Theresa's Notes

Cheese

Cheese 對西方人的影響之大可以從超市中上百種的選擇感受到. 品嘗西方美食與紅酒幾乎不可能不碰到. 從早上吃的 Omelette, Bagel 的 Cheese Cream, 中午的 Pizza, Sandwitch, 到晚上的正式佳餚, 到處可以看到. 身為東方人, 剛開始的確感受不太到這個東西的重要性, 只覺得怎麼什麼食物都要加上一點, 那麼多種類也不知道有什麼差別. 但是自從開始研究烹飪與品酒這兩件事之後, 嘗試多了之後就感受到講究的地方在哪邊了. 依照我個人的偏好, 倒是有些建議可以參考. 比如說, 我個人覺得 Sandwitch 和 Pizza 選擇 Parmesan 或 Provolone 口感很好, 雖然大部分的餐館使用 Cheddar. Jalapeno Jack 用來沾洋芋片很不錯, 尤其是辣味的那種. Mozzarella 在義大利餐用得很多, 例如 Pasta, 但在做 Fettucini 時, 我發現 Creamy Havarti 更可以增加 creamy 的濃郁感受. Cheddar 用在 Omelette 則是最搭配的. Cheese 在搭配葡萄酒時, 一般口味越重的(簡單說就是東方人越不能接受的味道), 越適合飲用 body 越 thick 的酒類.

Cheese 可以根據產地, 使用的牛奶種類, 質感(consistency), Style 等等來分類(依據 cheesesupply.com 對超過 700 個不同 cheese 的分類方式). 以產地來分, 前三名是 French, USA, English, 然後是 Italy. 他們代表性的 cheese 有Stilton for UK, Brie for France, Parmesan, Romano for Italy, 美國則是大熔爐, 每個國家的 cheese 都有. 另外荷蘭也有名氣大的 cheese - Gouda, Parrano.

以牛奶種類來分的話:
Cow Milk (323) Goat Milk (55) Sheep Milk (38) Buffalo Milk (1) Mix Of Milks (6) Vegetarian (29)

以質感來分:
Consistency (358) Soft (131) Semi-soft (121) Semi-hard (53) Hard (31) Extra Creamy (20) Crumbly (2)

以 Style 來分:
Brie (30) Blue (52) Cheddar (18) Diet Cheese (24) Feta (12) Grating (10) Gruyere Style (6) Mexican Style (6) Mozzarella (3) Fondue (13) Smoked (7) Spreading (60) Stinky (17) Swiss (24) With Extras (40)

一些特別有名的 cheese 倒是可以做些筆記

Parmesan
Named after an area in Italy, Parma Parmesan is one of the world's most popular and widely-enjoyed cheeses. Milk used for Parmesan is heated and curdled in copper containers but not before most of the milk's cream has been separated and removed. Curd is cut and then heated to 125 degrees F, all the while stirring the curd to encourage whey runoff. The curd is further cooked at temperatures of up to 131 degrees F, then pressed in cheesecloth-lined moulds. After two days, the cheeses are removed and salted in brine for a month, then allowed to mature for up to two years in very humid conditions.

Gouda Cheese
The traditional gouda from Holland has a mild nutty flavor and a semi- firm texture. It is a long time favorite for cheese lovers.

posted by Shihling @ 9:41 上午