Cheese: combination rules. How to choose quality cheese in a store? How to choose hard cheese

So, let's continue the topic of cheeses. In my very first article, which was dedicated, I talked about what a unique product cheese is, what beneficial properties it has, and also what types of cheeses are most suitable for fitness nutrition. After writing that article, I continued to study information about cheeses, and the deeper I dived into this topic, the more and more shocking information I learned. In the article dedicated to cheeses, I have already revealed to you the other side of the coin of this useful product and told you about how cheeses are made and what manufacturers add to them in order to get more profit from their sales.

After the publication of the previous article, many cheese lovers and simply cheese lovers became upset and fell into despair, as their idea of ​​​​the usefulness of this product was seriously shaken, and along with this came disappointment in all cheeses. But today I want to cheer you up and calm you down a little. Still, not all cheeses are equally harmful; there are still some types that the hands of unscrupulous producers have not yet reached. So in this article I will tell you about different types of cheeses, their preparation technology, the degree of danger and harm to the body. I will also tell you about the types that can be consumed and which do not pose any danger to humans. So today we will study, how to choose the right cheese, and which type should be preferred when following a diet?

Soft cheeses

Soft (unripe) cheeses are cheeses that have a creamy curd consistency. These cheeses are not subjected to melting, smoking or other additional processing. These cheeses differ relatively low protein compared to hard/semi-hard cheeses and high humidity.

Let's take a quick look at some popular types of soft cheeses.

Mozzarella

Mozzarella is a young Italian pickled cheese. To make mozzarella, cow's milk fermented using the rennet enzymes pepsin and trypsin, no lactic acid bacteria are introduced into milk. Next, by kneading with your hands, a casein clot is formed (absolutely bland in taste), then pieces are cut off from this clot and formed into balls, which are placed in a cold saturated solution of table salt, where the cheese is brought to a characteristic slightly salted taste.

Without the addition of nitrites and other preservatives, mozzarella has a short shelf life (5-7 days). If mozzarella has a shelf life of more than 7 days, then it contains 100% preservatives.

To briefly summarize, we can say that mozzarella is an absolutely enzymatic product that does not contain any beneficial fermented milk microflora.

But if you still like this type of cheese not for its beneficial properties, but for some unique taste, then you can eat mozzarella, but be sure to look at the composition and expiration date before purchasing. The composition should not contain preservatives or vegetable fats, and the shelf life should not exceed 7 days.

Ricotta

Ricotta is no longer cheese, but cottage cheese, since it is not made from milk, like all cheeses, but from whey, which usually remains after preparing mozzarella and other cheeses.

In general, one thing can be said about ricotta - it is an analogue of our unleavened cottage cheese (in fact, it is young cottage cheese with a fat content of 8 to 20%), but it only costs 3 times more than cottage cheese.

But if you still prefer ricotta, then choose the right cheese, you must definitely look at the expiration date. The soft variety of ricotta cannot be stored for more than 3 days, even in vacuum packaging; the hard variety can be stored a little longer - up to 2 weeks.

Adyghe cheese

Adyghe cheese is a soft cheese with a curd consistency, which is made from pasteurized milk. fermented milk curdling method, that is, introducing lactic acid bacteria. Adyghe cheese tastes almost the same as mozzarella, and costs 4 times less, and is also much healthier in terms of the presence of beneficial fermented milk microflora in it. So if you're wondering what cheese to choose, so that it is healthy, safe, and tasty, then my advice to you: BUY ADYGHE CHEESE!

Nitrites and other preservatives have not yet been added to Adyghe cheese, which makes this product truly healthy, and most importantly dietary. Adyghe cheese contains only 14 g of fat, 19 g of protein and does not contain carbohydrates at all (note to all those losing weight).

The shelf life of fresh Adyghe cheese is no more than 3 days in the refrigerator. If you store cheese in rossol, the shelf life can be increased to 5 days. To maximize the shelf life of the cheese, you can place it in an airtight bag, put a piece of sugar in it so that it absorbs all the excess liquid, and place it on the coldest shelf in the refrigerator (top or bottom). In this form, Adyghe cheese can be stored for up to 2 weeks.

Cheese Tofu

Tofu can be soft or dense in consistency, which is why it is sometimes called cottage cheese, and sometimes cheese. Tofu is made from soybeans, which are first boiled, ground, and then a coagulant (calcium chloride or sulfate) is added to the resulting soy milk to further curdle it.

Tofu is a unique product that suits almost everyone. It is recommended for use by people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, allergies to dairy products and eggs, vegetarians, people with excess weight problems, children and everyone else who simply loves this cheese.

Tofu is a good antioxidant that removes dioxin, which causes cancer, from the body, it also reduces the level of bad cholesterol, and at the same time it is a super dietary product. Its calorie content is 73 kcal, proteins - 8 g, fats - 4.5 g, carbohydrates - 0.8 g. Therefore, I advise everyone who is watching their figure to take a closer look at this cheese.

How to choose tofu cheese? A good tofu should contain the following ingredients:

— soybeans/soy milk;

- coagulant - this can be calcium chloride or sulfate (E509 or E516), nigari (magnesium chloride) or citric acid. All of these supplements are absolutely safe and non-toxic. There SHOULD NOT be anything extra in tofu.

Tofu is stored for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator at a temperature of 5-6 degrees. To extend its shelf life to 2 weeks, you need to strictly monitor the change of water in the container where the tofu is located (preferably it is a glass container). You need to change the water every day, and then the tofu will retain its beneficial properties longer and remain fresh. Tofu can also be frozen; frozen tofu can be stored for 3 to 5 months.

Brine cheeses

Suluguni

Suluguni is a pickled Georgian hard cheese. It is produced by adding calcium chloride to cow/buffalo/goat milk, as well as bacterial and rennet starter. Suluguni has a pronounced sour-milk taste and moderate saltiness. Its color is either white or slightly yellow, depending on the type of milk. If suluguni is white, this indicates that the cheese is made from cow or goat milk, and a slightly yellowish tint is a sign of buffalo milk.

Suluguni normalizes fat metabolism due to its high content of unsaturated fatty acids, reduces cholesterol, improves blood circulation, and has a beneficial effect on the digestive system and vision.

So far, Suluguni, like Adyghe cheese, is produced without preservatives (phosphates) and other synthetic additives in the form of nitrites. And this is very, very rare these days.

How to choose the right suluguni cheese? First of all, you need to take fresh, not smoked/baked/fried cheese. This is the main rule. The second rule is that you need to look at the appearance of the cheese; it should not be weathered or covered with any kind of crust, there should be no cracks or mold - this is a sign of a spoiled product. And the third rule (this applies to all cheeses and all products in general) is to look at the composition and expiration date of the cheese. The shelf life of suluguni in brine at a temperature of 5-6 degrees is on average 25 days; if the cheese is stored in vacuum packaging, the shelf life can reach 45 days or more. Suluguni should not contain vegetable fats (margarine) or preservatives. In order to lose weight, I advise you to choose suluguni that is not too salty.

Brynza

Brynza is a very salty cheese made from cow/goat or sheep milk. The production of feta cheese is similar to the production of suluguni: calcium chloride, bacterial fermentation of lactic acid bacteria and the rennet enzyme pepsin are added. Cheese cheese is salted in 18-20% brine for 5-7 days, then it is transferred to an 18% acid whey solution, where it is kept for another 15 days.

Unfortunately, various preservatives and synthetic additives are now very often added to feta cheese, which nullify all the beneficial properties of this cheese. The same goes for Greek feta cheese. It is for this reason that I cannot recommend cheese and feta. Plus, palm fat is often added to these cheeses in order to make the cheese the desired fat content!

Summary: feta and feta cheeses are more unnatural in 90% of cases, so it is better to refrain from them and give preference to the same Adyghe cheese or suluguni.

Semi-hard and hard varieties

I will not dwell on semi-hard and hard cheeses, since they are not a dietary product, but that’s not even the worst thing about them, but the scary thing is that almost all of them come with the addition palm fat And chemical compounds in the form of nitrites and phosphates(I talked about their harm to the body in this article). These three factors cast doubt on the general advisability of purchasing such cheeses... If you can close your eyes to the high-calorie factor, after all, we eat nuts, although they are 2 times more calorie than cheeses, but I personally cannot close my eyes to the presence of nitrites and palm fat in cheeses . It is for this reason that I have not consumed all hard cheeses for a long time, and I do not advise you, an exception may be if you know for sure that the cheese you are buying was produced by an honest manufacturer with a good reputation and in compliance with all technological processes, without the use of synthetic and harmful components. If you do not have such confidence, then it is better to choose cheese of those varieties that are at least more likely to be natural (I am still afraid to say about 100% naturalness). I listed these cheeses above.

Blue cheeses

If you are a gourmet and love blue cheeses, thinking that they are super healthy, then here I dare to dispel your confidence. The fact is that THERE ARE NO BENEFICIAL MOLDS !

What is mold? Mold is fungi that produce secondary metabolites, in simple words antibiotics, which inhibit and suppress other living organisms. And even the so-called “noble mold” on cheeses is the same fungi that produce these ANTIBIOTICS in the same way. So what? - you ask, - what's wrong with that? The bad thing is that with regular consumption of blue cheeses, your body simply loses sensitivity to antibiotics. And if, God forbid, you get sick and the doctor orders you to take antibiotics, then it is possible that your body’s natural environment will simply not be sensitive to them, and there will be no effect from their use. This fact is not very comforting, is it?

And all antibiotics (both medications and the product of mold synthesis) suppress tissue respiration, which is why all human cells, tissues and organs do not receive the required amount of oxygen and useful elements, which leads to various kinds of disruptions in the functioning of the entire body.

So I advise all lovers of noble blue cheeses not to get too carried away with this product, otherwise you can simply drive your body into a state of hypoxia (oxygen starvation).

Processed cheeses

All processed cheeses, no matter how expensive they are, are made from REJECTED different types of cheeses. Those cheeses that have expired, or that for some reason were not sold and sold, are all used for the production of processed cheeses and curds. Such cheeses ALWAYS contain melting salts (phosphates), as well as sodium or potassium nitrites. ALWAYS! Therefore, dear friends, if you are even a little worried about your health, then under no circumstances consume processed cheeses in any form and at any price. You especially shouldn’t give this crap to children! There is nothing useful in these cheeses, and the harm is through the roof. So my advice to you: avoid processed cheeses!

This concludes my short excursion into harmful and harmless cheeses. Now you know, which cheese is better to choose, and how to do it correctly. But to reinforce this information for sure, I will repeat:

— cheese should not contain nitrites (E249, E250), phosphates (E339, E340, E341) and other preservatives.

- cheese should not contain palm oil or other vegetable fats

— soft cheeses should have a short shelf life, depending on the type of cheese from 2 (Adyghe cheese, ricotta) to 45 days (Suluguni).

- the cheese should have a uniform consistency and color, a fresh smell of a fermented milk product (mozzarella, Adyghe cheese, suluguni) or neutral (tofu).

- Avoid blue cheeses and processed cheeses.

This concludes my cheese review, and with a calm soul I close the topic of cheeses. Now you know everything about cheeses and even more! How to choose cheese, and which type to choose will not be difficult for you now!

Sincerely yours, Janelia Skripnik!

P.S. If this article was useful to you, share it with your friends, don’t be greedy;)

Every modern housewife should have at least a little knowledge of cheeses. It is clear that it is impossible to know all 2000 varieties of this product if you are not a chef at a French restaurant, but it will not hurt to have at least a superficial understanding of cheeses. We are sometimes careless about the choice of cheese for preparing different dishes, and if Italians knew that we use hard cheeses in pizza, many of them would not approve of our choice. Maybe it’s not so important what cheese to buy for what dish, it would be satisfying and tasty, and the rest is trivial. But gourmets think differently!

How to choose cheese for different dishes?

Pizza. Residents of Mediterranean countries are confident that without mozzarella, pizza turns into an ordinary open pie. The fact is that this cheese melts and stretches well, but does not spread, and if it is accidentally left in the oven, it remains soft and tender. Melted mozzarella gives a golden brown crust that does not harden or become rubbery when it cools.

Paste. Parmesan is most suitable for pasta, as it has a bright aroma and a spicy taste with nutty and fruity undertones. Due to the fact that it is very hard and dense, it can be cut into thin shavings, like paper, and the dish will look very impressive.

Lasagna. A very tasty lasagna is made with Parmesan and tender whey ricotta. For this dish, you should use fresh ricotta with a creamy, sweet taste, since aged cheese becomes hard and acquires sharp shades.

Greek salad. Without feta, known to mankind since ancient times, it is difficult to imagine a “correct” Greek salad, like any other vegetable appetizer. Salty feta has a soft yet dense texture, so the cheese cubes retain their shape even in multi-layered dishes.

Fondue. This dish is prepared with rich Swiss Gruyère cheese, which melts beautifully, and notes of fruit and nuts will give any product used in fondue a pleasant, sophisticated taste. Experts advise adding the famous Emmental cheese to Gruyère, which will enrich the fondue with new shades of taste.

Rules for combining cheese with food

Selecting cheese for recipes is an art that anyone can learn. The most important thing is to learn a few simple principles.

Soft creamy cheeses with a delicate texture (Brie, Camembert, Smolensky) are served with toast, bread and flatbreads, with wine and fruit, and the most delicious is the combination of cheese with apples, pears, peaches and grapes.

Semi-hard cheeses (Edam, Gouda, Russian, Poshekhonsky, Dutch, Kostroma), smooth and buttery, melt well, so they are often used for baking. These varieties are suitable for snacks, desserts and fruits.

Goat's milk cheeses (President Rondele, chevre, soignon) are good in vegetable, mushroom and meat salads, in hot dishes and soups. They are often used for grilled dishes.

Blue cheeses with mold (Roquefort, Donablu, Gorgonzola) sound amazing in salads, in combination with crackers, fruits, desserts and expensive wine.

Hard cheeses (Emmental, Parmesan, cheddar) are used to make sandwiches, casseroles, pizza, julienne, and fondue.

Processed cheeses are suitable for soups, sandwiches, sauces, salads and snacks.

You should not combine cheeses with citrus fruits, the sharp taste of which will neutralize the rich cheese bouquet. Dried fruits and nuts perfectly highlight the taste of cheese, and experienced gourmets recommend adding a little honey to blue cheeses to enhance the taste. If we talk about the choice of wines, then fresh cheeses are in harmony with young wines, bright, piquant varieties such as Roquefort are served with tart wines and port, and soft, fatty cheeses are good with sparkling wines and champagne. French chef Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said: “A dinner that does not end with delicious cheese is like a beautiful woman with one eye.” Enjoying cheese is synonymous with enjoying life, so let cheese be on your table every day!

March 9th, 2016

I really love cheese. But good and high quality. The kind to go with a bottle of dry red wine. So that it melts in your mouth, and so that its taste is such that you want to close your eyes. Mmmm... Unfortunately, our stores are now completely sad. No matter how much they write about import substitution, I don’t see any good cheeses there. Although, for the sake of fairness, I can say that when we visited Kostroma several years ago, we tried delicious locally produced farm cheeses at the Cheese Exchange. But, as the farmers themselves explained to us, they do not have the ability to produce them in large quantities, and they do not reach Moscow.
And then suddenly Anton brought home a piece of awesome Eicher. At the same time, the husband smiled mysteriously and said: “You are saved! I found where to buy them!”

In general, yes, my friends. A place has been found. It is said to be as tasty as the cheeses themselves - "Cheese Sommelier". The shop has an awesome website, where it says that they even regularly hold cheese tastings, both paid and free. In general, you understand, we, as fans of delicious cheeses, could not resist and went to meet the owners and taste them.
2.

The cheese shop turned out to be small but cozy. It is located next to a store of Austrian wines.
Alexander Krupetskov, the founder of the Cheese Sommelier project and the owner of the shop, immediately admitted to us that he chose this place not by chance. Of course, this combination of cheeses and wines is very successful. After all, many of us have long been aware that good wine is best enjoyed with excellent cheese.
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It all started several years ago, even before the introduction of sanctions. It would seem that these were the times: go to any supermarket, buy any European cheese from the best cheese makers and enjoy! But it turns out that everything was not quite like that. One day, having returned from France, Alexander decided to go to one of the good supermarkets and look for the cheese he liked in France. He told the saleswoman what it was called, but she just threw up her hands:
- There's no such thing!
The same answer followed when he named several more types of cheese.
It was probably after that story that Alexander got the idea to open a rare cheese store in Moscow. Although why only the store? At the same time, a Cheese School also appeared, where in practice, customers began to be taught how to choose the right cheeses and combine them with wine and fruit, thereby developing a cheese culture in our country. After all, you must agree: it’s one thing when we buy a product without knowing much about it, and quite another when we know how to serve it to the table, what to serve it with, and how to eat it in order to get maximum pleasure.
4.

After all, take any town in France, Italy, Spain, England, Holland or Switzerland. There, cozy cheese shops coexist with bakeries and are almost as common. And delicious cheese is on the table in any home.
In general, a year and a half ago, just on the eve of the introduction of sanctions, the first cheese shop appeared in Moscow (I’ll tell you a secret that Alexander now has two of them and is planning to open a third). Well, and then, of course, I had to reorganize a little. The legislation at Cheese Sommelier is observed, and therefore, instead of French, Italian and Spanish suppliers, we had to look for others - from those countries from which the import of cheeses into Russia is allowed.
5.

Of course, the easiest way was to accept this difficult time and start eating tasteless pieces labeled “cheese”, which are now abundant in grocery stores. But this was not our way!
And now the Cheese Sommelier sells legendary cheeses from Switzerland, which, fortunately, was not subject to sanctions, the best representatives of Tunisia and Morocco - former French colonies, so they know how to make cheese there, and our best farm cheeses, which are still Still, you can take it to Moscow
And if we talk about the ratio, then 50% are Swiss cheeses, 40% are ours and 10% are all the rest.
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Look at the prices. Expensive you say? Yes, it's possible! But high-quality cheese, like any other type of product, cannot be cheap. Especially if it is made from real milk, without any palm additives. And I must admit, I’d rather not eat “cheeses” at all for a whole month, but then I’ll buy myself a piece of this - the real thing - and eat it with pleasure. :)
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Now Alexander’s shop has about 50 varieties of all kinds of cheeses. Buyers are very different people. There are also connoisseurs who come here for certain types of cheese that they have preferred for a long time. There are also people, who, by the way, are gradually becoming more and more numerous, who want to try something unusual. There are those who, like us, are tired of sanctions and want to get a tasty and high-quality product.
Anton with a head of Red Witch Swiss cheese. I'll tell you about it a little later.
I was ready to swallow her whole. :))
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And there are also buyers who take cheeses as a gift. Agree, there are often situations when your brain is torn trying to figure out what to give for a holiday to a loved one whom you have known for a very long time and, it seems, have already given everything to him, or to a boss who has everything. What about a cheese basket with unusual, tasty, expensive and high-quality cheeses?
Of course, the most popular among buyers are Swiss cheeses: Gruyère, Sbrinz and Roclette, as well as our farm-made Camembert, which is made in the Moscow region.
By the way, a few more nuances. In the store you will not find slices of hard and semi-hard cheeses. And all because sliced ​​cheese dries faster and loses its quality. Therefore, they cut it here only into pieces and only when a buyer comes for it.
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Each cheese goes through three tastings before reaching the store, not counting the very first - at the farm where it is produced. Alexander, together with his employees, personally comes there and finds out in what conditions the cows and goats live, what they eat, whether there are any artificial additives in their feed, and tastes the cheese. If everything is in order with this, and the cheese tastes good, then the suppliers bring it three more times for testing. So that it is possible to understand how cheeses from different batches taste different.
“Unfortunately, it also happens that the cheese in the first batch is very tasty,” Alexander told us. - And in the second it suddenly tastes bitter. Well, we think, maybe it’s an accident, we ask you to bring the cheese for the third time. And again he’s no good. This suggests that the suppliers tried hard the first time and produced a really high-quality product, and then got lazy. You have to refuse such people and not work with them anymore.
Well, now I’ll tell you about what cheeses we tried.
The first was, of course, Swiss cheese "Tete de Moine", or "Monk's Head".
My friends, we first tasted this miracle in Switzerland two years ago. I told you about him then. And since then I haven’t eaten anything (or almost anything) tastier. Therefore, as soon as I saw it on the window, you understand... I couldn’t resist. The cheese is wonderful! It belongs to the semi-hard Swiss cheeses with a special way of serving. The cutting is done using a special knife. A head of cheese is placed on a rod, and this same knife cuts off very thin rosette shavings from it in a circle. Such sockets are also called “chanterelles”.
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And the monks from the Belle monastery began producing Tête de Moine back in the 12th century from fresh cow’s milk. Everyone liked the cheese so much that they soon began to make it on other monastery farms. The monks gave part of the cheese as church tithes, for which it was nicknamed “The Monk’s Head.” It tastes incomparable. It's hard for me to describe it to you. It is clear that there are not even close to any additives in this cheese. But when you put such a “chanterelle” in your mouth, it seems that you find yourself in a mushroom meadow in the forest. This is amazing!
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Second cheese English smoked Cheddar. I honestly admit to you that we got the last piece of this cheese. In general, it is under sanctions, but this very piece remains from the batch that was imported into our country even before they were introduced. In general, what can I say, my friends? If any of you are suddenly planning to go to England, firstly, be sure to try it yourself, and, secondly, bring some to us too. He took first place in my ranking!
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Cheddar is considered a semi-hard cheese and one of the most popular English cheeses. It is made from pasteurized cow's milk. And they named it after the town of Cheddar in Western England, where this cheese was first made in the 15th century. Back then, cheddar was kept in caves, which were ideal for its maturation.
It tastes amazing - slightly spicy, salty, with smoky notes and hints of flowers and nuts. I called it antidepressant cheese, because as soon as I ate a piece, my mood immediately lifted. That's how he is.
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And this cheese is called Red Witch. It is Swiss and also belongs to the semi-hard cheese category. There is a story about him. In February, the Red Carnival takes place in Switzerland. In essence, it is something similar to Halloween - those who live in Switzerland may be more precise. But the point is that this cheese was invented specifically for this holiday. It is high in calories, filling, and is used as a snack on hot mulled wine - in general, the most suitable cheese for winter.
It seemed a bit similar to "Tete de Moine" to us.
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Caprino. Our hard cheese, which is made in the Stavropol region.
In general, this cheese seemed to us both in structure and taste similar to Italian Parmigiano Reggiano. It broke into pieces just the same, was a little savory and very rich. Probably, like Parmigiano, it’s good to sprinkle on ready-made hot dishes or bake something in the oven with it. But there are still differences from Parmigiano. First of all, caprino is made from goat milk, and it smells like that milk. And, secondly, they stand not for a year, but for five months.
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And this cheese is a real revelation for me. Farmhouse halloumi with mint. The cheese is also ours, from the Moscow region, but this is the kind of cheese they love in Cyprus.
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To be honest, I've tried grilled cheeses before and I like them. But to cause complete delight, there is no such thing. Therefore, when Alexander suggested that we take halloumi, I doubted it. Why, especially if there are so many other awesome cheeses in the store.
But we still took it. And the houses were set on fire.
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Eaten hot with lingonberry sauce. Amazingly delicious! Just something extraordinary. We will definitely buy this cheese again.
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Now let's move on to soft cheeses. We tried three types of them. Here, for example, Eicher Blue- soft Swiss farmer's cheese with blue mold, made from cow's milk. In general, Alexander immediately told us the history of blue cheeses. At first, when they appeared, cheeses with little mold were most valued. But gradually people's tastes changed. And now most of those who prefer such cheeses most often choose varieties with a lot of mold.
Eicher Blue is just one of the first. It is creamy and very tender. It doesn't have the richness that other blue cheeses provide. Rather, it contains only her notes.
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And the other two soft cheeses were already ours.
The first one was called Soft cheese with white mold according to Kuznetsov’s recipe No. 1. To be honest, it immediately attracted my attention as soon as I saw it on display in the Cheese Sommelier shop. Attracted attention with its unusualness. Firstly, they make it not even in the Moscow region, but in Moscow. Secondly, pay attention to its packaging. Quite simple. But... there is something about her!
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The number written in pen that you see on the packaging is the rating on the quality scale of these particular cheeses, set by the author himself. Next to it is his signature.
Recipe No. 1 is also indicated on the package: pasteurized cow's milk, table salt, mesophilic starter culture, milk-clotting enzyme preparation of animal origin, cultures of white noble mold Penicillium camemberti. That is, in essence, this is a real Camembert, prepared using French technology, although the author does not call it that.
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It may not taste like the same French Camembert that you can taste in its homeland, but we would rate the cheese as being of a very high level. I would probably buy this again.
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By the way, due to the fact that it is prepared only from natural ingredients, it has a very short shelf life - only 10 days.
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However, there was also Camembert, which is called that. Camembert goat.
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When I first tried it, I immediately wanted to call it brutal cheese. Yes, yes, sort of masculine. This Camembert has a very bright smell and will appeal to those who like just that. At the same time, it is unusually fresh, you can even smell the milk in it.
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Well, and finally Cheese candies. Unexpected, right? :)
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In fact, very tasty. And if they hadn’t told us that they contained cheese, we wouldn’t have guessed it ourselves. Although I can’t say that you can’t feel the cheese in them. There are cheese notes and they are expressed quite clearly.
We tried three types of candies: with cocoa, mint and ginger. I liked the ones with mint the most, and Anton liked the ginger ones.
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Well, I want to end my story with some advice. The fact is that we asked Alexander Krupetskov: How can ordinary customers, and not specialists, when buying cheese in a store (after all, not everywhere have a “Cheese Sommelier” :)) can they distinguish a high-quality product from a low-quality or stale one? And here's what he advised:
Firstly, under no circumstances buy ready-made cuts. Unfortunately, in large grocery stores, slices are often made from scraps and old stale cheeses. Therefore, if you decide to buy cheese, it is better to buy a piece right away and ask them to cut it in front of you. Better yet, cut it yourself at home.
Secondly, it is better not to buy cheeses with various additives - pepper, paprika, herbs, etc. It happens that manufacturers use additives to hide some disadvantages and unfortunate aspects of the cheeses themselves.
Third, be sure to look at what the cheese you take looks like. If you see that hard or semi-hard cheese is at least slightly melted, if it crumbles, then this will most likely indicate violations during its production, for example, accelerated ripening technologies could have been used in the process. Either this cheese was stored incorrectly. Or it contains ingredients or additives that should not be there.

That's it.

Well, in conclusion, I’ll also share with you a few links from the “Cheese Sommelier”:
- page of the Cheese School, where you can sign up for cheese tastings and indulge in all the delicious ugliness, as we did.

Natural semi-hard cheese is one of the most beloved milk processing products. Cheese is a very tasty, nutritious product with rich taste, which is eaten as an independent dish and used in cooking as a main or additional ingredient. The cheese is ideal for making sandwiches, cold and hot dishes, and sauces.

What to look for

Today it is not very easy. Among the huge number of names and types of cheeses from various manufacturers and brands, you need to find a sample that will not only be tasty and healthy, but most importantly, natural.

First of all, you need to exclude all samples with the name “cheese product”, since it contains no more than 20% natural milk, and the rest is vegetable fats of non-dairy origin: cheap palm, rapeseed or coconut oil and other milk fat substitutes. If the color of the cheese is too yellow, it indicates that it contains artificial colors. In cheese products, moisture appears on the cut surface and there may be droplets, especially at room temperature or when pressing on it. When eating such foods, transgenic fats gradually accumulate in the human body, which subsequently cause cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, obesity and a host of other diseases.

Composition of natural cheese

When buying cheese in a store, you need to carefully study the composition of the product on the label. The following ingredients are used to make natural cheese:

• raw cow's milk is exclusively of the highest and first grade (it gives all its life-giving power to the cheese);
• raw skim milk;
• raw cream;
• table salt;
• bacterial starter cultures and concentrates of lactic acid bacteria;
• It is possible to use natural dyes beta-carotene and annatto extract.

Of course, today such raw materials for the production of natural cheese are not cheap - approximately 11 liters of milk are needed to make 1 kg of cheese. In addition, after production, cheese does not immediately go on sale, and unlike a cheese product, it still requires time to ripen: 30-60 days. Natural cheese is not a cheap product at all. Therefore, when buying cheese, you cannot think about saving.

Signs of quality

You also need to take into account the following signs indicating the quality of the cheese you are purchasing:

1. When cut, the cheese should have an even pattern consisting of round or oval shaped eyes (Kostroma, Estonian), irregular or angular shaped (Russian), round oval or angular shaped (Dutch). There should be no cracks or irregularities.
2. The crust is smooth, thin, without damage, covered with a polymer film. A thick subcortical layer is not allowed.
3. The smell is cheesy, sweetish-spicy or slightly sour. In no case is it rancid, rotten, or greasy. The presence of mold is not allowed, with the exception of special varieties.
4. Color from white to light yellow, even throughout the mass.
5. The consistency is elastic, uniform throughout the entire mass, loose or cracked is not allowed.

It is preferable to choose cheese in factory packaging; on it you can always find the composition of the product and the date by which it should be consumed. Also, factory packaging guarantees the absence of foreign bacteria.

Natural cheese contains a large amount (20-30%) of easily digestible milk protein, many vitamins such as A, E, D, C, B vitamins, PP, as well as a large number of useful elements: iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper , manganese, sodium, phosphorus, zinc.

A small piece of cheese can relieve stress and also improve the quality of sleep if eaten at night.

Only a product made from milk, bacterial starter and natural enzymes can be called real cheese. It is quite nutritious and has rich taste. In order for cheese to be healthy, it must be natural and of high quality. Today we will tell you how to choose the right cheese, which will be as healthy, tasty and natural as possible.

About cheeses

Currently, a huge number of different types of cheese have been created. All of them are usually divided into families. According to the production method, they can be rennet - milk curdling in this case occurs under the influence of rennet; fermented milk - lactic acid starter is used for their production; fused. Before we talk about how to choose a good cheese, we note that most often this product is made from sheep, cow and goat milk or a mixture of them. In some countries it is made from buffalo, mare or camel milk.

Cheese ripening

When choosing a product, it is important to know that hard cheeses ripen from two months to several years, soft cheeses - no more than 2-6 weeks. It is believed that the older the cheese, the more “smelly” and expensive it is. Therefore, if you prefer to eat cheeses that do not have a specific smell, you should choose young cheeses or pickled varieties.

How to choose cheese: icons

All over the world, it is customary to protect the quality of cheeses by checking the authenticity of origin. In France this is marked AOC, in English-speaking countries - PGI, PDO, in Spain and Italy - DOP, DOC. This badge guarantees that the product was produced in this territory and all specific rules were strictly observed. In our country, the quality of cheeses is guaranteed by the following inscription: “Complies with technical regulations for milk and dairy products. No. 88-FZ".

Cheese composition

Before you start buying cheese, you should pay attention to the label and read what is included in this product. The set of components contained in an ideal cheese is as follows: milk, rennet (other milk-clotting agents can be used, but only of animal origin) and fermentation of lactic acid microorganisms. It is allowed to contain salt and calcium chloride in cheese.

Choice

How to choose cheese in a store? When choosing cheese, be sure to pay attention to its full name and what is included in the product. Try to avoid the following additives: arboxymethylcellulose - E-466, sunset dye - E-110, carrageenan - E-407, carotenes - E-160 a,b.

If the composition includes milk powder, preservatives, stabilizers, individual milk components, dyes and other food additives, it is low quality cheese. Very often, instead of animal enzymes, microbial enzymes are used, most often they are transgenic. Such cheeses do not require ripening.

Marking

When talking about how to choose quality cheese, do not forget about labeling; it is an important element that should be taken into account when purchasing. Very often on the label you can find the following names: “cheese product” and other names consonant with the word cheese. Let us say right away that this kind of purchase should be abandoned due to the fact that it is not natural. Most likely, it contains vegetable fats and other substitutes. Preference should be given to a product manufactured not according to specifications, but according to GOST.

Price

One of the main criteria when choosing cheese is its price. Let's take mozzarella as an example. On average, one liter of milk costs about 25 rubles. (or slightly lower) for large wholesale buyers. For 12-13 kg of mozzarella you need to spend 100 liters of milk. The cost will be about 200-225 rubles. To this figure we add the additional costs associated with the purchase of rennet (and other starter cultures), production, packaging, delivery, enterprise profit and store percentage. An adequate price for 1 kg of such a product should be 500 rubles, so a natural product a priori cannot be cheap.

How to choose natural cheese

Most often, we associate this product with hard cheese, which is indeed the most popular type. But there are also other varieties: fermented milk, soft, pickled and processed. We will tell you in order how to choose this product correctly.

Hard cheese

In order not to make a mistake in choosing hard cheese, it is recommended to carefully examine it, smell it and definitely feel it. External signs that may indicate a poor quality product:

• the presence of unevenness, cracks, wrinkles and other defects;
• loose, crumbly consistency;
• torn edges;
• dryness, moldiness and rancidity (a sign of spoilage);
• greasiness (indicates the presence of palm oil);
• mold (allowed only in special varieties);
• thick subcortical layer;
• white coating;
• swelling of the crust (presence of bacteria);
• uneven coloring;
• uneven distribution of eyes (large in one place, small in another);
• the presence of drops on the surface or humidity (presence of vegetable fats in the product).

Many modern stores offer the opportunity to taste the cheese before making a purchase. When trying this type of cheese, you should not feel any creaking on your teeth. With such properties of the product, this is a sign that it contains undegraded milk proteins. It should not taste too sweet or salty, this criterion depends on the specific variety. You can check the naturalness of the product as follows: cut off a flat piece of cheese and then bend it in half - it should not break. High-quality cheese should have good plasticity, but it should not be “rubbery.”

Soft cheeses

When purchasing soft cheeses, you should follow approximately the same pattern as when choosing hard cheeses. They differ only in consistency; soft cheeses are much moister. The amount of moisture in them depends on the variety. Please note: despite its softness, the cheese must retain its springiness and elasticity.

We would like to give some recommendations on how to choose blue cheese. This product should be slightly loose and soft. It has a specific aroma (the smell of penicillin), and the ammonia smell that is not inherent in this type of cheese is a sign that the product is spoiled. In most cases, cheeses are imported, so special attention should be paid to moldy cheeses; it is not recommended to buy large quantities at once due to the fact that it quickly deteriorates.

Brine cheeses

When creating such products, special brines are used. The cheeses have no rind and are quite brittle. The most famous of all is feta cheese. Their assortment is also represented by other varieties: Adyghe, Yerevan, Ossetian, Georgian, Chechil, Tushinsky, Limansky, Lori, Chanakh. Unlike hard cheeses, bacteria develop very quickly in brine cheeses, and in order to extend their shelf life, they are sometimes over-salted. When buying such a product, it is better to taste it.

Fermented milk cheeses

This product is obtained by fermenting milk with lactic acid. The cheese is not at all like its semi-hard or hard counterparts. It is unusually soft, tender and most similar in consistency to cottage cheese. In order to understand what is offered to you on store shelves under the guise of such cheese, you need to read the name on the packaging. If the word cheese is indicated there, this is a natural product. But if you read “cheese product”, “curd cheese product” or “cream cheese”, the conclusion is obvious: this is a plant-based product.

The selection of curd cheeses is very high. Which curd cheese should you choose? For sauces and sandwiches, there is a large assortment of flavored varieties of this product: with herbs, with the taste of mushrooms, fish, etc. When choosing them, you should pay attention to the fact that they contain not only flavoring additives that imitate real ones, but also pieces natural products.

Which cheese to choose for cream? Of course, it is curd with a creamy taste and does not contain any extraneous additives. It should be white in color, have a delicate consistency and a slightly salty taste. Regardless of the choice of a particular curd cheese, when purchasing, pay attention to the integrity of the packaging, the date of manufacture and the expiration date. The consistency of such cheese should be uniform, and it itself should be soft, without mold or liquid.

Cream cheese

A soft, creamy product with a creamy taste is called cream cheese. All of them, regardless of the recipe, are considered dairy products with a soft consistency. In their production, there is no maturation stage; additional processing processes, such as melting or smoking, are excluded.

Let's consider which cream cheese to choose. In order to purchase a high-quality product, you need to learn how to choose it correctly. You need to follow some rules:

1. Buy products only from stores that have a good reputation.
2. The container must be clean, intact, and have a label.
3. During storage, it is necessary to observe the temperature regime of +2....+6 °C.
4. All information on the label must be presented in Russian and contain all data on the composition, value, production date, expiration date of the product and its manufacturer.

Natural cream cheese should not contain vegetable fats, gelatin, starch, flavorings, or dyes. Its shelf life cannot exceed 3 weeks; if a longer shelf life is indicated, this means the presence of preservatives in it.

Processed cheese

The most difficult choice before the consumer of a good quality product is when purchasing processed cheeses. An ideal product should include the following components: hard rennet cheese, cream, milk, slurry. oil. Often, manufacturers use second-grade raw materials, defective, spoiled cheese, milk powder, and vegetable oils to prepare processed cheese. Pay attention to the fact that it at least does not contain preservatives.

One of the varieties of processed cheese is smoked cheese. The very first thing you need to pay attention to is that it should not be dry and crumbly. Its shell should be shiny and free of mechanical defects. It should not stick to the knife during slicing. The mass must be homogeneous and have no voids.

Storage rules

When purchasing a product, in addition to the question of how to choose good cheese, another question often arises: how to store it correctly. Let's consider what requirements for storage conditions must be observed.

Hard cheeses are stored in refrigerators with a temperature of -4....+8 °C, with a humidity of 85-90%. Humidity must be maintained, otherwise the cheese may dry out or become moldy. The permissible shelf life is up to 4 months, it depends on many factors: preservatives, crust thickness, moisture content, salt, packaging, the presence of spoilage microorganisms.

Brine cheeses should be stored in a salty solution at a temperature close to +5 °C; the duration of storage directly depends on how salty the solution is. Average indicators: for suluguni - one month, for cheese - about two. Brine cheese without brine can be stored for no more than a week.

The permissible storage temperature for soft cheeses is 0...+8 °C; their shelf life is much shorter than that of hard cheeses. At home, they can be stored for only a few days. Sometimes manufacturers can make this period longer by adding preservatives or not ripening the cheese.

Melted (including) unlike others, has a longer shelf life due to the fact that it is subjected to heat treatment (melting). It can be stored at temperatures from -4 to +4 °C for up to two months.

The storage conditions for fermented milk cheeses must be approached with special care; it is necessary to maintain a stable and correct temperature regime. When storing cheese in the refrigerator, the temperature should be maintained within 0....+6 °C, storage duration should be a maximum of 2 weeks. Can be stored in the freezer at temperatures down to minus 18 °C, but no more than 45 days.

Package

How to choose the most suitable packaging for cheese? Very often, pieces of cheese on store shelves are wrapped in film, but this is not the best storage method, rather an economical one. With this packaging, the product can be stored for no more than 10 days. The most effective way is in foil; such packaging material perfectly protects the product from environmental influences. The most important thing is to cover the cut area of ​​the cheese well.

Some manufacturers coat their products with a paraffin coating, which, of course, is an advantage, since it allows for a longer shelf life. Experienced cheese makers recommend several interesting ways to store cheese at home: place the product with a couple of pieces of sugar in a closed container or wrap it in a salty napkin. It is necessary to remember that cheese should not be stored next to products such as lard, meat, and fish. The best neighbors for it are other dairy products.