| Cheese. It's a wonderfully versatile food. We use | | | | Semi-firm cheeses are good melting cheeses, or |
| it to top pizzas, to sprinkle on our spaghetti, to | | | | good to eat on their own.Semi-soft cheeses like |
| spread on crackers. And without cheese, a grilled | | | | Camembert are good cheeses for spreading on |
| cheese sandwich would be nothing but buttered | | | | crackers or crusty bread.Fresh cheeses range |
| toast.Cheese is produced in many parts of the | | | | from a mild cream cheese, to a rich creamy |
| world, two of the most well known countries | | | | marscapone. These cheeses can be eaten spread |
| being France and Italy. There are many varieties | | | | on crackers, but are also commonly used for |
| of cheese, but they are all made in a similar | | | | cooking desserts. Marscapone is an essential |
| fashion. Milk and cream consist of two parts, the | | | | ingredient in tiramisu.While talking about cheese, |
| solid milk fats, and the whey. Cheese is produced | | | | we can't forget to mention blue cheese, which is |
| by causing the fats to come together, forming | | | | a cheese, with blue-green veins of mold, which |
| curds. This is done by either adding acid or various | | | | gives the cheese a sharp flavor and aroma. Blue |
| bacteria to the milk or cream, causing it to curdle. | | | | cheeses include gorgonzola, roquefort, and |
| The curds are then processed in different ways | | | | stilton.If you are going to be serving cheese as |
| to form different cheeses. The type of cheese | | | | part of a cheese course, hard, semi-firm, and |
| made depends on the type of milk used, the | | | | semi-soft cheeses shoud be allowed to stand at |
| percentage of fats in the milk, and the process | | | | room temperature for an hour before serving. |
| used to make the cheese. Most cheeses come | | | | Fresh cheeses, should be served chilled. Choose |
| from cow's milk, but cheeses are also made from | | | | three or four types of cheese, either cheeses |
| goat's milk, sheep's milk, and real mozzerella | | | | with similar characteristics and flavors, or |
| cheese is made from water buffalo milk. Cheese | | | | contrasting cheeses. If you like, you can serve |
| is generally categorized by it's texture, hard, | | | | the cheese with crackers or crusty bread. Also |
| semi-firm, semi-soft, or fresh.Hard cheeses are | | | | some people serve their cheeses with a variety |
| generally aged for 12 months or more. They | | | | of fruits, apples, pears, figs, and seedless grapes |
| usually have a sharp salty taste, and are excellent | | | | would be good choices, as well as shelled |
| for grating over pasta or salads. Parmesan, | | | | walnuts.Whether you like using cheese for |
| Asiago, and Romano are examples of hard | | | | cooking, or eating on it's own, cheese delivers it's |
| cheeses.Semi-hard cheeses may or may not be | | | | own goodness and flavor.Tim Sousa is the |
| aged. In general, the longer the cheese ages, the | | | | webmaster for Classy Cooking. An online cooking |
| sharper the flavor will be. A taleggio, which only | | | | resource with dozens of recipes, cooking tips, and |
| ages for about 6 weeks will have a milder flavor | | | | other helpful information. |
| than a cheddar that has aged for months. | | | | |