Cheese Selection, Storage, and Pairing Guide
Expert Tips on Choosing, Storing, and Using Cheese
Cheese is a special product. It is great for daily consumption or cooking of different dishes, and maybe a refined delicacy for special occasions. Types of cheese exist so much that even the pickiest gourmet will find something to their liking.
But in spite of the external versatility of the product, you need to know the subtleties of choosing, storing, and using cheese. Today we will be told by a true expert - Olga Ternitskaya, owner of Cheese Fairy Shop, cheese-maker, co-founder of the Cheesbar.
Costless: Tell us what the main varieties of cheese are and what their main differences?
Olga: There are several categories of cheeses. I adhere to the distribution in the first place by the type of milk from which cheese is made. These can be cow, goat, sheep, and even buffalo cheese. The type of milk is very influential on the taste and characteristics of cheese. For example, goat cheeses are bright white, have more fat, and light goat flavor.
There is also a classification for the degree of maturation. Here, fresh cheese is distinguished (something between cheese and home cheese), mature (Camembert, Roquefort, Gorgonzola), semi-hard, and hard cheeses (Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Parmesan). Some still refer to a separate type of pickled cheeses (Feta, Brynza, Mozzarella).
С.: How to choose the cheese of each grade (what indicators, appearance, price to pay attention to)?
О.: Cheese can not be cheaper than 200 UAH per kilogram since 1 kg of cheese goes on average 10 liters of milk. When choosing a piece of cheese, it is worth paying attention to this fact in the first place. And of course, the lack of additives in the composition of the product itself: in addition to rennet and bacterial fermentation, the only salt that can be added to cheese!
As for the selection of young cheeses (white cheeses without crust), they should not have a pronounced animal odor, if it is, then this is an indicator of low-quality milk!
Features of the storage of cheese in the refrigerator
С.: How to keep the cheese at home?
О.: Keep cheeses at a temperature of 1-8 ° C. The lower the temperature in the specified range, the longer the cheese will be stored.
In a refrigerator, it is better to place it on the lower shelf, necessarily wrapped in a food film or parchment. This helps to prevent leakage of cheese by foreign smells and its drying (see the editor).
С.: What would you say about freezing cheese, it's a "sin", and how does it affect the quality of a product?
О.: As for freezing, let's answer the question: "Why do we eat food?" To get the necessary vitamins and trace elements, right?
But, after freezing, the nutrients lose their basic properties, not to mention the taste parameters.
In addition, today cheese is not a deficient product, so it is better to buy less, and if necessary (note editor).
С.: Can all cheeses be subjected to heat treatment, or do they lose their taste and beneficial properties?
О.: There is cheese, which melts well, most often it is cheese, which is already more than 3 months old. I think that there is nothing wrong with eating cheese.
Most often for pizza, fondue, and hot dishes use hard and semi-hard cheese, and that there was a catchy crust - Mozarella and Sulguni (note editor).
С.: Tell us, please, wine compatibility rules.
О.: Wine and cheese are a good alliance, but here you should rely on your taste and adhere to some rules: the younger the cheese, the easier and younger it should be. And vice versa, it's natural to pick up seasoned, fragrant cheeses with a sharp taste to the tarty seasoned wines.
And yet, there is the principle of localization: the wine is great for cheese from the same region, and magic happens!
There are also cutting rules:
- Сut the cheese into small cubes.
- Blue cheese is best cut into triangles.
- Solid cheeses do not cut, but break into pieces.
And in order to feel the smell and taste of cheese as much as possible, it is better to get it from the refrigerator somewhere an hour before serving (note editor).
Of course, there are still many subtleties associated with cheese, but we stopped today for the most basic and useful for each of us. We also recommend that you stick to rational consumption and buy exactly as much as you need. And where to buy the product you need is more profitable, you can always find out using the mobile app Costless!
