We’re a nation of cheese lovers.
But, despite this adoration for the dairy product, it seems we may not be as clued-up as we should be.
Edward Hancock, founder of online cheesemonger cheesegeek, has revealed a few cheesy revelations that may surprise people.
It turns out there’s actually a correct way to eat a cheese board – as varieties should be consumed in a particular order.
What’s more, you should never store leftover cheese in cling film and certain types should never be melted.
Edward has shared some things to keep in mind below.
The correct way to eat a cheese board
Whatever the season, a cheese board always goes down a treat – but experts say there’s a specific order we should eat various types in.
Edward suggests starting with more delicate cheeses, before moving on to stronger ones.
He says: ‘Your palate is delicate, and it’s going to be doing gymnastics as it works its way through a cheeseboard. If you start with the blue cheeses or the punchy soft Brie style cheeses or washed rind cheeses, then there is no coming back from that. It’s a one-way street.
‘You want to start with the more delicate cheeses to ease yourself into it, so the fresh goat’s milk cheeses or British Territorial cheeses such as Lancashire and Cheshire.
‘If you have these at the end, you’ll think they are tasteless, but they aren’t, they are just more shy and need some one on one time up front.
‘I always start with these cheeses, and then move through to the more mature hard cheeses, then soft cheeses, finishing with blue cheeses and washed rind cheeses. If you then go back to the start, you will realise how much less you are getting out of the first cheeses you tried.’
You can eat (some) mouldy cheese
Mould on food usually means it’s time to pop the product in the bin.
But Edward says this isn’t always the case with cheese.
He explains: ‘Blue cheese is mouldy – the blue veins are actually mould – so it’s actively encouraged.
‘You can eat mouldy cheese. You will also find fluffy mould on the surface of many soft cheeses such as Vacherin and Rollright; embrace it, this is the beauty of artisan cheese, and it adds flavour and character.
‘You will often even find some blue moulds in traditional clothbound cheddars – this is because they are clothbound, which is an imperfect way of protecting the cheese during maturation.
‘If there are any gaps and cracks in the cheese, oxygen can get into it, and activate any blue mould spores – but in many cases it adds really interesting flavour and we would encourage giving it a taste. At the very least, you can cut it away and eat the rest of the cheese.
‘Having said all that, if you find mould on your supermarket cheddar, tread with more caution, as it isn’t meant to be there, so it probably won’t taste too good, and it has likely come from your fridge rather than the place where the cheese was maturing.’
Avoid melting these types
Whether it’s on pizza, in a pasta sauce or a baked Camembert, melted cheese is a gift that keeps on giving.
But Edward stresses not all cheeses are great for melting.
He continues: ‘You are going to really struggle to melt many styles of cheese as they just don’t break down smoothly, they tend to stay clumpy. Fresh goat’s milk cheeses, for example, as well as some of the fresher, younger territorial cheeses (Cheshire not the greatest melter, Lancashire far better).
‘Some of the world’s greatest melters are cheddar, of course (but not too aged) and the alpine cheeses (Comte, Gruyere, Raclette and Emmental). Ogleshield is a great British melter in the style of Raclette, but made in Somerset. And this is before we even get into baking a Camembert (try Tunworth from Hampshire with some garlic, rosemary and truffle honey) or a Vacherin.’
Best way to build a cheese board
Edward recommends building a cheese board with 4-5 different types, and having nice big chunks rather than tiny pieces.
He says: ‘Four to five options give you enough chance to showcase a different variety of cheese, such as hard, soft and blue, as well as perhaps a goat/sheep milk cheese and some different colours, such as the nettles of Yarg, or the orange of an Old Winchester.
‘I would tend to go for a semi-soft and semi-hard cheese to start with, such as St Helena and Kirkhams Lancashire, followed by a really big mature cheddar or aged gouda like Pitchfork or Old Winchester. Then finish with a soft cheese, like Baron Bigod and a blue cheese such as Stichelton.’
But Edward says he would change things up seasonally as well.
He adds: ‘So around spring, let’s get a fresh goat’s milk cheese in there up front, and in the middle of summer, a two-year Comte is hard to beat, or an aged Gruyere.
‘Maybe in the winter, you need a washed rinder in there, like Epoisses, or of course the most seasonal cheese of them all, Vacherin.’
Store leftover cheese like this
Edward says cheese should never be stored in cling film, instead it’s a good idea to keep the original wrapping.
This is so cheese doesn’t dry out, or sweats in less breathable materials.
‘Re-wrap in the paper you received it in (a specialist store will have used special cheese paper) and place it in a separate compartment (e.g. salad draw) of your fridge as cheese can take on flavour from other things. Also keep blues away from other cheeses, as they will try to turn everything else blue,’ he adds.
‘If you have a larder, even better. You want high humidity and a consistent temperature of around 6-8 degrees (or slightly higher at 10 degrees is fine if the cheese is whole/uncut).’
Choose white wine for pairings
While cheese and red wine is a go-to combination, Edward says that white vino is actually a better choice for many cheeses.
He states: ‘If I was taking one bottle of wine to a dinner party, and I knew there was going to be a cheeseboard, but didn’t know what the cheeses would be, I would take a bottle of slightly oaked Chardonnay. Malolactic fermentation (malic acid converting to lactic acid) that gives these wines a creamy, buttery flavour matches perfectly with the lactic acid (creaminess) in cheese.
‘If you’re adamant you want to stick with red wine, Pinot Noir and Gamay are two grapes that work really really well with a broad range of cheeses.’
Best chutney for cheese:
Caramelised red onion chutney – pairs well with a strong hard cheese like mature cheddar or strong blue cheese or stilton.
Tomato and chilli chutney – pairs well with smoked cheese or a hard cheese like red Leicester, mild cheddar or double Gloucester.
Plum and apple (or fruity) chutney – pairs well with white soft cheeses like brie, rind-washed cheeses like Epoisses or Morbier, or blue cheeses like stilton.
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Source: Read Full Article