National Cheese Day
Today is National cheese day, as if we need any excuse to eat cheese here at The Social Foodies HQ. However, since today is officially a national day to feast on cheese then what is a girl to do but follow the rules and enjoy? I know, I know, what a hero!
We all love cheese and one of the best things about Christmas is the cheese board we buy, I look forward to it every year. We spoil ourselves at Christmas and always go to a cheese shop and despite looking at lots of cheeses and tasting many, we usually buy a montagnolo (a soft creamy blue cheese), appenzella extra (a hard Swiss cheese), pecorino with chilli (a hard sheeps milk cheese), brebirousse dargental (a soft ewe’s milk cheese with a washed rind). I am a creature of habit and never deviate on our Christmas cheeseboard. We like to serve with some fresh fruit, some preserved green figs, some fresh bread and some crackers for variety - and port! Let’s not forget the port. Of course a cheeseboard is not just for Christmas, there is something absolutely lovely about having one for lunch in the garden, sun shining, crisp white wine in hand. The wonderful thing about a summer lunch cheeseboard is this is usually a little more spontaneous and so means we try different cheeses.
The history of cheese is fascinating (well everything about cheese actually is) and in 2018 archaeologists in Saqqara Necropolis in Egypt discovered a funeral meal in one of the tombs, dating back to 2900BC. When the meal was studied in more detail it was identified that this meal included cheese. Did you know that cheese making actually predates recorded history, with it being widely speculated to date back to 8,000BC. Many archaeological discoveries include of evidence cheesemaking and cheesemaking equipment.
It is thought that cheese most likely came to be quite by accident as milk would have been stored in bladders from ruminant animals (cattle, deer, sheep, goat etc), and therefore the milk would have naturally mixed with rennet whilst being stored and curdling of the milk would have naturally happened. Animal rennet would have been used to make most cheeses almost exclusively (there are some well known exceptions) until the 1970’s however, some cheeses such as Parmesan, Comte and Bleu de Gex still use animal rennet and this is mandatory in those cheeses. You can buy vegetarian alternatives but those alternatives cannot be classed as those exact cheeses.
Nowadays the vast majority of cheeses we buy (especially from supermarkets) are vegetarian using non-animal derived rennet and there really is a wonderful selection. For the Vegans among you, vegan cheese really has come a very long way over the last couple of years. There was a time the overriding taste of vegan cheese was of coconut and, for non-vegans it was quite off putting. The rise of the artisan vegan cheese makers has seen this dramatically improve. There are a good number of different makes now and many behave more like traditional cheese.
If you wanted to learn more about cheese then The Academy of Cheese actually has study courses to promote cheese knowledge, education and careers in cheese. There are 4 levels, you start by becoming an associate at level one, then level 2 sees you progress to a member, level 3 a fellow and then the highest grade is a master.
My cheese of the moment is Red Fox, an aged Red Leicester which has what can only be described as crunchy bits through it. These crunchy bits are, in fact, naturally occurring calcium lactate crystals, which form as the cheese matures. They are the mark of a good cheese and I realised researching this my favourite cheeses of the moment all have this. Aside from Red Fox they include Tickler and Davidstowe. All three have a wonderful creamy quality with these amazing crunchy bits and a really rounded wonderful cheese taste without being overpowering. We both find ourselves just cutting off little taster chunks with little or no self control. These cheeses work wonderfully in quiche or even a very simple cheese salad roll.
Although having said that, burrata and mozzarella are both extremely mild and yet remain firm favourites. I absolutely love breaking fresh burrata over a pizza and, especially in summer, can you get anything nicer than a Caprese salad. Very simple mozzarella, fresh tomatoes warm from the sun and that little aniseedy basil bite. I can still remember the first time I ever ate a Caprese salad, I was standing in my kitchen looking out of the window and the simple yet such beautiful flavours took me by surprise.
So today why not indulge and appreciate this wonderful tasty versatile ingredient. Whether it is in a burger such as the Juicy Lucy (an inside cheese burger) or on a burger like Ze German (a super flavourful burger with a beer cheese sauce), as a cheese sauce on cauliflower cheese or macaroni cheese (or why not try our nduja macaroni cheese for a twist), an easy after work cheese and leek jacket, in a simple yet gorgeous feta and squash salad or even a cheesecake; or in a cheese and jalapeño bread which is wonderful with soup or even just butter. There are so many ways to enjoy cheese, we hope you find some inspriation amongst these pages.
