Cheese: 101
Wine and cheese go together like, well, like wine and cheese. Yet, taking a trip to the local cheesemonger can be a bit tricky because there are just so many types of cheese. Cheese has been around for like 4,000 years and since people have been making cheese from cows, goats, sheep to buffalo and yaks. Here’s a crash course on CHEESE 101.
Most Popular Cheeses
Blue (Bleu): Noted for its white and blue-streaked markings, blue cheese has a soft and often crumbly texture.
Brick: A softer, yellow cheese available in slightly, soft-medium firm texture. Commonly available in sliced, and brick forms.
Brie: Has an outer edible white coating and a mild-strong creamy inside. Originally from France, brie is available in wedge and round shapes.
Camembert: Reputed to be the favorite cheese of Napoleon, Camembert cheese has a soft, yellow inside. Its outer coating is also edible and is usually a grayish-white color. This cheese takes from four to eight weeks to ripen.
Cheddar: Normal color is white to medium-yellow. Mild to very sharp taste. Firm smooth texture. Comes in numerous shapes and originated in England.
Cheshire: A semi-firm, mild creamy cheese, loosely textured and crumbly. The flavor of red and white are similar. The red is colored with natural vegetable dye from the seeds of the annatto tree and is the most expensive. They ripen within a few weeks.
Colby: A white to medium-yellow orange cheese. Has a mild to mellow flavor and has a soft texture similar to cheddar. It is available in cylindrical, pie-shaped wedges. Originated in the U.S.
Edam: Creamy yellow or medium yellow-orange cheese with a surface coating of red was. Has a mellow and nut-like flavor. Semi-soft to firm texture with small irregular shaped round holes. Milkfat content is lower than Gouda. Usually available in a cannonball shape. Originated in the Netherlands.
Feta: A curd cheese which is set in a very concentrated salt solution. Made from either goat’s or sheep’s milk. A sharp, salty cheese and usually found chemical-free.
Farmers Cheese: Similar to cottage cheese and pot cheese, but is pressed into a block form. Usually free of preservatives if bought in bulk from a Deli.
Gjetost: Golden brown colored cheese with sweet caramel flavor. Made from whey or goat’s milk. Has a firm buttery consistency. Available in cubes or rectangular pieces. Originated in Norway.
Gorgonzola: Has a creamy white inside, mottled or streaked with blue-green ribbons of mold and a clay-colored surface. Has a tangy, peppery flavor and a semi-soft crumbly texture. Similar to Blue cheese. If made from goat’s milk, it will be best.
Gouda: A creamy yellow or medium yellow-orange cheese that usually has a red wax coating and a nutlike flavor. Semi-soft to firm texture. Higher fat content than Edam cheese. Contains small irregular shaped or round holes. Comes in a bell shape with flat top and bottom.
Gruyere: A variation of Swiss cheese, but usually without the use of bleached milk making it higher in vitamin content. If mold inhibitors are added, the information will be on the label.
Limburger: Has a creamy white interior and a reddish yellow surface. It is a highly pungent cheese with a very strong flavor. Ripens in four to eight weeks and has a soft, smooth texture. Originated in Belgium, Germany.
Mozzarella: A creamy white cheese made from whole or partly skimmed milk with a firm texture. Available in small round, shredded or in slices. Originated in Italy.
Muenster: Has a creamy white inside and a yellow-tan surface. Mild to mellow flavor with a semi-soft texture. Contains more moisture than brick cheese. Available in wedges, blocks and circular cakes. Originated in Germany.
Mysost: A light brown cheese with a sweet caramel flavor with a buttery consistency. Available in cubical, cylindrical and pie shaped wedges. Originated in Norway.
Neufchatel: A white cheese with a mild acidic flavor. Has a smooth texture similar to cream cheese but lower in milkfat. Originated in France.
Parmesan: Creamy white cheese with a hard granular texture and sharp piquant taste. It has less of a moisture content and a lower milkfat level than Romano. Originated in Italy.
Port du Salut: A creamy yellow cheese with a mellow to robust flavor. Has a buttery texture with small holes. Comes in wedges or wheels. Originated in France.
Provolone: Has a light creamy interior with a light brown or golden yellow surface. The flavor is mellow and has a smooth texture. May have coloring added and is usually salted or smoked. Originated in Italy.
Ricotta: A normally white cheese with a somewhat sweet, nutlike flavor. Usually made from cow’s milk, whole or partially skimmed with or without whey and resembles cottage cheese.
Romano: A yellow-white cheese with a greenish-black surface and a sharp flavor. It has a hard granular texture and is available in wedges or grated. Similar to Parmesan but made with whole milk giving it a higher fat content. May contain a number of preservatives. The best is made from sheep’s milk. Originated in Italy.
Roquefort: Has a white creamy interior and may be marbled or streaked with bluish veins of mold. Usually made of sheep’s milk and has a peppery flavor with a semi-soft crumbly texture. Originated in France.
Stilton: Has a creamy white inside with streaks of blue-green mold. Made with cow’s milk and milder than Gorgonzolaor Roquefort. The texture is semi-soft and is more crumbly than Blue cheese. Originated in England.
Swiss: A light yellow cheese that has a sweet nut-like flavor and a smooth texture with a variety of different size holes. It has a good firm texture and is available in rectangular forms and slices. Originated in Switzerland. May use bleached milk to give it the yellow color. This will reduce the vitamin content. One ounce equals 105 calories.
Tilsit: Has ivory to yellow semi-soft interior. Made from raw milk and ripened for about five months. Originated in Germany.
How To Buy Cheese:
- Be Bold, Be Brave – ask questions, ask to try a slice, ask what is in season, yep, cheese has seasons!
- The Nose, Knows — smell your cheese. If it smells sour or like a barnyard it is past its prime.
- Crack is Wack — if the cheese is cracked or starting to dry up around the edges, just say no.
- Taste Test — ask for a slice and also ask for wine pairings too.
- Treat Your Cheese Well– Your cheese was made by hand with love, so when you take it home be sure to wrap it in wax paper, plastic wrap or foil and store in a humidity controled door. Never FREEZE your CHEESE.
How To Build the Perfect Cheese Plate:
There are five cheese types and you will want to draw from each to build the perfect cheese plate. The five styles of cheese are: fresh, washed-rind, bloomy, pressed, and blue. Then add some palate-cleansers (olives, nuts, bread) and flavor-enhancers (honey, quince paste, fruit preserves, or aged balsamic).
Fresh cheeses are soft, mild-tasting and creamy: Anything without a distinct rind is considered a fresh cheese. They range in flavor and texture from fresh mozzarella, ricotta, or goat cheese to salty brined feta.
Washed-rind cheeses are bathed in liquid, whether beer, wine, or water to encourage the development of helpful bacteria that add tons of complex flavor. Meunster’s the most common washed-rind cheese available here; you might also see Taleggio or Raclette in your store.
Bloomy cheeses are rich and intense, with creamy insides and a semi-firm, edible white rind. Brie, traditionally made with raw milk. Other favorites are Brillat-Savarin, Pierre Robert, or the super-runny St. Marcellin.
Pressed cheeses are firmer, with harder rinds. Most hard and semi-hard cheeses fall into this category, from Parmigiano-Reggiano, Romano, and Asiago, to Cheddar, Gouda, and Gruyere. Their flavors are all over the map — Parmigiano-Reggiano is deep and nutty; aged Gouda is butterscotchy and young is creamy; and Cheddar can taste like anything, depending on its age.
Blue cheeses are shot through with veins of penicillin. They’re usually creamy, sometimes with a salty crunch in spots. Stilton and Maytag Blue are classics, as is Roquefort, but check out Cabrales for truly complex flavor or mellow, nutty Fourme d’Ambert.
We hope that this post will help you “cut” the cheese. Get it. “Cut” the cheese. Sorry, had to insert at least one bad joke!
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