Making Artisan Cheese (32 page)

PART THREE
Beyond Cheese Making

“A poet’s hope: To be, Like some valley cheese, Local, but prized elsewhere.”

W. H. AUDEN

Once you have amassed several cheeses in your cave (or your kitchen), it is time to invite your friends to a party. Few foods are as closely associated with entertaining as cheese is, and it is not hard to understand why. It is an attractive food that is flavorful, versatile, and satisfying. (Can you say that about a cheese puff? I think not.) At your next social gathering, I recommend offering an array of cheeses, and implementing some of the serving suggestions found in this chapter.

CHAPTER SEVEN
Serving
Your Cheeses

Now that you have a number of cheeses in your home refrigerator, or cave, it’s time to invite the family and friends over for a cheese party to celebrate. In this chapter you will find some simple suggestions to make your event a smashing success.

Assembling a Cheese Board

When hosting a cheese party, remember the classic maxim “less is more.” You want your cheeses to stand out, not get lost in a crowd. With that in mind, serve only three or four different cheeses at the most. Anything more will overwhelm your guests, and it will be too difficult to appreciate the individual flavors of the cheese varieties.

How Much Cheese to Serve

This depends on your crowd, and what is planned for the evening. The usual suggestion is about one-third of a pound of cheese per person. Bear in mind what kind of entertaining you are planning. If there is a full meal, then this number is about right. If the cheese is to
be
the meal, then you will want to bump it up a bit, putting out enough for a filling portion for each person.

More is less when serving cheese—let your cheese take center stage. Offer white crackers or bread that will not overwhelm the flavor of the cheese.

What Types of Cheese to Serve

Balance is the key. Focus on a blend of different styles of cheese, not simply the same varieties. A good cheese board is like a musical trio or quartet: three or four distinct varieties that come together to create a memorable experience. For example, a good blue cheese, soft-ripened Brie or Camembert, and hearty Cheddar will complement each other.

Serving Suggestions

Cheeses, like all things, have particular needs. Here are some tips for assembling your selections.

SERVE YOUR CHEESES AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
Cheeses taste best when they are at ambient temperature, not right out of the refrigerator or ripening room, because the cold diminishes flavor. Let the cheeses sit out for forty-five minutes to an hour before eating.

DRESS FOR THE PARTY
A good cheese board looks the part. Save the plastic cutting board for chopping onions, and go for a good-looking wooden board. The same goes for your knives. Special cheeses deserve special knives. Kitchen knives stay in the kitchen, period!

ACCOMPANIMENTS
Breads are usually served with cheeses, and they are a good match. The usual approach is to use simple breads, so that they don’t interfere with the flavor of the cheeses. A heavy rye bread, for example, will have too strong a flavor for most cheeses. A good choice is white or whole-wheat bread with dried fruits, which add a nice sweetness to balance the saltiness of the cheeses. As for fruit, acidic types are best. Apples and grapes, for example, are excellent palate cleansers.

A cheese wedge that weighs in at about a third of a pound is about the right amount of cheese to allow for one person, so a simple formula for serving any number of people would be to allow one wedge of any type of cheese per person.

Pairing Wine with Cheese

Wine provides a crisp balance to the often full flavors of cheese. When choosing wine, the most important thing to remember is that if you are focusing on cheese, then the wine should play the supporting role. Set aside your Grand Cru Classe Saint-Emilion, and keep your wines simple. A light white, such as a French Chablis, Sancerre, or Graves is a good choice.

The art of pairing wine and cheese provides an endless source of discussion among “foodies.” At one time this was not such an issue, as it was rare for cheese and wine to travel beyond their local regions of origin. Choosing which cheese to pair with which wine was as simple as selecting from whatever was available from the local producers.

Rather than suggest specific cheese and wine pairs, I offer some creative guidelines.

In general, white wines pair better with cheese than red wines. (However, do not keep from experimenting!)

Together, wine and cheese need counterbalance or foiling (via acidity or tannin), or they require a matched texture and flavor profile. Rich wines should be paired with rich, creamy cheeses, and sharp wines with sharper cheeses.

The salt in the cheese exaggerates the taste of alcohol in the wine, making it seem “hotter.” A salty taste in cheese is best counterbalanced by a hint of sweetness in wine (think Stilton and port, Roquefort and sauternes).

Stronger-flavored cheeses (such as mature, washed-rind cheeses) are the most difficult to match and do not go well with strong, ample-bodied wines (especially reds). Pungent cheeses are best complemented by sweet wines. Oaky wines clash and overwhelm most cheeses, unless oak flavors are inherently associated with them.

You aren’t compromising aesthetics by switching back to dry white wine for your cheese course. If your cheese course follows a dish accompanied by red wine, and is being served before (or instead of) dessert, the two styles of wine can coexist.