Cheesaholics Anonymous

Calcium and Cheese

With the new year around the corner, how about making a resolution to get more calcium in your diet? Read: eat more cheese.

Why you should care about calcium:

-          It is shown to prevent osteoporosis

-          It helps regulate blood pressure

-          It reduces PMS

One ounce of cheese[1] provides a full 25% of your RDA of calcium (1,000 – 1,200 mg). This is about equivalent to a glass of milk, but cheese has the advantage of being virtually lactose free and is higher in protein and other nutrients.

Keep in mind that smoking and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol literally leaches calcium right out of your body – even more reason to dig into the curds this holiday season.

So feed cheese to you and your loved ones, and have a very happy new year!

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[1] Estimate given for a dense cheese like cheddar. Cheeses higher in water content will provide less calcium by weight.

The gift of cheese

Some gift-giving ideas for the cheese lover in your life:

Cheese reading

• Cheese, A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best - Max McCalman. As close as you can get to a cheese encyclopedia.
• The Cheese Plate - Max McCalman. A 101 guide on how to enjoy the world's finest cheeses at home.
• Cheese Primer - Steve Jenkins. Great reference guide and introductory book to cheese.
• Cheese & Chalk - Will Studd. Hard to find in the US, but contains some of the most gorgeous photos of cheese I have ever seen.

Cheese of the Month Club

These programs are some of the best in the US, but note that cheese sometimes gets wrecked in transit...

• Artisanal Premium Cheese (www.artisanalcheese.com)
• Murrays Cheese (www.murrayscheese.com)
• Zingerman's (www.zingermans.com)
• Cowgirl Creamery (www.cowgirlcreamery.com)
  

Cheese & Wine Classes

A class makes a great gift. In NYC, Artisanal, Murrays and the Institute of Culinary Education (www.iceculinary.com) always have great classes on offer.

To eat the rind, or not to eat the rind...

The only rinds I don’t recommend you try (at least once) are those made from wax, or rinds from clothbound cheeses. Otherwise there is no right or wrong, and it’s really up to you to decide what tastes good. With certain cheeses, a lot of the pleasure lies in the rind, and the flavors of the cheese tend to be most concentrated right next to the rind. Bloom-rind cheeses such as brie have delicious rinds, though they can taste very ammoniated if improperly ripened. A lot of goat cheeses develop a delicate grey mould rind which imparts a peppery flavor to those cheeses. But if it doesn’t taste good to you, then there is no shame in passing.

Keep the Rind

Kitchen tip: Save rinds from Parmesan and use them next time you make a stew or soup to give a boost to the flavor. Remember to discard the rind before serving.

What is a triple-crème cheese?

Technically speaking, a triple-crème contains at least 72% butterfat by dry weight. Note that these cheeses have a pretty high water content, so only about a third of what you are actually consuming is fat. These cheeses are made with whole milk which has been enriched with cream. Some cheese makers pooh-pooh the idea of a triple-crème, claiming that if you are starting with great milk, why disguise it with a bunch of extra cream? But triple-crèmes continue to be crowd pleasers, so where there is demand, there is a cheese. They tend to be mild, milky and luxuriously melting on the tongue.

Some triple-crème recommendations:

• Mt Tam (California) - Gorgeous little cheeses with a bloomy rind. Washed version of the same cheese is Red Hawk.
• Saint André (France). Silky and sinful, like a brie that bathes in cream.
• Sharpham Rustic (England). A delicious semi-soft triple-crème, with a more concentrated buttery flavor.

Parlez vous fromage?

Since most of the best cheeses in the world come from Europe I thought you might find a basic list of European cheese vocabulary helpful in interpreting the labels at the cheese store.

English : Cow, Sheep, Goat

French: Vache, Brebis, Chèvre

Italian: Mucca or Vacca, Pecora, Capra

Spanish: Vaca, Oveja, Cabra

English : Raw milk, Pasteurized milk

French: Lait brut, Lait pasteurisé

Italian: Latte non pastorizzato, Latte pastorizzato

Spanish: Leche crudo, Leche pasteurizada

So now you can see right away that Pecorino is a sheep’s milk cheese from Italy, and Cabra al Vino is a goat’s milk cheese from Spain. Now head to the Euro section like a pro…

Why do some cheeses melt better than others?

The more fat a cheese contains, the better it will melt. Reduced fat and fat-free cheeses will end up a rubbery blob if you try to melt them. Soy and other imitation cheeses will have the same problem. So which cheeses make the best grilled cheese sandwiches? Try: All pressed, firm cow’s milk cheeses. Grating rather than slicing cheese aids the melting process. Sheep’s milk cheeses melt well, but the fat tends to separate out when over heated. Avoid: Goat’s milk cheeses and cheeses with high water content (e.g., mozzarella) which will flatten and brown slightly but never become gooey.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

Ingredients: Medium to thin sliced bread (brioche, sourdough and country bread all work well), truffle butter (available in most gourmet food stores), Fontina cheese (or any Alpine cheese such as Gruyere or Appenzeller), fig jam (optional).

Smear the bread with truffle butter and cover with thin slices of Fontina cheese. Top with bread and press together. Place in a non-stick skillet at medium heat and grill until bread is golden brown and cheese has melted. (Optional) Take a round or square cookie cutter and punch out mini appetizer sandwiches. Top with a small dollop of fig jam and serve right away.

What is the difference between Camembert and Brie?

The two cheeses are essentially identical - the main difference is size. Brie is typically made in one, two, three and 6-pound wheels. Camembert is always sold as an 8-ounce disk. The rind of the cheese is referred to as a bloom rind (the white velvety mould is called penicillium candidum). These cheeses age from the outside-in, and can be very yeasty tasting and firm when young. As they age they develop funkier mushroom flavors, and become creamy and luxurious in texture. They are sold in the characteristic wooden boxes, which were introduced to protect the cheese during transportation between the French country side and Paris. Some exceptional brands are Brie de Nangis, Brie de Mieux, and Camembert Châtelain.

Baked Brie

Recipe for Brie in Brioche Dough

From Chef Jacques Pepin’s La Technique

Roll the brioche dough to about ¾ inch larger than the brie all around (use a 2 lb brie), and about ¼ inch thick. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the brie on top and fold the edges of the dough onto the brie. Roll out another piece of dough ¼ inch thick and 1-2 inches larger than the brie all around. Brush with egg wash. Cover the brie, egg-washed side down and press the dough on the sides so it sticks to the bottom layer. Trim it all around. Brush the dough with egg wash and decorate with strips of dough. Brush the decoration with egg wash and let stand for 20 minutes at room temperature. Baked in preheated 350-degree F oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Let rest for a few hours before serving so brie does not ooze out completely when cut. If you prefer to serve warm, place in 400-degree F oven for 5 minutes to heat up brioche without melting the cheese too much. Cut in slices to serve.

Note: you can try substituting pie crust or puff pastry dough for the brioche dough.