Are you searching for an instant party hit? Fast food for the family? A quick fix for unexpected guests? Say cheese! It’s a snack, an hors d’oeuvre with cocktails, an appetizer, an ingredient in many dishes—from breakfast through dinner—a course before dessert or dessert itself.
The challenge is choosing among the vast array of cheeses from around the world. This year my quest began in New York at Gourmet magazine’s Gourmet Institute where Ishan Gurdal, co-owner and cheese guru of Formaggio Kitchen (Cambridge, Boston, New York), presented a seminar on Farmhouse Cheeses of the World.
Savory aromas from a huge trencher loaded with a treasure trove of cheeses perfumed the room. Everyone received eight cheese samples—two each of goat, sheep, cow, and blue, a condiment for each duo, and slices of baguette. “Goat cheese is the most delicate with the least fat,” Gurdal told us. “Cow is middle-of-the-road. Sheep is richer, and water buffalo is richest. A good cheese should start mild and increase in intensity in your mouth and have a lingering finish.
“The quality of the animal, what they eat, the pasture conditions, the time of year—all influence what the cheese will taste like,” he continued. “Each month’s production, every wheel, is different.”
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