Cheese
What's that saying?... "Everything is better with cheese." Yes, it is...Ah, le fromage.
Cheese in general is made from cow's milk which has been acidified, curdled (coagulated), cut, drained and maybe undergone further processing or seasoning or aging. Cheese can be made from the milk of other mammals like goat, sheep, yak, or camel. There are even vegan "cheeses" which of course don't contain any animal product but are rather concoctions made from ingredients such as cashews as a base.
Simple unripened cheese is easy to make at home but cheese can also be seen as a tradecraft akin to winemaking or charcuterie making. Like many foods, there is the cheap stuff where quality was sacrificed and there is also award-winning delicacies that took years to perfect or age.
Bacteria in Cheese
Do you remember that cheese is an example of beneficial bacteria? We couldn't have cheese or fermentation without bacteria. Just make sure that cheese and other protein-rich foods in particular are handled and stored carefully so as to not inflict a foodborne illness. The heating of milk in cheese-making means that cheese is pasteurized but if you eat or serve unpasteurized cheese you are taking a risk. Selling it is not legal in Canada.
Categorizing Cheese
Cheese can be categorized based on type of milk, texture/firmness, country or regional techniques, ripening etc. Ripening is the process or processes that transform the curdled cheese into something more distinctive and tasty. Based on ripening, there are 5 classifications; un-ripened (also called fresh cheese), internal bacteria ripened, washed-rind, blue-veined, and mold-rind. processed cheeses and cheeses made with other types of milk are in categories of their own.
It's amazing to think about all the types of cheese out there and that they all just started with milk!
Ways to Cook
Cheese can be:
- eaten raw (best at room temperature, closer to body temperature where fats melt and improve the texture and volatile aromas)
- grated and blended into sauces
- topped on pizza, casseroles etc.
- gratinéed such as on French Onion soup
- puréed into dips, sauces and soups
- breaded and deep fried (like mozzarella sticks
- pan fried (like saganaki)
- layered in sandwiches, wraps, hors d'oeuvres both hot or cold
Tips on cooking with Cheese
- add on low heat so as to not curdle and split
- grate it to incorporated it smoothly and evenly
- watch the fat content and "oil" texture that can appear
- use parmesan rind pieces to add umami flavour to soups and stews, then remove them before serving.
- cheese can be frozen!
Food Safety
Remember that cheese is a potentially hazardous food (PHF). Mind the danger zone. Spores on cheese can have roots that are deep within a block of cheese and even though it looks safe, mold might have reached far inside the block.
More on Cooking with Cheese
Cheese Recipe Links
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Modernist Cuisine Melty Queso Dip
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Homemade Ricotta
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Mozzarella in Carrozza
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Parmesan Meatballs
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Pommes Aligot
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Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish
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Oven Fries with Herbs and Pecorino
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Asparagus Tart with Goat Cheese and Mushrooms
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Palak Paneer
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Whey-Cooked Heirloom Grains
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Saganaki
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Cold Smoked Cheese
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Skillet Beer Cheese
Some of our favourite videos
Alberta Cheese Producers
Lakeside Farmstead
About this producerRock Ridge Dairy
About this producerVital Green Farms
About this producerSylvan Star Cheese
About this producerFoods from this producer:
Crystal Springs Dairy Company
About this producerFoods from this producer:
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Lakeside Farmstead
Lakeside Dairy Ltd., Range Road 242, Sturgeon County, AB, Canada
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Rock Ridge Dairy
Rock Ridge Dairy, Bentley, AB, Canada
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Vital Green Farms
Vital Green Farms, Range Road 222, Picture Butte, AB, Canada
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Sylvan Star Cheese
Sylvan Star Cheese Ltd, Range Road 10, Red Deer County, AB, Canada
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Crystal Springs Dairy Company
Crystal Springs Cheese Ltd., Range Rd 222, Coalhurst, AB, Canada
https://cheese-fromage.agr.gc.ca/pml-lmp_eng.cfm?menupos=1.3
Gisslen, W. (2018). Professional Cooking for Canadian Chefs, Enhanced eText (9th Edition). Wiley Global Education Canada. https://wileyplus.vitalsource.com/books/9781119424772
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/milk-infant-formula/raw-or-unpasteurized-milk.html
https://thecheesewedge.ca/blogs/all-things-cheese/10-favourite-cheese-quotes