Cheese – what you need to know to discover the world of cheese

 There are many production methods, varying storage mechanisms and of course, different milks used in the basic raw ingredients. There is a world of difference between mass-produced cheese using pasteurized cows milk & sold through a supermarket chain versus a raw farmhouse sheep’s cheese carefully matured according to a centuries old method, and then stored by an affineur before being sold in a specialist cheesemongers! And of course, there is a huge difference in the end-price as well…

 In order to assist the cheese consumer, there are a number of classifications of cheese, which helps to identify its characteristics and likely taste. These are:

Bloomy Rind –             e.g. Brie or Camembert

Blue Veined –              e.g. Gorgonzola, Roquefort or Stilton

Cooked/Pressed –        e.g. Gruyere, Comte, Beaufort

Uncooked/Pressed –    e.g. Manchego, Cheddar, Pecorino

Goats –                        e.g. Pouligny St Pierre, Crottin

Soft, washed Rind –     e.g. Epoisses, Pont l’Eveque, Tallegio

Fresh -                         e.g. Mozzarella, Ricotta, Mascarpone

Typical tastes for each of these classifications are:

Bloomy Rinds such as Brie or Camembert taste creamy, buttery and earthy, and mature over a 1-3 month period

Blue-veined usually taste creamy through to salty and strong, and generally take 4-6 months to mature

The big hard wheels in the Cooked/Pressed category tend towards nuttiness, sweet and fruity tastes, matured over a long period of 18 months plus

Uncooked/Pressed cheeses generally share the sweet and nutty flavours, but vary in their maturing periods from anything around 3-4 months up to a year +.

Goats cheeses vary from the fresh taste of the very young cheeses through to quite recognisably strong goats flavours in the more mature versions. Not for the faint-hearted!

Soft, washed rind cheeses tend towards quite strong tastes, and as they are often washed in strong flavours of wine, brine or beer, they reflect those in the taste of the mature cheese – generally aged for between 2 and 6 months.

Fresh cheeses usually taste very clean to the palate, and are made to be eaten as close as possible to production.

Apart from these broad classifications, cheeses are grouped into families by the experts – and given that traditionally the French were the acknowledged experts in cheese worldwide, the vast majority of the families are known by the classic French cheese within it! So, the Brie de Meaux family also includes Abbey Blue Brie and Dunbarra, the Camembert family contains Cooleeney, the Munster family has Ardrahan included, etc. Exceptions to the French family include Gouda (Netherlands), Cheddar (England) and Gruyere (Switzerland). Some families are also grouped together because of their shape (Chabichou or Sainte-Maure families for example).