Cheese Category
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Our early ancestors probably discovered cheese when they first used animal stomachs to carry milk. An enzyme in the stomachs called rennet would have caused the milk to curdle and separate into cheese and a watery liquid called whey. People have been tinkering with that basic recipe ever since then, and there are now hundreds of different kinds of cheeses.
Cheese-makers impart different flavors and textures into their cheeses by using different milks, adding various bacteria and molds, aging for different lengths of time, and so forth. The pâte, or inner portion, of a cheese is normally encased in a rind. Natural rinds can be covered or mottled with mold, and they're often edible, though many people find them bitter and salty. Waxy rinds shouldn't be eaten.
Always bring a table cheese to room temperature before serving it--the flavor is much better.
Younger cheeses tend to be mild, soft, and moist. As cheeses age, they become more pungent, hard, and crumbly.
Many cheeses become rubbery when cooked too long or at too high a temperature. If you plan to cook with a cheese, select a heat-tolerant one like mozzarella or Emmental.
It's usually best to store cheese in its original packaging. If the cheese has been cut, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to hold in the moisture. If it hasn't been cut, wrap it first with waxed paper and then with plastic wrap--this allows the cheese to breathe.
Store cheese near the bottom of the refrigerator, where temperature fluctuations are minimal. Harder cheeses have a longer shelf life than soft, moist ones.
Most cheeses don't freeze well. One exception is Mozzarella.
Just as you'd ask your fishmonger "What's fresh today?" ask your cheese provider "What's ripe today?" Under-ripe cheeses haven't fully developed their flavor, while overripe cheeses become acidic and unpleasantly pungent. Some overripe cheeses develop a strong ammonia smell.
If a small amount of mold forms on the surface of a cheese, cut it off along with a half an inch of cheese on all sides of it. If mold forms on a fresh or soft cheese, or if there's a lot of it on a firmer cheese, throw the cheese out.
Many lactose-intolerant people find that they can tolerate low-lactose cheeses like cream cheese, cottage cheese, Mozzarella, and Provolone.
Cheese doesn't pair well with citrus or tropical fruits.
Cheese is usually made with pasteurized milk, which has been heated to remove harmful bacteria. Unfortunately, pasteurization also destroys friendly bacteria and enzymes, though some of these can be added back artificially once the milk is pasteurized. Some producers make cheese with raw (unpasteurized) milk, believing that this gives their cheese richer microflora and better flavor and textures.
Varieties:
Fresh Cheeses, Soft Cheeses, Semi-soft Cheeses, Semi-firm Cheeses, Firm Cheeses, Blue Cheeses, and Processed Cheeses.
Cheeses can also be classified according to the type of milk used. Richest and creamiest of all are cheeses made with sheep's milk. Cheeses made with cow's milk have less butterfat, but they're usually cheaper than those made with sheep's milk. Goat's milk lends cheese a tangy, earthy, and sometimes barnyard flavor.
Vache Qui Rit
This French cheese comes in wedges or squares.
Vacherin
This is a cheese-lover's cheese, with a complex nutty flavor. It's a good melting cheese that's often used to make fondues. Try heating it a bit and serving it with crusty French bread.
Valdeon
This Spanish blue cheese is pungent enough to be interesting without being overpowering. It is usually made with cow's milk but can be made from mixture of cow, sheep and goat milk. It's a good snacking cheese for adventurous guests.
Vasterboten cheese
This hard cow's milk cheese has a strong flavor and is popular in Sweden.
vegetarian cheeses
When making cheese, milk is curdled with the help of rennet, an enzyme that occurs naturally in the stomach of animals. Many vegetarians object to eating cheese made with natural rennet, since its production involves the slaughter of animals. Fortunately, a lot of fine cheese is now made with vegetable rennet, which is derived from fungi, bacteria, or plants. Unfortunately, the type of rennet used isn't always marked on the cheese label. Some stores help out by adding their own labels.
washed-rind cheese
As they ripen, these cheeses are washed with a liquid. The moisture encourages the growth of bacteria, giving the cheese a strong odor and flavor. Many of these cheeses are soft or semi-soft and have sticky, reddish-orange rinds, which most people consider too pungent to eat. It takes a strong wine like a Burgundy or Pinot Gris to stand up to most of the cheeses in this category. Beer works, too. This category includes Limburger, Muenster, Maroilles, Langres, Epoisses, Tallegio, Abondance, Urgelia, Epoisses, Pont l'Evêque, Mahon, Reblochon, Port Salut, and Livarot.
Wensleydale
This is a fairly mild English cheese. It was originally made from sheep's milk but is now made from cow's milk.
Whey is the watery part of milk that remains after the formation of curds.
whey cheeses
Most cheese is made from curdled milk that has been drained of the watery whey. Not wanting to waste the nutrient-rich whey, our ancestors discovered that they could extract more cheese from it by cooking it until the remaining proteins coagulated. Examples of modern-day whey cheeses include ricotta, Gjetost, Manouri, Mizithra, and Requeson.
Yak cheese castes a little like cheddar cheese.
yogurt cheese
This is a soft, tangy, and nutritious cream cheese substitute.