Formed by curdling milk and removing moisture. The most complex cheese come from West and North Europe because it is cold enough to enable a longer ageing process
Golden age of Cheese was 19th and 20th century until WW2 destroyed much of the pastures - then replaced with factories instead of local dairies.
Species:
- Cow - neutral flavour
- Sheep/Buffalo - richer in fat
- Goat - low casein content, so doesn’t curdle as well, therefore crumbly cheeses
In France look for a affineurs - they buy cheese a bit young and then age it to perfection for selling
Storage
pg. 64 of On food and Cooking
My favourites
- Stilton
- Tellagio - rind washed cheese with Orange outside. See pg. 58 of On food and Cooking. Made with the same bacteria found on human skin so can smell a bit sweaty!
- Port Salut - I think the above point is why slightly old port salut tasted like tallagio, it was the same bacteria that created the orange rind.
- Cheddar - 3 year cornish gold from M&S
- Pié D’Angloys - rich creamy with slight funk. Can get in M&S and Waitrose
- tomme blanche (not sure which region, had in 2024 Paris)
- Coulommiers on the ski trip - nice and milky without being too funky. Turns out it’s a type of Brie pg 83 of The Food of France
Stilcherton was a bit too strong for me and had that “death” smell from Camembert