Know your Cheese

CHEESE 101

Know Your Cheese
• Cheese was invented by accident by Mesopotamians around 7000 BC. Milk was left in an animal hide. It ended up spoiling and creating cheese!
• Cheese is the dinner of choice in many parts of the world. One pound of cheese has the same nutritional value as ten pounds of milk.
• Mozzarella is the most popular cheese in the world because of the United States and our obsession with pizza. Also, it is easy to digest because of the cultures.
• There are 894 varieties of cheese in France alone.
• Goat milk cheese has a distinct taste because of a goat’s diet. They eat anything and everything, giving their cheese a goaty flavor.

Care For Your Cheese
• Always taste a cheese before you buy it, even if you have tried the cheese a hundred times before. And don’t write a cheese off just because you tried it once and didn’t like it. Try it again; each batch is different.
• Keep a cheese journal. Write down what you thought of specific cheeses so you can buy the good ones again in the future.
• Most cheese rinds are edible. Whether you choose to eat it is just a matter of personal preference.
• Don’t be scared of mold. It actually makes cheese better! If your cheese starts to mold, cut off the green and the rest is still good.
• Dairy absorbs flavors. When storing cheese in the fridge, make sure to wrap it in a paper bag or tin foil so other flavors in your fridge won’t infiltrate it. Store certain cheeses in water, such as feta and fresh mozzarella.

Share Your Cheese
• When preparing a cheese course, check the weather. Light cheese is refreshing for warm weather and heavy cheese is comforting for cold weather.
• Drink milk in between cheeses to cleanse your palette.
• Pairing cheese with wine is easy. Just serve a wine that is from the same region as the cheese. For example, pair a French goat cheese with a Rhone valley red or Chimay cheese with Chimay beer. If Belgian monks are doing it, you know it’s a good combo.