# Cheese Primer



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Princess Fiona asked me to place my very primitive cheese primer into the resources area.  I don't see a category that fits, but will put it here.  Know that in this thread, I have just touched on some common cheeses.  The world of cheese is vast and varied.  Please, anyone who sees this post, add to it with a type, or types of cheese/cheeses, and a description of its flavor and texture, and some of the ways in which you use it.  Thanks.

heddar, semi-hard cheese either dyed  yellow with natural food dyes, or presented white.  Young cheddar  (cheddar cheese curds) is squeeky and mellow, with just a hint of the  flavor that comes with aging.  

Mild cheddar - aged about 6 months, has a very mild acidity (acids give  cheese both the curd to turn into cheese, and a slightly sour flavor,  and is for people who are just starting to learn about cheese.

Medium Cheddar - usually aged for about 2 years.  The acidity has  increased, and the cheese has developed a more pronounced and complex  flavor.  You can taste some of the salt, the acids, and other flavors of  the cheese.

Sharp Cheddar - aged 3 or more years.  At this stage, the cheese has  lost enough moisture to evaporation that the calcium and salts found in  the milk have begun to crystallize.  They provide a pleasing, soft  crunch every now and again.  The flavor is intensified and even more  complex.  It is when cheddar starts to become an amazing cheese.  I  adore 5 year aged cheddar by a company called Balderson Cheese out of  Canada.  Their product is award winning, litterally.

Colby - another semi-hard cheese that is always sold medium.  It has a  flavor similar to cheddar, but is creamier and is wonderful as a  snacking, or cooking cheese.

Monterey Jack - a little softer than colby, and always sold white.  It  is a lightly salty cheese with just enough acidity to make the flavor  interesting.  It's a great melting cheese and is often combine with  colby by the manufacturer to make colby-jack cheese, which I'm not  really crazy about.  I love both of the cheeses by themselves though.

Muenster Cheese - A white cheese with an orange rind.  This is another  great melting cheese, but is wonderful as a snack cheese as well.  It  has a mild, milky flavor, with a delicate balance between the salt,  acids, and dairy flavor.  It is a great pizza cheese, and is good with  fruit or covering veggies.  It is one of my all time favorite mild  cheeses.

Swiss Cheese - It's so hard to find a good swiss cheese any more.  The  stores seem to carry only baby swiss, which to me is nearly flavorless,  and a waste of money.  But if you can find an aged swiss, it is a firm  cheese that is complex with hints of acid, sweetness, salt, and bitter,  all rolled together to create what has been called nutty.  A good Swiss  cheese, like a good Parmesano REgiano, or Asiago is a truly wonderful  thing.  Purchase Swiss cheese from the deli, so you can get a sample.   That way you  won't spend your money on the tasteless Swiss Cheeses that  flood the markets.

Gouda - Similar to Monterey Jack, but firmer in texture.  It also has a  better flavor in my opinion.  Gouda seems to be one of those cheese that  people like to add flavors to, expecially smoke.  To me, this masks the  wonderful, natural flavor of this classic cheese.  I don't know anyone  who doesn't like Gouda.

Ementeller - a kind of Swiss Cheese- but not so bold as an aged Swiss Cheese

Havarti - a great melting flavor with a rich, almost buttery flavor,  again with that characteristic acidity of most cheeses.  It is used to  make various sauces, and is often mixed with cheddar and mozzarella to  make macaroni and cheese.  It's also great with strawberries, or made  into fondue.  It's a favorite.

Cottage Cheese - what can I say about this mainstay.  It's great served  up as a side dish, with fruit added, or on crisp lettuce leaves.  It's  great when blended into certain jello salad recipes, it makes a  wonderful addition to pasta sauces, especially Marinara, and is very  good in lasagna, and maincotti.  It has a creamy texture, especially in  the small curd varieties.  But I like the larger curd cottage cheese,  eaten straight up, as a side to my meal.  Herbs and spices can be added  to it, just as with cream cheese.  In fact the flavors are similar.   Love good cottage cheese.
Note of warning, some brands of cottage cheese, an I don't know the  cause of this, can taste a little bitter.  So try different brands.  We  have found that the 4% milkfat varieties don't seem to have the bitter  flavor.

And lest we forget one of the truly special cheeses that comes from the Swiss, Gruyere is a great cheese that is used for snacking, fondue, and various sauces.  A round of Gruyere is a thing of beauty.

There are so many more, like Ricotta, or Brick, or Farmer's Cheese, and so many others.  There are a thousand different cheeses out there.  Some are hard, some  are soft, most are somewhere in between.  Each has a different flavor  and texture that appeals to the taste buds of a hundred different  people.  I can't presume to tell you what cheeses are best for you.   Personally, I'm not a fan of the Stinky Cheeses (yes, that is a category  of cheeses).  But then again, while I love a great aged cheddar, my DW  loves the mild version.

And yes, the price isn't cheap for a great cheese.  I have had 15 year  aged cheddar that ran for $20 a pound.  I have also had an amazing  cheddar called Dorset Drum for IGoumet.com for $8 per pound.  My  favorite 5 year aged cheddar runs $15 per pound.  And as I am very  adventurous when it comes to food.  One year, I bought 1 cheese variety  that I'd never tasted before every pay day.  This way, I could learn a  great deal about cheeses without breaking the bank.  Was it worth the  money to explore this wonderful stuff we call cheese, you betcha.  Now,  with online cheese sellers, I'm no longer limited to only what I can  find locally.  

Just two more cheeses that I have to mention - Yancy's Fancy makes an  incredible cheese called Bergenost.  It is a semi-soft cheese with a  wonderfully creamy texture, and amazing flavor.  I have yet to try their  XXX sharp cheddar, but it the quality is as good as with the Bergenost,  it will be an exemplary cheese indeed.

Like Bergenost, Butterkase cheese is wonderful.  It is creamy, almost  buttery in flavor and texture, with a medium sharpness.  It is wonderful  eaten with crackers, or on toast points, though I've been known to just  slice off little bits to eat all by themselves.  It is another  delightful cheese that can be used so many different ways.  It can be  made into cheese balls, or combined with herbs, or wines of your choice.   It melts into ooey-gooey goodness on grilled cheese.

Oh, one more, and I'm going to have to run and hide after this one, I  love Velveeta Cheese product.  It's not a true cheese, but a cheese  product that melts wonderfully and adds great flavor to many other  foods.  There!  I said it.  I love Velveeta, and I'm not even ashamed.   And though I dearly love a good Parmesano Regiano, or Pecorino Romano, I  like that shaker Parmesan/Romano cheese that comes in the green,  cardboard cans.  It has a distinct flavor, and can be used as a somewhat  salty seasoning.  It has its place in my kitchen.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North 		 		  		  		 		  		 		 			 				__________________
_“No amount of success outside the home can compensate for failure within the  home…_"

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