes, molds, and processing methods used to make this delicacy can make categorizing cheese a Herculean task. We offer a simple, straightforward classification method to simplify cheese identification and give you some insight into this complex food. There will be many cheeses that fall into several different categories, but one predominant trait that will ultimately define it. Case in point: although blue cheese can be hard, soft, or made from cow, goat, or sheep’s milk, it will be first and foremost categorized as a blue cheese.

Bloomy Rind Cheese The rind of this cheese forms by allowing mold to grow naturally on the surface while it is aged. The rind protects the pâté (interior of the cheese) from the outside environment, temperature variations and premature aging. This particular characterization stems from the snowy peaks formed on the outside rind. Typically, bloomy rind cheeses are made of cow’s milk, resulting in a very creamy and very soft pâté. A quick aging endows it with a very mild and subtle flavor, easy-going even to the most sensitive palates. Examples: Brie, Camembert. Wine Selection: Wines high in acidity, such as full-bodied whites, or low tannin young reds. Beaujolais, Chardonnay, dry Riesling. Washed Rind Cheese A first-cousin of the bloomy rind family. The rind is cleaned and brushed off, which causes the cheese to age more quickly enhancing the flavor and acidity of the cheese and creating a bolder, more noticeable tang. The rind can be washed with different solutions - anything from brine, to beer or wine - to enhance the flavor. Although the pâté is similar in texture to the bloomy rind cheese, very supple and creamy, Washed Rind cheeses are significantly more visually striking, ranging from deep rustic reds to muted oranges. They have a longer aging period usually ranging from 6-8 weeks, and a longer shelf life (5-6 weeks). Examples: Livarot, Pont L’Eveque, Epoisses, Taleggio. Wine Selection: Robust reds. Pinot Noir, Chateauneuf du Pape. Triple Cream Cheese Rich cream is blended together with thickened milk to create this category of incredibly smooth and buttery cheeses. There’s really very little difference in the process of making triple cream and bloomy rind cheeses; both are aged about two weeks to preserve a very silky texture, and a thin snowy rind is usually allowed to develop as well. It is the addition of cream what gives this cheese its distinct thick and rich consistency. In order to qualify as such, triple cream cheeses must have at last a 65%-75% fat content, to ensure that smooth texture. As with other cheeses of short aging, triple cream cheeses have a flavor is mild and subtle with an unpronounced aroma. Examples: Brillat Savarin, Explorateur, St. Andre. Wine Selection: Sweet, full-bodied red wines. Shiraz. Blue-Veined Cheese Blue cheese gets its intense color and pungent flavor from injections of Penicillium roqueforti or penicillium glaucum spores. This creates spidery blue veins that web across the pâté, and give blue cheeses their characteristic blue/green color and moldy taste. Along with the penicillium, air is also injected which causes the cheese to develop a very high acid content, and strong flavor. The long aging period - typically three months - causes the cheese to become more solid and consistent, but, during injection, the cheese is kept in motion to produce that beloved crumb-like texture. No two blues are ever alike: they can range from piquant and pungent to fragrant and mild. Case in point: French Roquefort cheese and British Blue Stilton, two of the most lauded blue cheeses, are made from entirely different kinds of milk (sheep and cow). Examples: Roquefort, Stilton. Wine Selection: Smooth whites for excellent contrast. Sauternes. Fresh Cheese All cheeses begin their path in life as a fresh cheese and later evolve into more complex products. Fresh cheese takes us down to basics, cheese at its very origins. After the whey and curd have been separated and the curd is slightly drained and pressed, fresh cheese remains unprocessed. There is no rind, no added flavors, mold, or heat. The result: a product that is very soft with a very mild and almost flat taste. Fresh cheese is aged for an extremely short period of time, about a week. Some generic examples include cream cheese, and the very blend-able cottage cheese. The decidedly simple and uncomplicated flavors of fresh cheeses make them great cooking bases, as they are very receptive to other flavors. Examples: Cabrette. Wine Selection: Crisp wines with a fruity tang, dry rosés and whites. Cabernet Franc. Goat Cheese/ Chèvre Also known as “chevré” (unsurprisingly, French for goat), goat cheese is characterized for its stark white color and sharp flavor. Devotees swear by its excellent and complex taste, its acid and intensely salty architecture. The art of goat cheese production is remarkably ancient, perfected in the mountains and desert regions around the world, where the terrain and temperatures made cow rearing cumbersome. It is unprocessed and aged for a very short amount of time (2 weeks), and often contained within an edible rind. A staple of the Mediterranean diet, it is popularly paired with fruits and walnuts, or often with honey. Goat cheeses can range in taste from strong and pungent, to delicate and mild. They come in a variety of presentations, such as cylindrical, log-shaped (also known as bûche), conical and disc-shaped, and a texture that varies from creamy to semi-firm. Examples: Crottin, Caprifeuille or Le Chevrot. Wine Selection: Light red wines, dry fruity white wines. Pinot Grigio. Hard Paste Cheese Hard paste cheeses undergo a complete pressing, removing all the water and moisture from the product, to obtain a hard and heavy cheese (they must contain a water content of less than 40%). As far as texture, they are granular and dry, very solid and heavy. Hard paste cheeses vary tremendously: pungent, sharp, aromatic, piquant; cooked, semi-cooked or uncooked; stark white, rustic yellow, rich ochre, brilliant orange or sober brown. The aging period must be extensive, typically over two years. They are covered with a very hard rind, which solidifies as it ages. Examples: Tête de Moine, Manchego, Mimolette, or Parmigiano. Wine Selection: Dry full-bodied reds. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot.