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What You Should Know About Brie and Other Fine Cheeses |
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Author: Lynne Evans
The Brie de Meaux is undoubtedly a fine cheese, but sadly it is rare and what we buy so often in supermarkets is poor quality when compared to this Queen of Cheeses. French Camembert suffers from the same fate, and the best place to but good French cheeses is in France. This is unfortunately true for all cheeses, although there are now many sites online that sell gourmet, fine or "artisan" cheeses.
Europe is a haven for cheese lovers although fine cheeses are as expensive as some cost more per kilo than meat. Cheese is high in protein and contains lots of calcium because it is a dairy product. Many fine cheeses are made with sheep's or goats' milk and these are highly esteemed by the cheeses connoisseur.
I love cheese- most cheeses and have always been surprised to discover that the exported cheese I had eaten in Britain was vastly inferior to the cheese you can buy in its country of origin. I was particularly impressed with the Italian Doclelatte which is a soft blue-veined cheese made from cow's milk which you can spread like butter on bread or cheeses biscuits. However there were so many to choose from that I couldn't chomp my way through all of them. Italy boasts around 400 traditional cheeses, made in different regions. The King of these is generally regarded as Parmigiano Reggiano which is crumbly and nothing like the Parmesan we grate over pasta. Gran Padano, Stravecchio Oro del Tempo is and aged cheese which can compete with the King of cheeses and comes with its own seal and certification of place of origin, the serial number of the dairy and the month of production. This way you know it's the genuine article. Finally Mozzarella di Bufala is a superb cheese, made from buffalo milk (white buffalos I am told) and again far superior to the rubbery mozzarella that so often comes with our pasta dishes in restaurants. It is eaten fresh with slices of fresh tomatoes and basil with chunks of bread for a light lunch in Italy.
Taleggio also deserves a mention as it is one of the oldest cheeses, having been produced in the 11th century. This is a soft cheese made from cow's milk.
Britain too has a huge variety of "artisan" cheeses made by small producers who only produce one or two types of cheese from their own herd of cows, goats or sheep. I particularly like the Perroche which is made from unpasteurised goats' milk and rolled in herbs; it has a lemony tang to it which is unusual.
Cheese was produced in Mesopotamia in 6,000 BC and was introduced to the Romans by the Arab traders, we think. After the fall of the Roman Empire, during what is called the Dark Ages monks kept the cheese-making tradition alive, but cheese only really became hugely popular in the early 19th century when pasteurization made it more healthy-or so people thought. These days there is a move away from this as many fine cheeses use 'raw' milk and the dairy herds (including sheep and goats) are fed organically or naturally.
A word of warning; if you are pregnant some cheeses especially those that are not pasteurized should be avoided. However for the rest of us, cheese is a healthy source of calcium and protein and goats' and sheep's milk cheeses are low in calories and fat, so good for a weight loss diet.
Having written about gourmet cheeses, I now have to have some: why not join me?
HERBS - TREAT & TASTE If you enjoyed this article, why not click on the link to find out more about the food you eat? This site has information about herbal medicines as well as foodstuffs and there are recipes which combine the tastes of Europe and Asia.
Article Source: LYNNE EVANS
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