Cheese

CHEESE

CHEESES One of the oldest foods known to

mankind. Appears from in everything,

breakfast, snacks to dessert. Starts with mammals milk: cows,

goats, sheep. Milk proteins, caesin are coagulated

with the addition of an enzyme, usually rennet found in cows stomachs.

Milk coagulates, separates into solid curds and liquid whey.

Drain the whey curds = fresh cheese to make ricotta or cottage cheese.

Kneaded and cooked cheeses are packed into molds and drained.

Salt or bacteria is added to give it flavor and allowed to ripen.

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Choose-Cheeses-for-a-Cheese-Plate-411070505

How its Made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmXAb3G0ek

INGREDIENTS Rennet According "the lining

membrane of the fourth stomach of the calf, used to curdle milk, as in making cheese”

Used to describe any enzyme used to coagulate milk, and rennin and chymosin are enzymes found in rennet.

Milk: Cow Goat Sheep: Pecorino

CHEESE-PLATE POINTERS

Serve 1 to 2 ounces of cheese per person.

Include a mix of fresh, aged, soft and hard cheeses.

Arrange—and sample—the cheeses starting with the freshest and lightest, ending with the ripest and most intense.

http://www.foodandwine.com/creating-the-perfect-cheese-plate

THEME ARRANGEMENT Select cheeses by REGION.

Example: tasting of French cheeses including accompaniments

Select cheeses by MILK. Example: All sheep, All goat, All cows milk

Select cheeses by LOCALE.Example: choose all local products including accompaniments.

Select a plate for DESSERT.Example: pair with all fruits, and mellow flavors to pair well with sweet accompaniments

Allow 30-45 min. to temper the cheese for full flavor.

Wrap in paper not, plastic wrap to breath the cheese.

WHEN TO SERVE?Starter Course: Awakens taste buds Choose cheeses at

room temp or fried or baked in a crust of walnuts or almonds.

Accompaniments: Cured olives Pickled vegetables Salted whole nuts Crunchy crudites Roasted or grilled veg. Chutneys & mustards Serve on informal

plate Serve w/ cocktails

MIDMEAL: TRASITIONAL Follows the entrée Included if you have

several courses. Shared with parties 3

or more or served on a smaller plate.

Usually paired with cocktails or wine/beer.

Cleans the palate. Choose cheeses that

are mellow in flavor non-robust.

http://www.eatwisconsincheese.com/pairings/default.aspx

END OF THE MEAL: IN PLACE OF DESSERT Use fresh cheeses w/

memorable flavors to end the meal.

Fruit: Use apples, dried fruits, jellies, pears, figs, berries.

Nuts: Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans, Candied nuts

Honeys & Reductions Pair w/ brandies, ports,

dessert wines, cordials.

CATEGORIES Textures: Fresh Cheese Semi-Soft Soft Ripened Firm Cheese Hard Cheese

FRESH CHEESES Uncooked/Unripened Fromage Blanc Mild, creamy with

tart tanginess. Cream Cheese: 35% Feta: salt brined Marcarpone: 70-75% Mozzarella: 45% Ricotta: 4-10% fat Queso Oaxaca: 45%

fat

SEMI SOFT CHEESES Include mild buttery

cheeses, smooth sliceable textures.

Moisture content of 40-50%. Aged from a few days to a

few months. Good for melting.

Cobrales: Spanish Gorganzola: Italy Gouda: Dutch Stilton: Great Britain Roquefort: France Port du Salut: France

SOFT-RIPENED CHEESES Distinguished by

their white "bloomy" rinds and creamy interiors

get softer instead of harder as they age. The best-known are

Brie and Camembert.

SURFACE-RIPENED CHEESES

Sometimes firm and sometimes molten.

Have similarly wrinkly rinds and intensely flavored interiors.

Special molds ensure that their exteriors ripen first.

FIRM CHEESES Not hard or brittle Aged from a few mo.

to few years & longer. Close-textured & flaky Moisture 30-40%

Cheddars: North America, Australia, Great Britain

Emmenthaler: Swiss. Gruyere: France Comte: France Manchego: Spain Provolone: Italy

HARD CHEESES Carefully aged for

extended periods Contain 30%

moisture Used for grating,

salads or table cheese

Salty sharp taste. Asiago Parmigiano-

Reggiano Pecorino Romano