"A cheese may disappoint. It may be dull, it may be naive, it may be over sophisticated. Yet it remains, cheese, milk’s leap toward immortality.” - Clifton Fadiman(May 15, 1904 - June 20, 1999)
My childhood was gone through some fancy sandwiches, albeit with some processed cheese, thanks to Amul, still a giant producer of dairy products in India. When it first came up with the idea of "processed cheese", yes, everyone was amused. Even I forced my mother[who has always been tough to my wants & needs]to buy some for me & taste how does it taste like. First taste, creamy, secondary taste, a little salty[but still ok for a palate, who used to hate salt, once upon a time]& the tertiary tastes of creamier texture. Often, it was being grated for my sandwiches[cheese slices were still not produced then!!!], which were often had with loads & loads of ketchup...or have it as it is....
Despite, loving it initially, I started loathing cheese in the meantime, till I got admitted myself to hospitality institute & started cooking with cheese. Thankfully, Kolkata started shedding its much outdated outlook[perhaps, it is still carried over now..in spite of the globalisation everywhere] with more and more supermarkets having a dedicated dairy section, including some imported cheese--prime ones being parmiggiano reggiano, gouda, emmenthal, cheddar, boursin & some other cheeses.
Back those days, since my fascination has always been to cook the one & only Italian cuisine, I treated myself by buying a chunk of grana padano[a reasonable alternative to expensive Parmiggiano Reggiano, parmesan cheese otherwise] & use it judiciously over my pasta dishes, or while making some mushroom risotto...at home...whilst, when I joined hotels, as a professional, for the sake of tasting, I tasted a dozens of cheese or perhaps more than that. Coming to Dubai, again it is a blessing in disguise, as here I have tasted cheeses, which I can never taste in India.
I will not tell you there are how many cheeses & how many types of cheeses in this planet, neither, how they are made. My first attempt for using cheese as dessert was using Danish Blue cheese for making some pannacotta at home--the Italian dessert with a little twist--with pineapple & blue cheese & nutmeg foam on top. The combination to you may be weird, but it is really interesting combination---it was sweet vs. salty. Thereafter, playing with cheeses for making canapes, or sometimes, adding them to meat--mortadella for example & come up with some interesting canapes[there were critics to it also!!!]..
There are some of my favorites, with some combinations, that I will always serve to my friends, guests alike...and they are..
Brie de Meaux, goes well with apples, pears, figs & of course green grapes
Taleggio, excellent with pears, figs
Camembert-serve it same like you do with brie
Gorgonzola..a classical combination is walnut & pears, also pineapple
Goat cheese--with olive oil[???], berries, mango jam
Mozzarella--beetroot [if you are having for salad or as it is...it goes well with roasted beetroot]
Cheddar--onion marmalade
Parmesan--crackers, cantaloupe
[Note:Almost all cheeses can be served with crackers or pane carasau, the Sardinian specialty crackers. Fruits as indicated, can be served in various forms, like compote, stewed or even carpaccio. Roasting the beetroot, actually intensifies the flavours]
I always feel that it is a luxury, to have some cheeses at the end of your meal, especially if the menu is european..a couple of well-ripened cheese, and a bottle of wine...and there you go. But for heaven's sake..never ever, have cheese with water!!!
And finally if you didn't know, the vegetarians of India swear by it, Paneer, like the firm ricotta is India's version of cottage cheese!!!
My childhood was gone through some fancy sandwiches, albeit with some processed cheese, thanks to Amul, still a giant producer of dairy products in India. When it first came up with the idea of "processed cheese", yes, everyone was amused. Even I forced my mother[who has always been tough to my wants & needs]to buy some for me & taste how does it taste like. First taste, creamy, secondary taste, a little salty[but still ok for a palate, who used to hate salt, once upon a time]& the tertiary tastes of creamier texture. Often, it was being grated for my sandwiches[cheese slices were still not produced then!!!], which were often had with loads & loads of ketchup...or have it as it is....
Despite, loving it initially, I started loathing cheese in the meantime, till I got admitted myself to hospitality institute & started cooking with cheese. Thankfully, Kolkata started shedding its much outdated outlook[perhaps, it is still carried over now..in spite of the globalisation everywhere] with more and more supermarkets having a dedicated dairy section, including some imported cheese--prime ones being parmiggiano reggiano, gouda, emmenthal, cheddar, boursin & some other cheeses.
Back those days, since my fascination has always been to cook the one & only Italian cuisine, I treated myself by buying a chunk of grana padano[a reasonable alternative to expensive Parmiggiano Reggiano, parmesan cheese otherwise] & use it judiciously over my pasta dishes, or while making some mushroom risotto...at home...whilst, when I joined hotels, as a professional, for the sake of tasting, I tasted a dozens of cheese or perhaps more than that. Coming to Dubai, again it is a blessing in disguise, as here I have tasted cheeses, which I can never taste in India.
I will not tell you there are how many cheeses & how many types of cheeses in this planet, neither, how they are made. My first attempt for using cheese as dessert was using Danish Blue cheese for making some pannacotta at home--the Italian dessert with a little twist--with pineapple & blue cheese & nutmeg foam on top. The combination to you may be weird, but it is really interesting combination---it was sweet vs. salty. Thereafter, playing with cheeses for making canapes, or sometimes, adding them to meat--mortadella for example & come up with some interesting canapes[there were critics to it also!!!]..
There are some of my favorites, with some combinations, that I will always serve to my friends, guests alike...and they are..
Brie de Meaux, goes well with apples, pears, figs & of course green grapes
Taleggio, excellent with pears, figs
Camembert-serve it same like you do with brie
Gorgonzola..a classical combination is walnut & pears, also pineapple
Goat cheese--with olive oil[???], berries, mango jam
Mozzarella--beetroot [if you are having for salad or as it is...it goes well with roasted beetroot]
Cheddar--onion marmalade
Parmesan--crackers, cantaloupe
[Note:Almost all cheeses can be served with crackers or pane carasau, the Sardinian specialty crackers. Fruits as indicated, can be served in various forms, like compote, stewed or even carpaccio. Roasting the beetroot, actually intensifies the flavours]
I always feel that it is a luxury, to have some cheeses at the end of your meal, especially if the menu is european..a couple of well-ripened cheese, and a bottle of wine...and there you go. But for heaven's sake..never ever, have cheese with water!!!
And finally if you didn't know, the vegetarians of India swear by it, Paneer, like the firm ricotta is India's version of cottage cheese!!!
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