indwe magazine – April 2005

Say Cheese
Text: Eric Davis
Images: © Marlene Truter Communications
Cheese is nutritious food made mostly from the milk of cows, sheep, goats, buffalo, reindeer, camels and yaks. No matter how far archaeological finds go, there is evidence of the existence of cheese. Join us in exploring the weird and wonderful ways of coagulated milk.
There are at least 651 different types of cheeses. I know. I have a spreadsheet. From Abbaye de Belloc, a semi-hard French farmhouse cheese made from ewe’s milk, all the way to Zanetti Parmigiano Reggiano, a hard Italian cheese made from cow’s milk and regarded as the king of cheese. The names range from the prosaic (Brick Cheese – a semi-hard American cheese that apparently “suggests a mixture of sweet, spicy and nutty flavour” and tastes delicious with beer or apple juice), to the romantic (Dolcelatte – a soft Italian cheese that “melts in the mouth like ice cream”), to the near unpronounceable (Oszczypek – a very old smoked cheese made by shepherds living in the Tatra mountains in Poland).
With all this to choose from, one has to wonder why South Africans restrict themselves to Gouda and Cheddar, with the occasional sprinkling of a few grains of Parmesan over a plate of pasta. Admittedly, urbane pizza eaters are vaguely aware of the existence of Mozzarella and the sophisticated palate does indeed stretch to a cube or six of Feta in the mixed garden salad. Maybe all is not lost.
Don’t misunderstand me: I am not suggesting that we all head for the Blue Cheese. Even I can acknowledge when a thing goes too far. All I am saying is let us be a little more adventurous. Let us stuff the odd éclair with Mascarpone. Let us slap a slice of Paneer on a toasted sarmie now and again. Just once a month, let us splash out on a layer of Ricotta for the weekly lasagne. Let us revive the ‘Cheese and Wine’ function, so popular during the eighties, and this time let us do it justice.
Cheese and wine is a venerable union indeed. Charlie and Camilla have nothing on cheese and wine. The latter have a longer lineage and, some would say, one more noble. Cheese and wine can be consumed ‘raw’, that is with little or no preparation. Let’s face it, not many people would volunteer to stomach that other couple in the raw...
As with any august occasion, there are a few decrees of protocol that should be followed for the successful marriage of cheese and wine. Do remember that, like red wine needs time to breathe, cheese is more flavourful at room temperature. As a rule, the whiter and fresher the cheese the crisper and fruitier the wine should be. Generally speaking, white wine does better with many cheeses than red. Dry, fresh red wines are ideally suited to soft, goaty cheeses. Of course, nothing stops you from flying in the face of tradition. If a particular combination works for you, chances are it will work for at least some other people too.
For the truly adventurous, there is of course the option of making your own cheese. Be warned however, while there is a basic step-by-step process, there are no hard and fast rules. Cheese making is very much a combination of technical skill and art. In essence, the process starts by heating milk to just short of boiling point. At this stage a little vinegar is added to provide the acid needed for the milk to curdle. Traditionally, a culture would be used instead of the vinegar but the latter will suffice for beginners. The culture is, however, very much a part of what would give the cheese its distinctive flavour. The cooled mixture consists of curds and whey. Pour this through a colander to separate the two. What you are after is the curds, which are sprinkled with salt, mixed with a little cream for a silkier texture and then pressed into shape. The more the curd mixture is pressed, the harder the cheese will be.
Now if you want a real education in the ways of cheese, you will take yourself to South Africa’s very own cheese festival. The festival runs from 29 April to 2 May and is hosted on the Bien Donné farm in the Boland. The festival promises workshops, markets, a cheese emporium and even a kiddie’s corner. You will have fun, you will learn, you will taste. You might even change your life. Or at least your shopping habits!
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