So, we've learned a bit of cheese history, and how it is made--at least fresh cheeses--and picked up a few ideas for rainy day busy-work...Now let's get to the fun stuff!
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| Basic after dinner nibble: old cheddar, Meddo Belle, Mennonite sausage Wine: Nugan from Australia |
Entertaining with Cheese
Sparkling candlelight, the murmur of pleasant conversation, gentle clinking of silverware upon china; rings upon crystal, the sounds of smoky jazz playing softly in the background, the burst of grape or hops on the tongue, the mounds of delicacies arranged on trays, enticing the eyes to sate the stomach...the classic sights, sounds and tastes of a cheese and wine party with friends or strangers-soon-to-be-friends. The lovely bit about a cheese tasting party is that it goes with every occasion, from wedding showers, dinners for two to a Superbowl Sunday get together--it doesn't just have to go with the stereotypical elegant cocktail party.
A wine/beer and cheese get together is a wonderful opportunity to experience local foods and drink as well as the accompanying sides, such as fruits and breads. Pairing local produce, cheese and the wine/beer produced in the same area is one way to ensure an easy and successful tasting. At one time in history, it wasn't heard of to have wine and cheese from outside the local area. These items were usually produced and consumed within the same geographical spot. If you are in an area sparse in local wines or beers, then the second point to remember in pairing drink with cheese would be essential to follow: keep your choices light and simple. White wines pair better with cheeses, except with in the case of red wines that have a low tannin content. Strong and rich red wines are generally ideal with more pungent cheeses-think Stilton and Port. A dry or fruity white wine will pair with most cheeses as long as you keep in mind what other qualities are found in the cheese such as spices, herbs or another other factor that will influence the taste of the drink.
While it is impossible to give absolute recommendations in your pairings there are some tried and true suggestions:
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| photo credit: michelle L. 2012 |
Wine
~For all Cheeses: light, low in alcohol and tannins such as Riesling, Silvaner
~Soft Cheese and Goat Cheese: rosé, dry sparkling wine or champagne
~Blue-veined: strong reds with a sweet note
~Hard Cheeses: hardest to pair, pardon the pun, but stick with the light white wine.
Beer
This is more difficult as a there are a vast range of flavours; almost too much choice.
I personally taste tested with Okanagan Springs Pale Ale and I found it went well with all the cheeses I tried--including the Stilton.
~Fresh cheeses: American and German lagers, wheat beers
~Soft cow's milk cheeses: pilasters and pale ales
~Washed-rind cheeses with some pungency: English brown or amber ales
~Semi-firm: Belgian ales, pilasters
~Hard and Blue-veined: stronger porters, stouts and heavy dark beers
The most important thing to choosing the right beer is to choose one without much of a bitter note in the beer. A strongly bitter beer is going to add a taste to some cheeses that will turn on the tongue to something unpleasant. Try a craft beer or an import for a variety of options beyond the commercial domestic brands, which I do find contain a finishing bitter note.
Cheese
Allow for a third of a pound per cheese per person as a guideline for a smaller sized get together or one that is followed by a meal; a larger gathering needs a bit more to be a filling 'meal'. You will want to not overload the tastebuds by presenting too much variety in your cheese choices. Three or four complimentary tasting cheeses covering a few different types of is ideal, for example: a blue, a Camembert, and a 4 year old Cheddar will go lovely together. Serve your cheese at room temperature, letting it sit for no longer than two hours before serving, for safety reasons.
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| photo credit: michelle levasseur |
Serve in the following order:
~Fresh and goat cheeses
~Bloomy and washed-rind cheeses
~Semi-firm cheeses
~Firm cheeses
~Blue-veined cheeses
~Hard cheeses
Arrange your cheese board, if using, with large pieces of cheese rather than slices of cheese for a buffet gathering as they do not dry out as quickly. Alternatively, cover your tray of sliced cheeses with plastic wrap just before setting out your board.
Round soft cheeses such as Brie should only be cut into fat wedges. Your guests can cut the rind off themselves with their individual knives. Wax coated cheeses should have the rind removed already for greater ease of handling for your guests and cut into thinly sliced wedges. Hard cheeses can just be broken off with a forked cheese knife either by you or your guests.
Equipment and Presentation
No matter the occasion, a wine/beer and cheese party requires a few items for serving and eating.
Forgo the plastic boards, utensils or platters. Wooden cutting boards, marble slabs with or without wire cutter, and china are ideal for serving.
The following items won't be necessary for every occasion but can be selected from as your party needs change.
~Rimless platters of different sizes and shapes
~Wooden boards or
~Wooden-base cheese bell
~Knives with forked tip -for individual use
~Mini-boards or small plates for individual use
~Large two handled knives (for larger gatherings: larger pieces of cheese to cut from)
~Cheese wires and knives for cutting -one per cheese to avoid mingling of flavours
~Labels for cheese identification
~Wine glasses, red and white
~Champagne flute (only if serving champagne)
~Half-pint beer glasses
~Small sherry glasses if experimenting with an Icewine and Roquefort pairing, for example
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| Cheese Bell google images |
There is no real need to purchase extra equipment unless you have an adequate disposable income and love to shop. If you love a bargain and/or are on a budget, try a store like Value Village or your local thrift store to find glasses, platters and the like for a very cheap price.
Side dishes and Garnishes
For an elegant note to a wedding shower and events like it, you can cut cheese into bite-sized appetizers and 'dress' them in different garnishes, all served with a toothpick inserted for ease of eating.
Garnishes
~Combine a mild semi-firm cheese with a blue-veined cheese. Sandwich a slice of blue between two slices of your choice of mild cheese and cut into cubes.
~Top Emmental and Swiss with a walnut--pairs nicely with the nutty flavour of the cheese.
~Cheddar goes very well with a chile pepper or a dollop of chile relish on top of a round of very old cheddar.
~Roll cubes of aged Gouda in sweet paprika or stamp out with a cookie cutter and dip one side into sweet paprika.
Side Dish Suggestions
Serve your cheese board with crusty, fragrant, soft-centred breads, fruit and nuts.
~Wedges of apple and pear, dipped in lemon juice to retard oxidation, for stronger cheeses
~Grapes and berries for a palate cleanser between cheese courses
~Assortment of walnuts, pistachios and pecans, for a sweet note
~Italian, sourdough, French baguette
Storage
Since cheese is a living product that continues to ripen and change after manufacture, storage is an important part of keeping your cheese fresh and tasting as it should. The temperature where you store your cheese is also important, enough so that refrigerator companies make a special compartment just for your cheese. You can also store your cheese in a cool, dry cellar or pantry as long as temperatures do not exceed 54℉ for short term storage and 39 to 42℉ for longer term storage.
For cut cheeses
~Blue-veined cheeses should be wrapped with aluminium foil that has perforations in close spacing.
~Hard cheeses can be wrapped with plastic wrap.
~Soft cheeses should be wrapped with parchment paper or a damp cloth that is moistened daily.
Store all cheeses in the compartment of your refrigerator or your vegetable crisper. If you can adjust the humidity level of your crispers, make sure it is set to high humidity.
Taste Test
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| photo credit: michelle L. 2012 |
Cheese Selections
~Smith Cheese 4 year old Cheddar from raw milk--no other information on the label, strangely
~Thornloe's 'Casey Stilton'
~Monforte's 'Tuscano' Sheep Milk Cheese
~Back Forty's 'Bonnechere' Raw Sheep Milk Cheese
~Gunn's Hill 'Gouda' Sheep Milk Cheese
Although contrary to a previous statement about the availability of sheep milk cheese, this plethora of sheep milk cheese in one location is a rare occurrence in my experience. I took advantage of it!
Opinion
~I found the 4 year old Cheddar to be sharp, creamy tasting with a nice smooth texture-not grainy as some can be at that age.
~The 'Casey Stilton' was a bit of a surprise as the pungency level was rather young for a blue. The texture was creamy and supple with just a bit of bite.
~The 'Tuscano' from Monforte with it's unique flavour profile is my personal favourite . This semi-firm has an almost 'green' taste to it accompanied by a smooth feel on the tongue.
~The 'Bonnechere' raw sheep milk cheese has a mild, fresh almost 'curd' like flavour.
~'Gouda' from Gunn's Hill was an interesting selection as I was only aware of their cow's milk Alpine cheeses. While I can't really taste the 'Gouda' in the cheese, it is still a lovely, smooth and mild cheese.
Finishing Note
Cheese, in all it's types and uses, is not just food. It is artistry, it is history, it is representative of the homestead spirit that we used to have and respect. Cheese making is more than a business. It is a world of science and art, it is tapping into ancestry and skills almost forgotten in this world of convenience. Artisan cheese makers are an integral part of our economic and cultural future; important to our identity. They are the embodiment of the Canadian spirit of small business, despite the direction we seem to be going in, as well as a sustainable, ecological business that will only benefit Ontario through tourism dollars, local sales, online and supermarket sales.
Making your own fresh cheese or even graduating into the more advanced cheeses let you into a world of antiquity that lives and will live as long as there are those who live off the land and what she provides. Let us hope our government, in it's headlong rush to personal monetary solvency, doesn't destroy that possibility.
Cheese Makers in Ontario
According to an article at the Ottawa Citizen(newspaper) website the best places for cheese in Ontario are as follows:
Back Forty Artisan Cheese
Lanark, Ontario
www.artisancheese.ca
Sheep milk cheese
Best Bea Dairy
Fergus, Ontario
www.ewenity.com
Raw sheep milk cheese, aged 60 days
Black River Cheese
Milford, Ontario
www.blackrivercheese.com
Aged cheddar, mozzarella
Fifthtown Artisan Cheese
Picton, Ontario
www.fifthtown.ca
15 types of sheep milk cheese
Les Brebis sur le toit bleu
Oxford Mills, Ontario
www.sheepcheese.ca
Sheep milk cheese, obviously
Monforte Dairy Company
Millbank, Ontario
www.monfortedairy.com
30 types of sheep milk cheese
Thornloe Cheese
Thornloe, Ontario
www.thornloecheese.ca
68 years in the business
Thunder Oak Cheese
Thunder Bay, Ontario
www.cheesefarm.ca
winner 2002 Grand Prix for their Gouda
Upper Canada Cheese Company
Jordan, Ontario
www.uppercanadacheese.com
2 cheeses using local Guernsey cows
Wilton Cheese
Odessa, Ontario
www.wiltoncheese.ca
Aged cows milk Cheddar
Written Sources
Making Artisan Cheese by Tim Smith edition published by Crestline.
The Cheese Bible by Christian Teubner published by Prospero Books
For more information on cheese and cheese making, it is only a click away on the web. There are some great books out there as well. There is a new one I haven't read yet but you may want to check out-Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Mary Karlin and a link to the book website is here.
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