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Curds
& Wow! [ BY
ANN HAIGH ]
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SIDEBAR |
A
CHEESE PRIMER
Most
cheeses derive from milk (usually cow, sheep or goat), jolted by
a "starter" culture, then thickened by the addition of
rennet (animal or vegetable) until it separates into curds (semi-solids)
and whey (liquid).
Farmstead
cheese: Made by using only the milk from the cheese-maker's
own herds.
Artisanal
cheese: Made by hand, in small quantities, with respect
for cheese-making traditions; frequently farmstead, but sometimes
using others' known herds.
Fresh:
Unripened or slightly ripened curds (ricotta, farmer, cottage, mascarpone).
Ripened
(aged): The drained curds are curedÑby heat, bacteria
and soaking. Salt, spices and herbs or natural dyes (certain cheddars)
may be added. Aging in a controlled environment begins.
Soft-ripened
(bloomy rind): The surface is exposed to molds, ripening
the cheese from the outside in, to form thin, velvety rinds (brie,
camembert).
Washed-rind:
Frequently orange, rinds washed or rubbed with brine, wine, beer
or brandy (pont l'eveque, tallegio, Spanish mahon).
Natural-rind:
Self-formed thin rinds, no molds or washing (English stilton, mimolette,
tomme de savoie).
Blue-veined:
Inoculated or sprayed with spores to create veins and pockets of
bluish-green mold (stilton, roquefort, gorgonzola, Maytag blue).
Uncooked,
pressed: Curds not cooked but pressed to obtain a firm
texture (cheddar, morbier, mont asio, manchego).
Cooked,
pressed: Curd cooked before pressing (parmigiano reggiano,
gouda, gruyere).
Raw-milk
cheese: Made with unpasteurized milk (parmigiano reggiano,
Swiss gruyere, French roquefort, traditional cheddars).
Hard:
Cooked, pressed and long-aged (parmigiano reggiano, pecorino)
Semifirm:
Cooked and pressed, but not so long-aged, not crumbly (edam, jarlsberg).
Semisoft:
Either cooked or uncooked, soft, but sliceable (gouda, tilsit, monterey
jack).
Processed
cheese: Some amount of cheese cooked together with dyes,
gums, emulsifiers and stabilizers (American cheese, Laughing Cow,
rambol).
Imitation
cheese: You got it.
For
more information on cheese and book titles, get in touch with the
American
Cheese Society (P.O. Box 303, Delavan, Wis.,
53115, 262/728-4458 ).
--
A.H.
ENJOYING
CHEESE AT HOME
To
wrap or not to wrap isn't the question. Whether 'tis better to use
plastic, foil or waxed paper (or plastic/glass containers) sparks
conflicting opinions. Whichever
you choose, store cheese in your refrigerator's vegetable hydrator
and bring to room temperature before serving.
If
you unwrap a piece, discard that covering and use fresh material
to rewrap. Hard cheeses need to retain moisture and last longer.
Soft cheeses need to breathe but still die faster.
Never freeze.
The
best advice: Always buy only as much cheese as you will use in no
more than two weeks.
--
A.H.
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Hold
the Laughing Cow, Kraft singles, Philly Cream and Velveeta. Fast-forward
through our '70s flirtations with baked brie, bel paese and dilled
havarti, then our '80s addiction to triple-cream French cheeses
and saga blue.
There
were, of course, those lean years, when part-skim mozzarella slid
into our nation's refrigerators. Now, though, post-'90s, having
muscled past near-terminal fatphobia (possibly with a little assist
from Dr. Atkins), Americans are exulting in the cult of soulful,
specialty cheeses -- frequently artisanal, and increasingly esoteric.
After
fine spirits, ever finer wines, connoisseur cigars and orgasmic
chocolates, cheese looms large as a blockbuster obsession. At last,
our well-traveled palates have grasped European passions for cheese.
Of course, never before have we had such vast access to global cheeses.
It
started in 1996, when Steven Jenkins, a New York City-based cheese
purveyor, published "Cheese Primer" (Workman Publishing
Co.), putting the great cheeses of the world into play as major
"foodie" icons.
Profiling
everything from abondance (a partially skimmed French cow's milk
cheese) to wensleydale (a pasteurized cow's milk cheese from Yorkshire,
England), Jenkins pointed Americans toward such then-obscure items
as crottin de chavignol ("spicy, nutty flavor"), Spanish
idiazabal ("with overtones of smoke and balsam") and Italian
robiola piemonte ("slightly tart, mild, lactose-sweet flavor").
Enthusiasts,
book in hand, raced into specialty-food shops, demanding these lyrically
described sensations. Since then, international cheeses roll in
tidal waves over our shores. (For explanations of basic terms, see
"A Cheese Primer," right.)
At
the same time, production of domestic artisanal cheeses continues
to skyrocket. Laura Werlin, author of "The New American Cheese:
Profiles of America's Great Cheesemakers and Recipes for Cooking
With Cheese" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang Inc., 2000), counts 147
American artisanal cheese-makers in 2001, up from 85 in 1999. Not
only are these cheeses intensely tended to, but also narratives
about the makers' honest lifestyles increase interest.
Who
can resist a cheese with handwritten notes on the label, recording
the date, weather, cave temperature and maker's mood at the time?
Or those evocative names: Humboldt Fog, Dancing Winds Farm, Wabash
Cannonball and Sea Stars Goat Cheese (each disk embellished with
home-grown edible flowers).
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The
Cheese Course Returns
The
recent New York City opening of Artisanal, chef Terrance Brennan's
new cheese-themed bistro, heralds cheese's triumphant re-entry into
the restaurant world. In addition to a bistro menu, it offers more
than 200 cheeses, a 14-square-foot ripening cave, a retail counter,
wine and cheese flights, plus endless other cheese treats. Earlier
on, elaborate cheese carts led a charge to capture American diners'
interests, but it's the sheer scale of Artisanal's concentration
that has everybody talking, watching -- and catching a trickle-down
enthusiasm for cheese.
However,
don't expect anything like Artisanal to open here (or, probably,
anywhere else). Nor will a cheese cart be rolling soon toward your
table locally.
Donna
Barsotti used to feature a cheese board at her restaurant, The Common
Plea, but the Allegheny County Health Department regulations made
it too much hassle, she says. ACHD follows Federal Food and Drug
Administration guidelines, says spokesman Guillermo Cole: Cheese
must be stored at 41¼ or below. A restaurant can bring a cheese
to room temperature once it's ordered or put in place a tag system,
recording the time it comes out of refrigeration. But after four
hours outside the fridge, it's discard time. That's high-cost waste.
Still,
the contemporary cheese course can take many guises: In increasing
numbers, Pittsburgh chefs and restaurateurs are stepping up to the
composed cheese plate.
Who
and Where
"Cheese
is good," says Bill Fuller, Big Burrito corporate chef, as
he tends to Casbah's daily-changing cheese course. Each day
features three different offerings, with appropriate accompaniments
-- perhaps: capriole Mont St. Francis and Old Kentucky tomme, served
with quince-gala apple chutney ($8.75); taleggio, an Italian cow's
milk cheese, served warm, with grilled rosemary flatbread, toasted
walnuts and Penn's Corner honey ($7); or Old Chatham shepherd's
wheel, a soft-ripened sheep's milk cheese from the Hudson Valley,
served with mixed olives and extra-virgin olive oil ($7.50). Most
diners ordering cheese request it as an appetizer, says Fuller,
but servers encourage tasting four or five cheeses for dessert.
Le
Pommier prints a list of about 10 available selections, with
taste profiles and recommendations for accompanying wines and spirits.
The restaurant charges $8.50 for 3 1/2 ounces of one, two or three
cheeses, with seasonal fruit, walnuts and bread. Also, Le Pommier
often includes a traditional cheese course, after the main course
and before the dessert, in its regional France dinner series.
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