1: The simplest is fresh cheese, and it is the most low tech. It is closely related to the cottage cheese that I made and described above. Simply sour the heated milk by using rennet, ladle the curds into moulds, and consume within a week. To aid consumption blocks of this cheese are small. As it is not matured long enough to harden, it is a soft, often crumbly cheese. It goes well with biscuits, which we British call crackers, and also goes well in salads. I like it on toast. If you are taking it with wine, a light white wine is ideal.
2: Mould-ripened cheeses, such as camembert and brie, have the milk infected with Penicillium camemberti. A variety of organisms get into the mould, but the cheesemakers overwhelm the rest by flooding the mould with Penicillium. This enables them to get the desired effect, which is a rind that coats the cheese. These cheeses go well with a light, fruity red wine.
3: Washed rind cheeses. These have a bacterial rind which is achieved by killing off the fungal moulds. This is done by washing them in brine, but many are then washed in one of a variety of alcoholic drinks. The result is a pinkish, sticky rind which gives the cheese its flavour. Cheeses of this type are smelly, as the microbes give off ammonia when ripening. The French call the smell "the feet of God." One British example is Celtic Promise, which comes from Ceredigion in West Wales. Washed rind cheeses go well with a good Burgundy or a dark beer.
4:Blue Cheeses. I have already mentioned how they are made, but it is important to add that it is necessary for them to have some degree of softness about them so that the mould's penetration will not be impeded. There are two outstanding examples of blue cheese. One is Stilton, produced only in certain English creameries and known as a queen among cheeses. Another is the Irish cheese Cashel Blue, made in the lovely vale of Tipperary. Enjoy these with a good port, though I have had these cheeses with white wine and enjoyed them.
5: Semi-soft cheeses. This is a broad category that contains instances of others in it. To make a semi-soft cheese heat the curd to release more whey, the residual liquid left over from cheese- making. Semi-soft is a good category for mixing fruit into the cheese, as hard cheese would squash the fruit too much. Wensleydale is a good example of a semi-soft cheese. A variety of wines go well with these cheeses.
6: The quintessential hard cheese is cheddar, but it is not too hard too be enjoyed. This kind of cheese stores well. It can be mixed with flavourings. I have one in the fridge flavoured with Irish whiskey. I have also eaten cheddar with cooked nettles, which lose their sting when boiled. The nettle leaves are gathered in Spring, diced, cooked and added to the curd. The cheese tasted very good.
Comments
Just a slight amendment to my article. There is a market for mare's milk in Europe, and there is some European production, but it is more profitable to sell it as a luxury lifestyle product than to make cheese with it.
Before Covid disrupted things we in Manchester had the Christmas markets, sometimes known as the German markets. Artisans sold their wares there. In fact, I was planning an article on them for 2020, but for Covid. I like to take a trip to the cheese stalls and the specialist pie makers. A Dutch cheesemaker comes every year, and English cheesemakers have regular stalls.
yes i would like to do a Lanky cheese trail...nom nom...cheese tasting at every one ...!
I knew that you liked red wine.
I had not heard of the cheese farm trail.
All cheddar is made to a recipe, so American cheddar will be similar to other cheddars. If you like German cheese you may find that German smoked and Austrian smoked are very similar. Pepperjack is an original American cheese mixing [Mexican] Monterey cheese with peppers. I have not heard of it over in Britain, so infer that the American consumers eat it up.
Wensleydale with cranberry is a huge favourite over here . I do not know the other tytpes that Derdriu mentions.
Frank I drink red and also sparkling white wine. No beer, cider, lager, spirits, aperitifs, sherry, liqueurs , just red wine and sparkling.
County Lancashire has a designated " cheese farm trail which is a walk around various cheese farms at work.
I still enjoy cheese, with Swiss being my second favorite. I particularly enjoy the different taste it has at the holes. I recall the 50s as well, and we were not wealthy either. Our cheeses were cheddar, American (similar to cheddar), and Swiss. I find with all of these cheese if a piece is taken as a chunk from a block it is to have a different flavor than a slice of cheese, and since blocks are lower in price I developed a taste for them that persists today. My favorite is pepperjack.
One fun thing to do is sample cheeses. My wife bought several German cheeses from a booth at an Oktoberfest celebration. while we enjoyed them, buying more is difficult, first I would have to find a source locally.
I got the photo from Pixabay, who did not say what cheese and wine they were, but the cheese looks like Shropshire Blue.
Derdriu, you mention some forms of Wensleydale that I have never known, so I think that they have been produced for export only. [Cranberry is known over here.]I don't know Murray's as a brand, so I think that they must be an American brand.
frankbeswick, Thank you for the practicalities and products.
What are the cheese and the wine that goes with it in the image to the left of your title?
You've mentioned Wensleydale in a previous article on cheeses. Since I read that article (and I've read all of yours now ;-D), I noticed that the cheese section of the grocery store has not only apricot amarretto Wensleydale and cranberry Wensleydale cheeses but also now Wensleydale cheese with honey and lemon curd. They all show up under the Murray's label. Would they be cheeses your side of the pond likes or would they just be for export?
I have never eaten Derbyshire cheeses, but Derbyshire is more local to you than it is to me!
I do like creamy Lancashire. I have never heard of Partick Fell before. As for wine and cheese, am I guessing rightly when I say that you like your wine red?