Life is Great! Cheese just makes it better
C.H.E.E.S.E …
India does not have a strong culture of cheese except for paneer which is ubiquitous despite its roots in the northern parts of the country. Many of us have not even heard of cheese varieties from other parts of India. Sikkim has its chhurpi made from buttermilk, Tibet has churu from yak milk, Kashmir its roti-shaped kalari, bandel from West Bengal, and a rare topli nu paneer (aka Surti paneer) which is not paneer despite its name but milk curdled with rennet instead of an acidic medium.
Indians have, however, now become more familiar with international varieties of cheese especially with the opening up of markets and easier availability of produce from all over the world. This is a small attempt at demystifying this delectable must-have.
Even as far back as the times of Julius Caesar, hundreds of varieties of cheeses were being made. Murals of cheese have been discovered in Egyptian tombs as old as 4000 years. It might be surprising to know but the common varieties that we are familiar with now such as gouda, cheddar, and parmesan are merely babes-in-the-woods and were created only 500 years ago. Europe has had a strong tradition of cheese-making and immigrants from the continent introduced this food to the Americas.
Loosely, there are seven categories of cheese but many types can belong to more than one of these categories: fresh, semi-soft, semi-hard, hard, bloom-ripened, washed rind, and blue. They are made mainly from cow milk, goat milk, or sheep milk. All these milks lead to cheese with a different inherent quality. For instance, cheese made with goat milk is suitable for those with lactose intolerance and is less fatty than cow or sheep cheese. It has a somewhat tangy taste of its own. Cheese made with sheep milk is the richest as it is fattier than the other two. Cow cheese is sweeter and creamier and allows the cheesemaker to experiment and create newer varieties.
The environment of the milk-producing animals also plays a big part in the end-result. The altitude, the grass the animal eats, the soil of the area, even the season … all have a vital role in the eventual taste a cheese has.
AGE IS OF NO IMPORTANCE UNLESS YOU ARE A CHEESE: Billie Burke
So, to get on with it:
FRESH:
These cheeses are consumed fresh and are not aged. They are mild in taste and moistly creamy and have no rind. Examples of this variety are goat cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, and feta.
SEMI-SOFT:
These have thin rinds and range from mild-tasting to pungent. Some of the semi-soft cheeses can fall in other categories too. For example, some semi-soft cheeses can belong to the blue cheese category as well. A young Gouda cheese also fits into the semi-soft category. These cheeses are perfect for dishes that need the cheese to melt such as fondues and grilled sandwiches.
SEMI-HARD:
These cheeses are made by putting the curds into moulds and aging them for months. They can be semi-firm to fairly firm in texture and have rinds that can be natural, waxed, or made with cloth. Since they are firmer than semi-soft cheese, they naturally have lesser moisture. Cheddars, some Goudas, and sheep milk cheeses fall in this category.
HARD:
Cheeses from this category are matured for many months, sometimes even years. They have complex flavours and are salty and nutty. As they are hard they are suitable for grating. When heated, some of these have an elastic consistency. Gruyere, Emmental, the Italian Asiago, and Parmigiano-Reggiano are examples of this category.
BLOOM-RIPENED:
These are surface-ripened or soft-ripened cheeses and have a rind that is fuzzy-white. A solution of edible mould spores is sprayed on the cheese and it is then left in a humid area for the mould to grow and form the rind. The mould also breaks down the fats and proteins in the cheese and makes it soft and creamy. The popular cheeses of this category are Camembert and Brie.
WASHED RIND:
These are the so-called ‘stinky’ cheeses. They have an orange rind and have a rather pungent smell. However, despite the smell some of these cheeses may have a mild taste. The strong odour comes from the rind which is formed when the cheese is washed many times with brine or any alcohol (beer, brandy, wine) which ripens the rind by creating a damp environment that nurtures the rind-developing bacteria. Some kinds of cheese with washed rinds may have a strong salty flavour because of the brine used. Munster, Stinking Bishop, Gruyère (when ripened), and Epoisses are varieties of washed rind cheeses.
BLUE:
Blue cheeses, as the name says, have blue or green veins running throughout. These veins develop when the penicillium mould is injected into the cheese at various developmental phases of its aging process. The injecting lets oxygen into the cheese and allows the mould to grow. They are then allowed to ripen in controlled environments that used to be caves in earlier times! In fact, Roquefort cheese is still ripened in caves like in ancient times! Blue cheeses have a strong odour and a sharp salty taste. Apart from eating as is, they can be crumbled and used for cooking too as they melt well. Apart from the French Roquefort, the other well-known blue cheeses are Stilton from England and Gorgonzola from Italy.
LOVE COMES IN MANY FORMS: SHREDDED, SLICED, MELTED...
Cheese is an ideal combination with wines. There is a reason why a certain cheese goes well with Wine A and not Wine B. When choosing a cheese while popping a bottle, keep these things in mind:
A strong-flavoured wine will overwhelm a mild cheese. So, as a thumb rule, light wines with young mild cheeses and heavier full-bodied wines with mature cheeses! According to another school of thought ‘the rule is there are no rules!’ What works for one may be blasphemy for another. So basically don’t over-analyse; wine and cheese is about experimenting and having fun while you’re at it.
WHO NEEDS A FRENCH MAN WHEN THERE IS FRENCH CHEESE: HALF AS STINKY AND TWICE AS SMART: STACY BALLIS
