Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Today we learned about cheeses. Another yum! Or as Chef Lexey says "when good milk goes bad..."

There are six cheese classifications:
1. Fresh or Lactic/Fromage Frais: This is uncooked, unripened curd. It is moist with a mildly tart flavor, usually unsalted and does not undergo affinage (aging) (I guess we are all going to learn French together, lol) or fermentation. Some examples include Fromage blanc, Mascarpone and fresh goat cheese.

2. Bloomy Rind/Fromage a Croute Fleurie: A mold is added to the curd which induces a white mold on the surface of the cheese in the presence of oxygen and humidity. Some examples include Brie, Camembert, Caource, Brillat Savarin and St Marcellin.

3. Washed Rind/Fromage a Croute Lavee: After the cheese forms its typical crust, the cheese curer inhibits the growth by washing the cheese daily with a alcohol and salt solution. Choices of alcohol include beer, marc, and champagne. This daily washing promotes the growth of salt resistant bacteria known as Brevibacterium; the same bacteria that grows on human skin in humid salty conditions (sweaty socks). This bacterium has a beneficial effect on the internal taste of the cheese, even though the aroma can be quite sulphurous and unappetizing. Many people discard the crust prior to eating. Some examples include Livarot, Munster, Maroilles, Taleggio and Epoisses.

4. Natural Rind/Fromage Frais Affine: No molds are added to the curd and the cheese forms a crust naturally in the presence of oxygen. Some examples include Charollais, Valencay and Crottin de Chavigol.

5, Blue Veined/Pate Persillee: A blue mold, penicillium roqueforti, is added to the curd before it is formed and once the cheese forms an initial crust it is perforated to allow air and moisture to activate the blue mold. The blue mold begins to vein throughout the cheese from the inside out. Some examples include Roquefort, Fourme d'Ambert, Gorgonzola, Cabrales and Stilton.

6. Brushed Rind/Pate Cuite et Pressee: The pate (the cheese itself) is firm. It essentially has a hard crust that comes extensive aging and drying. Curds from cheeses in this category can either be "cooked and pressed" (Parmagiano and Gruyere) or "uncooked and pressed" (Cantal and Salers). The objective is to drive out moisture and increase the cheese shelf-life and flavor. These cheeses will often form calcium lactate crystals which give the cheese its granular mouth feel. Some examples includes Gruyere, Emmenthal, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino and Beaudort.

Interestingly enough, the cheses that have the most fat in them are the Brushed Rind cheeses (they take all the moisture out of them which condenses the cheese).

We also went over instructions for making cheese (interesting thought!). The length of time it takes depends on what type of cheese you are making. There are quite a few books out there apparently that will teach you how to make cheese and tell you where to get your supplies to do so. Chef Lexey covered storing (store in a cool, dry place) and buying cheeses (don't buy more cheese than you will eat in 2-3 days). Be willing to pay for good cheese. The younger the cheese, the less flavor it has. Do NOT wrap your cheese in plastic-usse parchment paper. And lastly: find a good cheesemonger (this is a woman who LOVES cheese). She talked about cheese plates and cheese courses. Serving size is about 3 oz or less per person, serve the cheese at room temperature and cut and serve only as much cheese as you are going to eat. Accompaniments should be thoughtful, don't overpower your cheese. Cheese is usually a dessert course or served last in a meal. Any kind of cheese and port are a good combination.

We spent just an hour on two regions in the South of France: Lanquedoc-Roussillon and Provence. Debbie also talked about Gascony, which is famous for it's Armagnac and Cognac. 60% of the wine Provence makes is rose. The grapes of this region are much the same as the Rhone Valley.

For lunch, we went to Creekside Winery in Evergreen, Colorado (field trip!). We ate in the room they keep their wine tanks in (stainless steel to start). We were served an antipasti platter with a Gewurztraminer. Next came two different salads, then a variety of wonderful pannini-type sandwiches, then a dessert of blackberry cobbler. There was a different wine for each course and each of those wines was very good. There was a Viognier (right out the barrel, it has not been bottled yet!)and a Cabernet Franc (excellent). If Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Blanc had a baby, it would be Cabernet Franc. We also received a tour of their facility and then were able to buy bottles of wine if we wanted, and just a few of us did so!

As I sit here reading and writing, I am baking my bread. when I came home, I turned my bread dough out onto a floured countertop and gently shaped it, then set it on a floured towel to rise for an hour. Then I put a large dutch oven or casserole into the oven and preheated it to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the bread had risen an hour, I removed the casserole dish from the oven, took off the lid and rolled the bread dough into the casserole dish. I baked it with the lid on for 30 minutes and have now removed the lid, leaving the bread and the casserole dish in the oven for another 20-30 minutes (it depends on how dark you like your crust). You then let it cool- do NOT be tempted to cut into it before it cools, it's worth the wait, my friends! we'll see what Carl thinks!