THE CHEESE WIRE - CHEESE FOR ALL OCCASIONS

Instead of the usual suspects on your cheeseboard over the coming months we need to start thinking LOCAL. More than ever they need your support as restaurants slowly get back up and running.

THE PERFECT CHEESEBOARD OR PLATTER

Cheese is the perfect fast food for friends or unforeseen guests.  Choose at least of the 7 types below, add fresh or dried fruit, a few nuts, granny’s chutney and crusty bread and voila you have lunch, supper or whatever.  I’ve used cheeses from my local region, Hawke’s Bay [NZ] but check out the locals near you.

Things to know about Cheese

Cheese like wine is the fruit of the soil
What the animals eat will affect the flavour & the texture
Any cheese can be made with any milk from cow to camel 
The texture will be similar, but the taste will be influenced by the unique character of the animal

Classic characteristics
Cow:
Buttery, sweet, fruity, green grass, raw onion
Goat:
Aromatic, herbaceous, almonds, marzipan
Ewe:
Slightly oily, brazil nuts, sweet like caramel
Buffalo:
Earthy leathery
Camel & Yak:
Earthy, feral, gamey, wild

Ordering & Buying

Most of these you can buy locally in Hawke’s Bay, from the makers or their local Farmers Market
Hastings Market, Black Barn Market, Nelson Market or Clevedon Market 

Storing

Keep them in their original wrapping if you can otherwise wrap them in wax or greaseproof paper and store in a sealed box in the fridge.

Gladwrap is not the kiss of death for hard cheese as people would have you believe but it doesn’t allow softer cheeses to breathe

Beeswax cloth is very on trend and smells wonderful – it certainly works and makes a great gift
All cheeses have moulds, yeasts and delicious bacteria growing in them or on them.  So, when you cut a cheese or take it out of its packet and expose it to air they start to grow and spread – this is good not bad

The thicker or fatter the chunk or slices of cheese the better and longer it will survive

Cutting not Hacking

Treat cheese like a cake – you wouldn’t chop the “nose” off a wedge of cake so don’t do it to cheese!  And if it’s a big wedge lie it on its side then slice off thin wedges or triangles, so the cheese stays the same shape!

The real secret however is never give the philistines a knife – in seconds they turn your cheeseboard into a massacre faster than you can say “hack a turkey”! 

So, cut a few slices of each before you serve them.  It won’t stop a determined hacker but the last laugh is on them - the “best” bit is near the rind, not the middle!

Provide a knife for each cheese or they will all end up tastings the same

Why you should eat more cheese

It contains calcium that we all need to build bones – its just concentrated milk – so don’t avoid it eat it.  AND it isn’t as fattening as you think

Just remember
- the softer the cheese the lower the fat content
- the harder the cheese the higher the fat
- BUT hard cheeses are less than 35%!