Cheese Wiz

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This year for the “Cheese Wiz” articles I want to delve into some of the best and biggest cheese cultures in the world. I thought I’d begin by laying down some ground rules about cheese. Of course there are exceptions, but these are things I believe cheese lovers should know. These rules have been developed over my time selling cheese but I have also taken several good points from others, especially the famous American Cheesemonger Steven Jenkins
   
First, cheese is living. I am not going to get too philosophical and say that cheese contains the soul of the animals and land that it comes from, although this may be true. Living is to say only that cheese is made of living things and once those things start to die the cheese will eventually spoil.
   
Second, find someone who knows about cheese and buy cheese from them. The cheese will be better if the person has a body of knowledge formed over years of experience. (Of course my first suggestion is The Better Cheddar!)
   
Third, the younger the cheese the milder the flavor. Mild is sometimes good and sharp is sometimes bad. It depends on what you are looking for.
   
Fourth, natural rinds are edible and are a matter of taste. But you also have to use common sense. For instance many hard cheese rinds are dirty or so hard you could break your teeth.
   
Fifth, keep cheese wrapped and in the fridge. A drawer always helps cheese retain moisture better than other parts of the fridge. I prefer plastic wrap but others like foil, paper or some kind of combination.
   
Sixth, the harder the cheese the longer you can keep it. A hard-aged Gouda will last months longer then a Brie.
   
Seventh, don’t freeze cheese. The texture of the cheese will be forever ruined if you do.
   
Eighth, the flavor profile of cheese is most fully developed at room temperature. Soft cheeses should be out for at least 15 minutes before serving and hard cheeses at least 30 minutes.
   
Ninth, if you are serving more then one cheese, mix textures, flavors and milk types. I believe that colors and shapes are much less important than these three elements.
   
Tenth, what matters most when pairing a cheese with wine is that one does not overpower the other.
   
Eleventh, Chevre is just the French word for Goat. So any goats milk cheese—hard or soft, fresh or ripened—can be called Chevre.
   
Twelfth, Roquefort is not a generic term for blue cheese. Roquefort is a French blue cheese that must be made from sheep’s milk and aged in the limestone caves located in Cambalou Mountain. Likewise, Gorgonzola is not a generic term for blue cheese. Gorgonzola is an Italian cows milk blue cheese made in the mountainous Lombardy region in the North.
   
Thirteenth, there are hundreds of different kinds of Swiss cheese and not all of them have holes.
   
If you as a cheese consumer can keep these things in mind your cheese experience will be an enjoyable one.