Versatile Cheese

Executive Chef, Bryan Moscatello

 I like many others really enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich, onion soup with a gratine of gruyere, some welsh rarebit, even a slice of New York style cheesecake.  It is all of these things that make cheese such a wonderful ingredient to cook with.  So why is this particular item so well suited for so many different things?  Some of the simplest reasons might be that first it’s just plain good and we want to get the flavor of our favorite anyway we can, which leads me into my next point which is that it comes in so many different shapes, sizes and textures.

Taleggio Grilled Cheese on Fruit Nut Bread at Zola Wine & Kitchen lunch

Let’s break down the most basic of cheese items, the grilled cheese sandwich.  The grilled cheese was always my favorite growing up.  It was nicely buttered and griddled bread filled with molten American cheese, delicious.  But as I grew older, learned more and my tastes began to evolve molten American was not the answer anymore.  So loaded with an arsenal of information about affinage, pate, natural rind, bloomy rind, washed rind, pressed, triple cream, pasteurized and unpasteurized I embarked on the glorious journey of eating my way through some of the world’s greatest cheeses.

Since I started learning about French cheeses first I took on their artisanal cheese making culture first.  The amazing thing is the fact that all cheeses start with milk and rennet which for the most part has a very similar flavor profile.  However once the milk is put into the hands of the cheese maker it becomes as different as the people that are making them.  Through all of my tastings of Roquefort, bleu de brebis, fourme d’ambert, epoisses, selle sur cher, valency, abondance, morbier, mimolette, crotin de chavignol, morbier and the list goes on and on.  We haven’t even left France yet.  I think all cheeses are suited for different things.  For example there are some cheeses that are solely suited for grating and cooking there are some that are not suited for being cooked at all.  Then there are the cheese tray cheeses which are the ones that are standouts and are meant to be eaten simply tempered by themselves so that you can savor every element of the cheese.  I have found that I much prefer a strong ripe cheese over a more mild timid variety.  The washed rind cheeses as well as the bleu vein cheeses are among the best for me.  Epoisses which is a washed rind cheese from Burgundy is washed with a marc de Bourgogne is my favorite cheese to date.

As for cooking with the different varieties I really enjoy utilizing bleu cheeses in risottos or with pastas as well as for ravioli.  I also prefer to use some of those more pungent types, such as taleggio on a fruit nut bread to make a great grilled cheese.  A thin slice of morbier or fontina DOP makes a great addition to a rare roast veal sandwich.  And as for my favorite cheese epoisses I use it on everything from burgers, to grits and I even make a “whiz” out of it for cheese fries.  This is only a slight glimmer into the realm of cheese we did not even touch upon the fact that France, Italy and Spain have cheese making laws that govern what they can sell as a specific name.

So until we dive deeper into the amazing world of cheeses enjoy your favorites but try many many more kinds so to taste the diversity.

Tags: cheese