Cheese Types
Learn About the Different Cheese Types
From France to Greece to Russia, time honored, ancient recipes have been perfected to create a fabulous array of cheese. Types of cheese are so plentiful, and even with the many choices available, we have become quite comfortable with a few of the most popular main stream ones. We have come to believe that choosing extra sharp cheddar makes us adventurous and sophisticated, as we reach right over the rare round of French Camembert to get to it. From the oldest, most esteemed bleu veined cheeses to the fine, tangy perfection of a white three crème Le Chevrot, we tend to ignore the best that cheese has to offer by playing it safe. Maybe we can be enticed…
Certainly, cheddar is one of the oldest cheese types, and actually was created in the 11th century in England, in a Somerset County village named Cheddar. The recipe was never patented, and the production of cheddar cheese carried on fervently throughout the country until, eventually, it was introduced abroad and adoringly duplicated worldwide. The only trace of the original craftsmanship of true cheddar cheese comes out of a master cheese maker house by the name of West County Farmhouse Cheddar, and they serve the counties surrounding Somerset with this pure, aged, raw cattle milk cheese.
Swiss is another famous cheese type in America, and is one of a family of cheeses which are cooked and pressed to create their shape and texture. The most obvious way to tell which cheese types are cooked and which are raw is by the aroma of it. While cold pressed cheeses have a very strong and earthy odor, cooked pressed cheeses tend to have a less potent aroma, as they have been, well, cooked. Swiss cheese is of course Swiss, as we capitalize cheeses with proven origin to their region. (Cheddar is not capitalized because the recipe was not patented there.) It is primarily made with the milk of cattle, though some earlier versions were even born of horse milk.
Soft cheese types are referred to as those which have not been aged or completely deprived of their moisture, or whey. These cheeses are considered to be a fresh food item, which in America is standardized for sterility by the use of pasteurized dairy products. These cheeses are intended to be eaten within ten days of being made, and never later than three weeks from that date, depending on any preservatives or storage methods. These need to be refrigerated, and most contain active cultures which are helpful to intestinal and digestive tracts in humans. Mozzarella falls into the fresh cheese category, as do cottage and ricotta cheeses. Feta, mascarpone, and string cheeses also fall into this group…who would have thought?