CHEESE

Definition?Classification?

Nutritive value & composition?

Guidelines in buying, storing, & preparing?

• DEFINITION

♣ A solid food prepared from the pressed curd of milk, often seasoned and aged.

♣ A food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep

♣ one of the world’s oldest food products—for thousands of years, people have raised animals for milk, turning their surplus milk into cheese.

CLASSIFICATION

Soft – Cream, Neufchatel, Romadur, Cottage, Liptau

Semi-hard – Lancashire, Limburger, Munster, Brick

Hard – Cheddar, Cheshire, Gruyere, Parmesan, Romano, Provolone, Edam, Gouda, Cheddar Swiss, Herrgard, Swiss Emmental Sapsago

External Moulded ripened – CamembertInternal mould ripened – Stilton,

Roquefort Blue, Gorgonzola, Blue, Gammelost

NAME MOISTURE FAT PROTEIN ASH AND SALT

Brick 42,5 30.7 21.1 3.0

Camembert 47.9 26.3 22.2 4.1

Cheddar 36.8 33.8 23.7 5.6

Cottage 69.8 1.0 23.3 1.9

Cream 42.7 39.9 14.5 1.9

Edam 38.1 22.7 30.9 6.2

Limburger 54.8 19.6 21.3 5.2

Parmesan 17.0 22.7 49.4 7.6

Roquefort 38.7 32.2 21.4 6.1

Swiss 33.0 30.5 30.4 4.2

Gouda 38.1 24.5 29.6 6.1

Guidelines in buying cheese

• 1. IMPORTANT - Find a cheese shop with a knowledgeable staff who are willing to teach you and let you taste as many cheeses as you want.

• 2. Get to know the person who sells you your cheese otherwise known as the Cheese monger. Not a particularly nice sounding name but he or she will be able to point you in the right direction once they know your tastes.

• 3. Ask to try a different cheese every time you go into a market that sells cheese.

• 4. Start with the three main milk types (goat, sheep or cow). Figure out which you like best, second, third. If there is one you really dislike, fine, you just made it easy for future choices.

• 5. Try different textures (soft, semi-soft, hard) to see which appeals to you most.

• 6. Try the same cheese from different countries. You will be surprised at some of the differences.

• 7. Experiment with food and wine. Different cheeses go better with some foods and wines than others.

• 8. Ask or read about what pairing work and then give them a try.

• 9. Read about cheese in one of the many great books on the subject.

STORING CHEESE

Keep cheese in a covered container in your refrigerator on a clean, dry, lightly crumpled paper towel or two, leaving a little breathing room.

STORING CHEESE

When mold starts to form, it will consume the oil and not the cheese; simply wipe it off, or rinse in tepid water. Dry, rub with fresh oil and store as above in a clean container with clean towels.

STORING CHEESE

• Keep washed rind, blue, flavored and white rind cheeses in separate containers to prevent mingling.

• If it's for just a few days, an oversized resealable bag with a crumpled towel will do. Be sure to minimize contact so it can breathe.

• Tupperware makes a great container for storing cheese. Look for the one called the Fridgesmart; it has a grooved bottom so you don't have to sit the cheese on anything, and two holes for ventilation on the sides. You can also use disposable Ziplocs by piercing the sides with a few pin holes on each side.

• If stored as above and rubbed with oil, larger chunks of semi-hard and hard natural cheeses can keep for months. Wipe off any mold every couple of weeks as it forms. After a few treatments, mold will slow or cease to grow if your container has enough towels to soak up excess moisture. Change the towels and wash container often.

Guidelines In preparing cheese

• The present invention provides a method for preparing cheese products, and process cheese bases for use in the production of process cheese. The method generally includes mixing one or more concentrated powders derived from milk with sodium chloride, milk fat, water, and, optionally, an edible acid and/or a preservative for a period of time sufficient to produce a well-mixed, homogeneous product, and cooling the resulting mixture for a time and at a temperature which is sufficient to allow the mixture to form a solid matrix. The solid matrix can be consumed, or can be used as a substitute for natural cheese and ground by a cheese grinding system during the production of process cheese. The present invention also provides cheese products and process cheese bases prepared according to this method, and to process cheeses produced with the process cheese bases.

INTERESTING

FACTS ABOUT

CHEESE!!!

• The world's largest consumers of cheese include Greece (63 pounds per person each year), France (54 pounds), Iceland (53 pounds), Germany (48 pounds), Italy (44 pounds), the Netherlands (40 pounds), the United States (31 pounds), Australia (27 pounds), and Canada (26 pounds).

•The United States produces more than 25 percent of the world's supply of cheese, approximately 9 billion pounds per year.

•King Henry II declared Cheddar to be the best cheese in Britain.

•Skunks love cheese. It seems Cheddar is their favorite as well!

Reporters:Kym AbsulioJo-an ChingJacqueline V. Buñag