Tips and tricks to succeed with extra CHEESE
What cheese to put? How many varieties? How to organize them? What do I accompany her? Before, after or during the meal? And so, we can have a good time when we face the apparently simple task of preparing a cheese board.
DECIDE THE TYPE OF TABLE
"The first thing to consider is c On what criteria are we going to do it: geographical, by type of milk, by cheese families, vertical type (the same cheese, but different months of maturation) or transversal type (different types of the same cheese, but with the same months of maturation) ", explains Enric Canut , gastronomic adviser to Ardai and one of the greatest cheese experts in Spain.
If we choose to take into account the type of milk, it is important that it contains "milk of the different animals: cow, goat and sheep, which are the most common, but others can also be included, such as buffalo, because they give different flavors ", he assures, Philip Serrano , Maitre Fromager of Poncelet Cheese Bar in Madrid.
For some this photo is GOD
HOW MANY VARIETIES AND WHICH?
Although from four we could already start talking about a cheese board, both experts agree: seven or eight cheeses is the idea l. They have to be "each from a different cheese family. That is, different and complementary cheeses Canut indicates.
Thus, in a table you cannot miss (especially in a traveling one) the cooked pasta cheeses , like the Swiss Gruyère or Emmentaler; those of moldy soft pasta , such as Brie or Camembert; those of pressed pasta or hard pasta, that usually give a touch more salty; those of soft paste ; the soft paste and washed rind fragrant , like the Belgian Bonsecours; and the blue cheeses , such as a Stealton.
Serrano, is also committed to starting with "fresher and little-matured, lactic varieties, such as lactic coagulation goat cheese."
pure harmony
WHAT DO WE ACCOMPANY?
"If we are in a tasting, to clean the taste buds we will use water, white bread, sour green apple or celery" Canut explains. If, on the other hand, we want to have companions, Ardai's advisor bets on playing with the breads (toasted, white or cereals), with the crudities (radish, cucumber or carrot) and the fresh fruit (pear or apple mainly) .
Felipe Serrano also adds the nuts because "they enhance the nutty nuances that some cheeses may have" and the sweet jams or quinces , since they "contrast with the stronger cheeses".
combination of flavors
WHAT DO WE DRINK IT WITH?
The Maitre Fromager of the Poncelet Cheese Bar opts for a " White wine that does not mask the flavors" for the softer and more acidic varieties. The more mature cheeses are accompanied by "a red wine with some barrel ". The moldy varieties pair well with the cava or champagne ; and the cakes with a odorous . For the washed rinds? "A Toasted beer , from abbeys that have more body and are creamier". And the blues, without hesitation, " with a sweet wine like a port."
If taking each nuance into account is complicated, Enric Canut recommends, in the case of the most varied tables, betting on the ace "wild" drinks: Alsatian beer, sherry (dry oloroso) or barrel-fermented white wine".
We would live on cheese well accompanied by a good wine
HOW TO PRESENT IT?
For Canut, it is very important "the form of cut the cheeses . There are very nice techniques". In this sense, Serrano also stresses that care must be taken with the matured varieties : "If it is cut very fat, the fat and salt are noticeable in the bite. If it is thinner, the nuances are more noticeable".
Maitre Fromager also underlines the importance of order . "If we do it on a round plate, you have to go clockwise to go from softer to stronger. If we do it on a blackboard, they have to go from left to right." And it is that, IMPORTANT!, the cheese tasting should always be done from the mildest to the strongest flavor , so as not to miss the nuances of any variety.
The context in which the table is served must also be taken into account. If there are few people, " you can present the cheeses in a single wood" . On the other hand, if it is a tasting with many people, Canut is committed to "cutting a piece of each variety for each person and taking out in different trays the varieties".
The moment of the truth
WHEN TO SERVE IT? THE CRUX OF THE MATTER
"In Spain we are used to pre-meal snack ", explains Serrano, who clarifies that "it can be used as single dish , accompanied by some meat". If we opt for the dessert , the board has to end "with a cheese with sweet nuances".
For Canut, a cheese board is food itself and it is best enjoyed as main dish with accessories . "If you present six or eight cheeses from 20 grams each variety , which is the appropriate cut, is already 150 grams per person".
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The perfection