Serving cheese to your guests is one of the easiest things to do, especially with a little knowledge of what to serve.
Just like fruits and vegetables, cheeses vary with the seasons. When the animals are out to pasture between winter and summer, the cheeses usually taste wonderful. In general, winter milk is paler and nuttier, while summer milk is more floral and herbal.
All cheese is made from four ingredients: milk, salt, cultures and enzymes. A culture, like Lactobacilli, and enzymes, like rennet, cause milk to separate into curds and whey, thereby starting the cheese making process. The whey is then removed, the curds are smushed or pressed together, salt gets added, and, depending upon the cheese, it’s left to age or not.
Cheeses are categorized in various ways: by texture, age, milk types, and country of origin.
The category of cheese by texture includes soft, semi-soft, semi-firm, firm, hard and blue.
Lactic cheeses contain lactic acid, and do not go through a ripening process, or are only slightly ripened, and may or may not have their whey drained. These are ricotta, fromage blanc, goat cheese, cream cheese and mozzarella.
Aged lactic cheese are fresh cheeses that are allowed to age. Some are covered in ash, herbs, or spices and molded to be creamy but a little chalky. The most popular ones are made from goat’s milk such as Bucheron and Valencay.
Soft cheese includes both lactic and soft or surface-ripened cheeses. They might be bloomy rind cheeses; these are young cheeses that are ripened from their rind inward. They either have a Penicillium mold added to the starter cultures or have been sprayed with the mold to produce the soft, bloomy crust or rind. Brie, Camembert, Billat-Savarin and triple cream cheeses are some of these cheese..
Washed rind cheese, or surface-ripened cheeses, are brine-washed, or their rinds are moistened while ripening. These cheeses ripen from the outside in. They have reddish rinds with a pungent smell. Washed rind cheeses are high in moisture, creamy and oozier with age. Examples are Vacherin Mont D’Or and my favorite, Eppoisses.
Semi-soft cheeses have a high moisture content and have been aged for 3 to 8 months. These cheeses are easy to cut and melt easily. Young cheddar and young Gouda are semi-soft cheeses.
Semi-firm to firm cheeses have been aged for one year to 1-1/2 years. As they age, they become more flavorful with concentrated flavors, with a lower moisture content. Cheddar, aged Gouda, Gruyere, and Comte are in this category.
Hard cheeses have been aged a minimum of 18 months to 24 plus months. They have a crystal-like grittiness that breaks and flakes into shards when you cut them. Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, aged cheddar, extra-aged gouda, Doddington, Sbrinz, Piave, Grana Padano and aged Mimolette are hard cheeses.
Blue cheeses have bluish-green veins throughout, and have a strong, intense, tangy flavor. Maytag blue, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and Valeon are examples of blue cheeses.
When putting together a cheese course, first think about when you are serving it. If you are serving it as an appetizer, figure for 2 to 4 ounces per person; if serving after dinner, 1 to 2 ounces per person should be sufficient. Purchase a variety of cheeses, a semi-soft or soft like Camembert; a semihard that is salty, firm or crumbly; a washed-rind; and a blue, but less is better than more. Leave out cheese knives for your guests to cut the cheese. You can cut a few slices of the hard cheeses, but leave the rest whole so they won’t dry out. Rinds are edible and offer a lot of flavor so don’t cut them off.
If you are cooking with cheese, here is a guide for the best melting cheeses.
These are smooth when melted — great for sauces and dips:
• American
• Blue
• Brie or Camembert
• Cheddar
• Comte
• Edam
• Fontina
• Gouda
• Gruyere
• Havarti
• Monterrey jack
• Jarlsberg
• Muenster
• Raclette
• Swiss
These cheese a good on top of pizza as it becomes stringy and elastic when melted:
• Cheddar curds
• Mozzarella
• Oaxaca
• Provolone
These do not melt well:
• Cotija
• Feta
• Goat
• Halloumi
• Queso fresco
• Ricotta
Here is a recipe for herbed goat cheese that you can make with all the herbs you have planted in your container before your party:
Herbed Goat Cheese
Combine in a small bowl:
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coat evenly with mixture, pressing gently to adhere. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours:
1 3-ounce package goat cheese
Serve cheese with baguette slices or crackers.
So let’s have a summer party with a cheese course!
For wines, a full-bodied red wine is especially well-matched with the strongest and most pungent cheeses. Bon appetit!