Cheese

This is the final entry on my cheese blog. I hope you have enjoyed reading the entries, as much as I have researching and writing them.

One of the most important things to do with cheese is try it! Everyone has different tastes and will like a different cheeses to others. It has to be tasted to be appreciated.

Cheese can be eaten as a snack and many can be used in cooking. They can add variety and flavour to any dish and the best thing to do is experiment.

Le Roule

Le Roule, with crackers

Le Roule is instantly recognisable from the fact it is hand rolled and filled with garlic and herbs. Made in a swirl pattern this soft cheese is made from cow’s milk.

Le Roule was created around 1980, due to an original idea. It was made for the first time in Britain in 1981 and then in Germany on 1982 and then al over the world.

One of the reasons that Le Roule became so popular was the fresh and distinctive taste. Made from milk, salt and without colouring and rennet; this cheese is suitable for vegetarians.

Port Salut Affine

Port Salut Affine, with crackers

Originally invented by Trappist monks in the 19th Century, Port Salut is made from pasteurised cow’s milk from Brittany.

It has a distinct orange crust with a mild flavour, and comes in discs approximately 9 inches in diameter and weighs around 5 Ibs.

Made in Brittany this cheese sometimes has a strong smell and this is due to the maturity. The smell of the cheese becomes stronger the longer is it left to mature. The smell does not affect the flavour.

Hand made Port Salut cheese or ‘Entrammes’ as it is sometimes known, is still produced in various monasteries throughout France.

Swiss Emmental

Swiss Emmental

Emmental or Emmentaler, as it is sometimes known, is made in Switzerland and originally came from the Emme Valley in the Canton of Bern.

It is a hard cheese made form cow’s milk. Know in North America, Australia and New Zealand as Swiss cheese, Emmental is not protected which means it is now widely available; France, Bavaria and Finland are all exporters of Emmentaler cheese.

It is a hard yellow cheese and is another cheese with large holes. Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Emmentaler and these are: Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus and Propionibacter shermani. In the later stages of the production P. shermani releases carbon dioxide, which in turn makes the bubbles that become the holes.

Dolcelatte

Docelatte, with crackers

An Italian blue veined cheese, made from cow’s milk, translates its name from Italian in to ‘sweet milk’ in English.

Dolcelatte is a soft cheese and was created by the Galbani Company and has a registered trademark. It was developed for the British market to provide a mild version of the traditional Italian blue cheese, Gorgonzola. Dolcelatte is milder in regards to the smell and the taste.

The production is similar to the methods used to produce Gorgonzola. One min difference is that it is made from the curd of only one milking and takes around two to three months to produce and age the cheese.

The fat content of Gorgonzola is lower than Dolcelatte, and the taste is comparable to dolceverde and torte gaudenzio cheese.

Cheese Platter

Choosing the cheese

As I mentioned before in a previous blog you need to select the cheeses that will have different flavours; at least one from each of the different milks, and then at least one of each different texture; soft, hard and semi soft.

You could also select cheeses depending on the theme you plan on having. You can choose them from a particular country or depending on a beverage they pair well with; such as champagne.

Buying the right amount

A general guide line is around 1 – 2 ounces of each cheese for every person you have coming over. This will allow them to sample all of the cheeses without over doing it on one in particular.

Accessories

When displaying the cheese you can use anything from a serving plate, to a plastic tray to a marble board. That is entirely up to you depending on what you have available. Be inventive!
Make sure you provide people with some form of cutlery so they may help themselves to the cheese.

Decoration

Research what goes well with the cheeses you have chosen. Grapes are an easy choice and also crackers. You may find buts and olives are better suited to your choices. Some fruits such as apples and pears go well with cheese but remember the presentation is also a must. Don’t just throw it all on a plate and leave it.

Norwegian Jarlsberg

Norwegian Jarlsberg, with crackers

This is made from a mild cow’s milk and originating from Jarlsberg, Norway this cheese is made with large irregular holes.

With a yellow way rind, and a firm yellow interior this cheese has a mild, nutty flavour which is also slightly sweet. Jarlsberg can be used for anything from cooking to eating as a snack. It has a creamy supple texture and in Norway, it is produced in limited quantities, and is aged for a minimum of one year and you are able to tell how old the cheese is by the size of the holes; the larger they are the older the cheese is.

The cheese is made using a part skimmed pasteurized milk and is cultured using the strict standards of excellence. It is a healthy cheese and provides quality protein and calcium with a relatively low fat content.

Cotswold Double Gloucester

Cotswold Double Gloucester, with chive and onion, with crackers

Gloucester cows are the almost extinct and were at one time the only cow’s milk that was used to make Gloucester cheeses.

There are two kinds of Gloucester cheeses; single and double. The main difference being that single Gloucester is made using skimmed milk and double using only whole milk.

Both types have a rind and a hard and natural texture, however, single Gloucester is slightly more crumbly, lower is fat and the texture is lighter. The double Gloucester is left to age for a longer period than the single and is a lot stronger and has a more savoury flavour.

The double Gloucester is firm and produced in a round shape, which is slightly larger than the single Gloucester.

The cheese I have chosen combines the flavours of the double Gloucester with pieces of chive and onion, which is a very popular pub cheese.

Ilchester Mexicana Cheddar

Mexicana Cheddar, with crackers

Made in Ilchester, Mexicana cheddar is made in with mild cheddar, mixed with jalapeno, bell and chilli peppers. The normal orange of the cheddar mixed with the bright colours of the extra ingredients makes it look as good as it tastes.

With a dominant aroma, as soon as the wrapper is removed, this cheese is a combination of a mild smooth and creamy cheddar and the fiery heat of chillies which makes your mouth water.

The Ilchester Cheese Company who produce this cheese are have also given us over 50 other different cheeses. Formed back in the 1960’s when the founder combined cheese and beer in an attempt to keep cheddar fresher for longer.

It can be purchased from the company’s websites and also at a deli counter.

Gruyere

Gruyere, with crackers

Gruyere is known as one of the best cheeses to use baking. With a distinct, but not overpowering taste it adds to the flavour without overshadowing any other ingredients.

It is a hard yellow cheese and is made from cow’s milk, with a sweet and slightly salty taste. However, the flavour varies depending on the length it is left to mature. When it is young the taste it described as creamy and nutty, but as it ages it becomes more complex. Left to mature anywhere between five months and a year it tends to develop holes and cracks which make it slightly grainy.

According to agricultural law, French Gruyere-style cheese must have holes, whereas Swiss Gruyere is a solid block. Gruyere is named after the town of Gruyere in Switzerland, but is made in a number of other places.

The AOC says the cellars that are used to mature the cheese must have a climate close to a natural cave. This is to ensure the cheese does not dry out and matures at the correct rate.

Parmesan

Grated Parmesan, with crackers

The term Parmesan is used as a common term for any cheese that imitates the true Parmesan. This is only allowed outside of Europe as the Parmesan name is protected.

It is a hard cheese and is cooked but not pressed. It is named after the area in Italy which produces it. These places include Parma, Reggiano etc. Parmigiano s the Italian adjective for Parma and the English use the word Parmesan as it is the French version.

Parmigiano-Reggiano, as it is known in Italy is made form cows milk and is mixed with naturally skimmed milk. The cheese is put in round wheels to retain its shape and left to mature, for around two years. The cow’s whose milk is used in production are traditionally only fed on grass or hay, and only natural whey is allowed at the beginning of production.

The taste of Parmigiano-Reggiano, is sharp and slightly gritty. Other version can have a slightly bitter taste.

One of the most popular uses for Parmesan is grating it over pasta, although it can be eaen in chunks.

Ricotta

Ricotta from Tesco's, with crackers

Ricotta is an Italian cheese made using either cow’s or sheep’s milk. It is made from whey, which is the liquid separated out of the curds when cheese is made. Most of the milks protein is removed when cheese is made but some protein remains; mainly albumin.

After it has been drained it is then called Ricotta. As it is made from whey rather than milk, technically it is not a cheese, it is a whey cheese.

It is a fresh cheese, and is not aged or ripened. It is slightly grainy and with a white appearance, Ricotta has a sweet taste. It has a similar texture to cottage cheese, and like other fresh cheeses it is highly perishable.

Although Ricotta mainly comes in a fresh form, it is also sold in other forms which ensure it has a longer shelf life. It can be baked, salted and smoked.

Ricotta can be used for grating or shaving and it is sold in wheels.

Camembert

Camembert, with crackers

A soft and creamy French cheese, Camembert was first made in the 18 Century in Normandy.

It is made from un-pasteurized cow’s milk and is ripened for at least three weeks. Produced in small rounds, weighing around 350 grams they are then wrapped in paper and packaged in thin wooden boxes.

When the cheese is fresh it is quite crumbly and hard, however, it ripens and becomes softer and more flavored as it ages.

It is thought that the Camembert was invented in 191 by Marie Harel, a farmer in Normandy, after a Priest from France gave him advice. The origin, however, is not known.

Before fungi were properly understood, the colour of the rind was a matter of chance, but from the early 20th Century it has been more commonly pure white.

Given to French Troops in World War II it became a part of the French Culture. It is now internationally known and many varieties are made around the world.

Cheese Platters

If the idea of creating your own cheese platter does not appeal there are plenty of alternative options.

One of the most obvious is to buy a platter. They can be brought from superstores, or any cheese shops in your area. I recently brought one at the supermarket and it contained cheese previously mentioned in this blog.

Mini French Brie,
Mature Irish Cheddar,
Dutch Edam,
Blue Stilton and
Wensleydale and Cranberry.

If you buy a cheese platter it is up to you to decide if there will be enough cheese for everyone. This may mean you will have to buy more.

Another option is to go in to a Cheese shop and ask them to help you devise a platter that will suit whatever occasion you are planning. You will be able to sample the cheese before you purchase them and they will be able to advise you on quantity.

You can also look on the web and have them delivered to your house. These vary greatly in prices and sizes.

Red Leicester

Red Leicester, with crackers

An English Cheese, Red Leicester is made in a similar way to Cheddar Cheese. It is slightly crumblier than cheddar and also coloured orange using annatto extract during manufacturing.

Named after the city of Leicester, and made from cow’s milk with a slightly nutty taste, it has reddish-orange rind with a powdery mould on it. With a mild flavour Red Leicester goes well with most food. It compliments fruit, crackers, pasta and also quiches.

Aged between four and nine months, the young Leicester’s will be very mild, as the cheese needs six months to develop a tang. The cheese was originally made on farms in Leicestershire with milk that was surplus, and was coloured with carrot or beet juice.

Feta

Feta, with crackers

Feta cheese is one of the most famous of all Greek products. It can either be made solely from sheep’s milk or with varying amounts of goat’s milk added.

Traditionally made in Greece, and the possibly the countries most well known cheese, is now protected by European commission Law, through Protected designation of Origin Legislation. It can only be made in Greece and sold as Feta. Similar white brined cheese’s can be found in Eastern Mediterranean and around the Black sea.

Feta, or Greek cheese, is a brined curd cheese and is traditionally matured in wooden barrels or tin casks at cheese making units, mainly found in Macedonia, Thrace and Epirus in Northern Greece.

The Greek word ‘feta’ comes from the Italian word fetta. Introduced to the language in the 17th Century, it refers to the method of cutting the cheese in to thin slices to serve on a plate.

Outside the EU, cheese’s that are sold with the name feta can also include cow’s milk, and can even be composed exclusively of cow’s milk.

With a slightly grainy texture, Feta is made in blocks and aged for several months. It is salted and cured in a brine solution, and dries out rapidly when removed. It ranges from soft to semi hard and the flavour can also range from mild to sharp. Be careful when choosing.

It is an important ingredient to a Greek Salad and can also be served cooked.

French Roquefort

Made from sheep’s milk, Roquefort Cheese is made in the South of France, using a process called ‘penicillium roqueforti’.

The mould was originally found in the caves where the cheese aged, however, now it is produced in laboratories to ensure the consistency of the cheese. French Roquefort is usually matured for anywhere between 4 and 9 months.

The cheese is white and crumbly with distinct blue/green veins, which provide a sharp tang. There is no rind which makes the exterior edible and slightly salty.

Exclusively made from the milk of the red Lacaune ewes, they spend their lives grazing on the plateau of Rouergue, Causses in the Aveyron, Roquefort is one of the best known blue cheeses. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, European Law dictates that only those cheeses matured naturally in the Combalou caves can bear the name Roquefort.

They are sold in wheels and weigh around 3kg. Each kilogram of cheese requires around 4.5 litres of milk, which means this cheese is high in protein and minerals; notably calcium and sodium.

The legend of Roquefort cheese is that a youth was eating his lunch of bread and ewe’s milk cheese, saw a beautiful girl in the distance and ran off to meet her. When he returned a few months later and the mould in the caves had transformed his cheese in to Roquefort. It is mentioned in history as far back as 79 AD.

With a creamy and soft taste this particular cheese goes well with nuts and figs.

Spanish Manchego

Made from sheep’s milk, Manchego cheese is made in the La Mancha region of Spain. It is only made form whole milk and is a rich semi, hard cheese.

It is aged in natural caves for around 3 to 6 months, with gives it a distinctive and slightly salty taste. Made in a barrel shape, with a 25cm diameter and being 12 cm thick this cheese weighs around 2kg.

Using Manchega sheep milk, this cheese is wrapped in sheets of woven esparto grass during the manufacturing stage which gives it an inedible rind.

During production stage the cheese is pressed using wooden boards and this leaves an imprint, giving it an earthy and unique appearance. Manchego cheese is usually a white colour, sometimes a pale yellow, and the rind is somewhere between light brown and dark grey.

The taste is very distinctive, slightly salty but not overpowering. It is very similar ot normal feta cheese, though it has a slightly chewier texture.

The Denominacion de Origen protects the cheese and controls its production, and ensre the exclusive use of milk from the Manchega sheep. They also dictate that the cheese must be matured for a minimum of 2 months.

The cheese is available in three different ages of maturity. You can have it
fresh,
when it has been matured for 3 to 6 months,
or mature where it has been left for a year.

Mozzarella

Mozzarella, with tomatoes

In Italian the verb mozzare means to ‘cut’. Mozzarella is made using spinning and then cutting, hence the name. Mozzarella is a generic term used for several different kinds of Italian cheeses.

It can be made from Buffalo or cows milk and is made from either pasteurised or un-pasteurised milk, as long as it is fresh. Milk buffalo milk is three times more expensive than cows milk so the price tag can be high. These animals are only herded in a few countries so the majority of Mozzarella is made form cow’s milk.

Buffalo milk is high in fat and is not easy to digest in its raw form. This means it is used primarily for cheese instead of as a beverage. Mozzarella contains 40 to 45 % fat, however, there are lower fat versions and skim versions available.

It is a soft cheese and due to its high moisture content it is usually served the day it is made. However, it can be sold in brine and be kept for a few weeks if in a vacuum sealed container. This cheese is not aged like most others. The process to make Mozzarella is called pasta filata, where the curds are heated in water until they form strings. This gives it its name of string cheese. They are then kneaded and stretched until smooth, and then they are formed in to round balls and served.

Fresh Mozzarella is generally white, but this can vary seasonally, and also depending on the animals diet; it can have a slight yellow tinge to it. If the cheese is low moisture it can be kept in the fridge for up to a month. You will find different varieties of Mozzarella on pizza, lasagne, etc.

Somerset Brie

Originally Brie was a French cheese, but different styles of Brie have evolved outside of the country. First made in the region it is named after, just outside of Paris, Brie is made of cow’s milk.

Served with fruit and as a dessert at the end of a meal Brie, is a soft cheese with a yellowish interior and a white layer on the outside.

The milk of soft cheeses is not heated during the production and Brie is made in round loaves with around a 36cm diameter. In Europe this cheese is not chemically treated and as made using pasteurised milk it should be kept in the fridge.

The cheese takes around 8 to 10 weeks to ripen and when buying Brie you should look for
softness,
a white exterior, although it may have reddish patches,
the interior should be a shade of yellow,
the cheese has a distinct smell which some like and other don’t,
it should also taste slightly nutty.

There are Brie’s made outside of France and I have chosen Somerset Brie.

Wensleydale with Cranberries

Wensleydale with cranberries, with grapes

Produced in a town in Hawes in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, this Wensleydale cheese is made in four different types.

Real Yorkshire Wensleydale – This is usually shaped in a variety of different moulds, pressed and preserved in wax.

Mature Wensleydale – Slightly harder than the others, this is the more highly flavoured versions of the Real Yorkshire Wensleydale.

Blue Wensleydale – With blue veins, this is again produced in many varieties and as well as being highly flavoured it is less salty than the classic Blue Stilton.

Smoked Wensleydale – This is cold smoked to produce a special tang and texture.

I have chosen Wensleydale with Cranberry. The pale colour of the cheese contrasts with the red cranberries and this allows for a full, natural and bitter-sweet flavour. This is one of the most popular fruit varieties.

Wensleydale, made from cow’s milk, is eaten young, normally matured for between a fortnight and three months, and the texture becomes crumblier with maturity.

Village Green Goats Cheese

Village Green Goats cheese, with crackers

Village Green Goats Cheese is made by Cornish Country Larder at their North Bradon Farm Dairy in Somerset. It is a cheddar style cheese, but made from different milk.

This cheese is made from goat’s milk, the name gives it away, and also reflects the green wax coating that is applied to the cheese; protecting it from moisture. It is a hard cheese made from pasteurised milk and is sold in loaf shapes.

It is sold at various ages, from anywhere between 3 and 18 months, and has a white colour under the wax, with a sweet nutty flavour that becomes more pronounced as it ages.

Goats cheese has more medium chain fatty acids in and this contributes to the tart flavour of the cheese.

Basic Cheese Platter

Three different cheeses are needed to make a basic platter. Each need represent a different milk type: cow, goat and sheep. Always keep in mind the flavour and texture.

This platter has three cheeses with different textures, but the flavours are mild to medium.

Gruyere
Made from cow’s milk, Gruyere is named after the town of Gruyere’s in Switzerland. With a hard texture, this cheese has a sweet but slightly salty flavour which varies in age. It is often described as being creamy and nutty when young and becoming more earthy and complex as it ages.

Humboldt Fog
Winning first place awards from the American Cheese Society, Humboldt Fog is made from goat’s milk by Cypress Grove Chevre, California. This cheese is creamy and light with a stronger flavour near the rind. The mould and ash rind are edible but they are fairly tasteless.

Istara
This cheese is made from sheep’s milk in the French Pyrenees. It has a semi soft texture and a slightly sharp, olive flavour.

Presentation and Garnish
Set a cluster of grapes in the centre of the platter and arrange the three cheeses evenly around it. Always aim the rind of the cheese at the centre so people can cut the cheeses easily. Place the crackers on the side of the plate of in a side basket.

Set the cheeses out half an hour before you wish to eat them, so that they are at room temperature. Ideally put out a different serving knife for each cheese.