Cheese Lovers

Hello everyone my name is Laurie and I want to welcome you to this course. We will learn all about one of the oldest yet most delicious foods on this planet; cheese! Let’s get started!

Cheese is usually categorized intofour types: soft, semisoft semi-hard and hard. The designation refers to the amount of moisture in the cheese, which directly affects its texture. Making cheese is an ancient practice, dating back thousands of years, and the home cheese maker can usually find recipes for cheese that falls into any of the four categories.

Soft cheese includes cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta, brie, bleu, roquefort, mozzarella, meunster and similar cheeses. These cheeses generally pair well with fruit or meats, or can be used as breakfast cheeses in an omelette Nor as pasta fillings. They are usually mildly flavored and very high in moisture.

American, Colby, co-jack and similar cheeses are inthe semi-soft category. These are slightly stronger in flavor and cover a wide range of uses. Co-jack cheese, a blend of Colby and Monterrey jack is one of the most popular. This allows the sharper flavor of Colby to be combined with the milder jack cheese, and also melts better than plain Colby. Grilled cheese sandwiches often use American cheese, and Mexican cheeses such as Asadero and Queso Fresco are becoming more popular.

Hard cheeses include Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, Swiss, Gruyere and others. Parmesan and Romano are most familiar as the grated powder used to top spaghetti, but they are also used as accompaniments for fruit, wine, nuts and other appetizer items. Swiss is a popular sandwich cheese and melts well, unlike some other hard cheeses.