Fresh Cheese & Mould Ripened

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="14028661egerdp.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>www.headchefsupport.com</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.headchefsupport.com"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >back to  </FONT><A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="All About Cheese"><B>All  About Cheese</B></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=120 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="765781c2egerdp.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id187.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Cheese Making Process Categories">The Cheese Making Process & Categories</A></div> <div> <B>Fresh Cheese  & Mould Ripened </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id189.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stretched Curd, Cheddar Round Eye Chee">Stretched Curd, Cheddar & Round  Eye Cheeses</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id190.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Goats, Sheeps Milk Cheese Commonly Aske">Goats, Sheep's Milk Cheese & Commonly Asked Questions</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id191.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Australian Cheese Varieties">Australian Cheese Varieties</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id192.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Serving Storing Suggestion for Cheese">Serving  & Storing Suggestion for Cheese</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id193.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cheese Wine Matching">Cheese & Wine Matching</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id194.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cheese Terms">Cheese Terms</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFF80" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Fresh Cheese  & Mould Ripened </I></div> <div>                                                                                      <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>FRESH CHEESE </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>CHARACTERISTICS </B></div> <div> Fresh cheese is a general term for soft, fresh. Moist curd cheeses with a short shelf life. These cheeses are not ripened and have no protective rind coat. But their high moisture content (whey), crucial for the soft texture and flavour, also minimises shelf life because the whey evaporates easily or can turn the cheese rancid. </div> <div> Specialist fresh cheese is a simple, honest curd cheese, requiring good, clean, fresh milk and a careful cheese maker to display it</div> <div>  are subtle flavour complexities. After adding starter and, usually, lactic acid or rennet, the curds are cut and stirred before being handed-ladled into hoops for draining. The natural process varies according to the cheese: the less whey left, the longer it will keep. </div> <div> Finding the best fresh cheese requires a sensitive approach: use 'your eyes and nose. The aroma should always be sweet, floral one. The cheese should look moist, not dull, dry or tacky. It should be soft and tender in texture and usually has a slightly sweet, lactic residue. This lovely sweet character comes from the milk sugars in the whey. </div> <div> High moisture content mild flavour. </div> <div> Generally the higher the moisture content, the shorter the life of the cheese. </div> <div> <B>POPULAR STYLES OF FRESH CHEESE </B></div> <div> Cottage Cheese, Mascarpone, Quark. Cream Cheese, Ricotta. Bocconcini and Goats Cheese. </div> <div> <B>1) Cottage Cheese </B></div> <div> Moist soft pea sized particles folded together with a very mild and bland flavour. It is most often used in salads </div> <div> arid low fat diets. The most common substitute for cottage cheese is Quark. </div> <div> <B>2) Mascarpone </B></div> <div> Smooth thick whipped cream with a slightly acidic flavour. It is creamy in colour and is often eaten with fruit or dessert. More </div> <div> recently mascarpone has been matched with prosciutto and figs and similar Italian flavours. South Cape Mascarpone is </div> <div> a good example of this type of cheese. </div> <div> <B>3) Quark</B></div> <div> Very similar to Cottage Cheese though smoother and with smaller particles.  Quark is most often used in dips and salads.</div> <div> <B>4) Cream Cheese</B></div> <div> Made from light cream or a blend of cream and milk, cream cheese is smooth and creamy and is most often used in dips, </div> <div> spreads and cheesecakes.   </div> <div> <B>5) Ricotta </B></div> <div> Made from whey and skim milk. Ricotta is a fine, moist cheese and must be eaten within a week of manufacture. It is most </div> <div> often used in cheesecakes, pasta bases and pastry dishes. </div> <div> <B>6) Bocconcini </B></div> <div> Bocconcini looks like egg shaped balls, is mild in flavour and has a soft moist and spongy texture.  It is often used in salads and is best complimented with sundried tomatoes and basil.  Bocconcini should be used within a week of manufacture.  If the exterior of</div> <div>  the cheese is slimy, it means the cheese is old.  A good example of this type of cheese is South Cape Bocconcini. </div> <div> <B>7) Fetta </B></div> <div> Fetta can be either soft, or firm and crumbly depending on its age.  It is generally cut in blocks and stored in a salt brine solution. </div> <div> The longer the cheese is in the salt, the harder the cheese becomes.  Fetta is most often used in salads and is a traditional </div> <div> Greek cheese regularly used in Greek cooking. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Problems That May Occur With Fresh Cheese </B></div> <div> Cheese can and will turn sour.  Fresh Cheeses do not have the qualiries to last outside use-by. </div> <div> Character of cheese deteriorates with age.  Should be eaten as young as possible. </div> <bR> <div> <B>                                                                         </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> MOULD RIPENED </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>                                                                           <B>CHARACTERISTICS</B> </div> <div> Less moisture with a mild to strong flavour depending on the age and style of the cheese. </div> <bR> <div> <B>POPULAR STYLES OF SOFT CHEESE </B></div> <div> Brie, Carnembert, Triple Cream, Washed Rind, Blue Cheese. </div> <bR> <div> <B>1). Brie and Camembert </B></div> <bR> <div> Brie and Camembert are known as surface ripened white mould cheese. This style of cheese grows the white mould on the outside of the cheese generally taking about 8 days to develop a full bloom. The white mould matures the cheese from the out Side into the centre. The interior of the cheese is mild in flavour and quite creamy to taste. The white mould is edible and adds to the flavour of the cheese, </div> <bR> <div> The white-mould bloom is a type of mushroom culture.  Ideally, it likes moist,  humid conditions to grow well and, as a living culture, it needs air, though not too much.  Like mushrooms, it grows best in dark, humid maturing rooms or cellars at approximately 95% humidity and 12C. Once it has grown on the exterior of the cheese, a process that takes a little over a week, it needs to be protected carefully to ensure it does not dry out or sweat. It has a delicate, wet-velvet feel,  so the cheese is packed in a special "breathing" paper to allow it to continue growing as the cheese matures. </div> <div> The best surface-ripened cheeses are those made with early summer or early autumn milk. </div> <bR> <div> Some good examples of Brie include, King Island Brie, Brie Renommee, Clover Creek Brie, South Cape Peppered Brie. Camembert examples include: King Island Camembert, South Cape Camembert. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Problems That May Occur with Brie and Camembert </B></div> <div> <B>a).   Browning on the Outside </B></div> <div> The white mould may have some browning on it meaning it may either be bruised (from handling) or nearing the end of its life with the white mould beginning to break down. </div> <div> <B>b).   Ammoniated Smell </B></div> <div> Often a cheese that has been wrapped in its own environment may smell quite strong.  Let the cheese stand for about ten minutes uncovered.  If the smell is still unpleasant the cheese may have reached the end of its life. </div> <div> <B>c).   Mould Growth on Cut Face </B></div> <div> This is proof that the cheese is alive and maturing well.  It should be regarded as a positive. </div> <div> <B>d).  Maturing Cheese - when should it be purchased? </B></div> <div> Consumers are confused with "use-by" dates.  With speciality cheese the nearer the cheese is to the "use by" generally the better the flavour. Very young cheese lacks flavour and character </div> <bR> <div> <B>2). Triple Cream Cheese </B></div> <bR> <div> A white mould cheese with butterfat content much higher than Brie. (i.e. about 70%). Very rich and creamy with similar white mould characteristics to a Brie. Unlike the soft cheeses, which mature from the outside in, this cheese develops from the inside out. </div> <div> King Island Seal Bay Triple Cream, is a good example of this type of cheese. The package is uniquely designed to protect the white mould and to allow the cheese to develop its own microenvironment. The cheese should be kept in the container and returned to it after use as this allows the cheese to continue to mature. </div> <div> Triple cream cheese is subject to the same sort of problems that may occur with Brie and Camembert. </div> <bR> <div> <B>3). Washed Rind </B></div> <bR> <div> Surfaced-ripened, washed-rind cheeses are natural, soft-curd cheeses. They form part of the family of cheeses maturing from the exterior rind towards the centre of the cheeses and can be considered closely related to Brie and Camembert, which are also surfaced-ripened. </div> <bR> <div> The proteciv rind is formed by washing the exterior of the freshly hooped cheese gently in brine solution forms the protective rind. </div> <div> This solution is made to a special recipe and varies from cheese to cheese. It usually contains some alcohol and a mixture of herbs and most important  a high percentage of salt. </div> <div> The initial "wash" or "smear" also includes a bacterium called bacterium linens. or b. linens, which promotes the maturing action on the surface of the cheese. It is also responsible for that smell and without careful control, it can make the rind very sticky.</div> <div>  </div> <div> The cheese surface requires regular washing for two important reasons. First, the brining ensures the fresh curd cheese remains moist and doesn't crack. Second the protective rind provides the ideal conditions for b. linens to activate the surface ripening. </div> <bR> <div> The cheese is matured in cool, dark and damp cellars or maturation rooms, where there is a combination of airborne yeast and natural flora peculiar to the region. In the case of washed-rind surface of the cheeses as they are laid out on racks. As the cheeses ripen, the flora contributes a unique, extra dimension to the character of every cheese. </div> <bR> <div> Autumn the season to buy washed-rind cheeses. The new pasture growth after the long, hot summer months produces milk that is ideal for making this type of cheese. </div> <bR> <div> Is as it says. The cheeses are washed in a brine (salted solution with bacteria) for a period of time to encourage bacteria development, but prevent rind growth. </div> <bR> <div> Although the cheese has been well dried before wrapping, the rind maybe slightly sticky with a distinctive aroma (some may call it horribly smelly). It is the classic case of the bark being worse than the bite. The interior of the cheese is generally rich, golden and soft like Brie with a creamy subtle flavour. Traditionally the rind of a washed rind cheese is not eaten. Those that choose to eat the rind may find it gritty as this is the salt residue left on the skin from the brining solution. </div> <div>  Examples of this type of cheese include, Port Salut (from France) and Mungabareena (from Victoria). King Island Stormy Washed Rind.</div> <div> 4) Blue Cheese </div> <div> Blue cheese can be fresh, soft or firm in character with a network of blue veins of mould growing throughout the body of the cheese. . </div> <div> Summer is the best time of the year to buy Australian blue cheeses. With a maturation time of two months or more, blue cheeses available in summer are made from the flush of late spring milk (when the paddocks are green and there is plenty of fresh, rich, green grass and varied herbage for cows and other animals). The milk is rich: ideal for blue cheeses making. </div> <bR> <div> Blue cheese is a unique category of mould-ripened cheese that matures from the centre, working out towards the rind. The process begins with culturing the milk with selected blue-mould spores, before it is coagulated into curds and whey. After the curd is cur off and the whey' is drained, the cheeses are salted and stored for several months in cool cellars to allow the salt to penetrate to the centre. </div> <bR> <div> When the cheese maker considers the cheese is ready, piercing the cheeses with stainless- steel needles activates the blue cultures. This allows air into the centre and encourages the blue mould to grow along the spike holes and into the smaller crevices of the curd. The spiking action is carried out several times over a month, usually by hand. </div> <bR> <div> The blue cheese veins start light blue at the centre of the cheese. At this stage, the cheese is chalky and slightly bitter known as "green cheese". As it matures, the veins become darker and spread outwards; the cheese softens, slowly developing the distinctive "blue" flavour. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Blue cheese can be split into three main groups:</B></div> <div> <B>1. Natural Rind</B> </div> <div> Identified by the natural crusty mould of the rind. They are usually soft and buttery in texture, with a blue moulding that becomes stronger with maturity. </div> <div> <B>2. Scraped Rind</B> </div> <div> Usually marketed in wax or foil wrap, these cheeses tend to be more aggressive, with a biting, slightly acid, blue flavour and a salty tang. These cheeses are easier for the cheese maker to control and generally have a longer shelf life. </div> <div> <B>3. Blue/White Mould </B></div> <div> These are crossbred from Brie and are very mild and innocent: beginners' cheeses. </div> <bR> <div> <B>POPULAR STYLES OF BLUE CHEESE </B></div> <div> Gorgonzola, Stilton, Blue Brie, Danish Blue. </div> <div> <B>1). Gorgonzola </B></div> <div> Gorgonzola is an Italian style of blue usually made in an 8kg wheel. It has a rich creaminess to it with a mild strong spicy flavour. Endeavour Blue and Gippsland Blue are good examples of this type of cheese. </div> <div> <B>2). Stilton </B></div> <div> Stilton is known as the King of English cheese. It is a firm blue cheese with a smooth texture. Stilton has a mild to sharp quality and, when mature a pronounced full flavour. </div> <div> <B>3). Blue Brie</B> </div> <div> Blue Brie has a white mould similar to ordinary Brie with a mild blue development internally. It is a mild rather bland cheese though good for non-blue.</div> <div> Eaters to make the first transition to blue cheese. Examples of this style of cheese include South Cape Blue Brie and Lighthouse Blue Brie. </div> <div> <B>4) Danish Blue </B></div> <div> Very white and contrasted with blue-black veining with a strong bitter, salty flavour. Danish Blue is best exemplified by Bass Strait Blu, Aussie  Blue and Great Southern Blue.  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>