Everybody say CHEESE! Part 2 of 2

So, do you like your cheese sharp and smelly? Or do you like your cheese smooth and mild? Or maybe your tastes lie somewhere in the middle? Maybe you like blue or white or orange.

If you have a taste for cheese, there is a cheese to match your taste! Today we will look at the large variety of taste possibilities when it comes to cheese. So let's get started.

Let's face it, there are not too many foods that can smell like old gym socks and get away with it. But cheese is one of those foods. In fact, for some the smellier the better. Here are a few of the strongest smelling and tasting cheese in the world:

• Pont l'Eveque is a French delicacy, very tasty and possibly one of the smelliest. It dates back to the 13th Century. This isn't the type of cheese you leave unwrapped in the refrigerator.

• Camembert de Normandy is a soft cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk. After maturing for weeks, it is normally eaten with a spoon. This seriously smelly cheese is loved the world over.

• Epoisees is so smelly it has been banned on public transit all over France. It is understood that if this cheese starts to smell too strong, like someone who hasn't showered in a month, you should throw it away because it is no longer edible.

• Stinking Bishop come from Britain. Originally made by monks, the smell of this cheese is in the rind. Once removed a soft delicious cheese is revealed and enjoyed.

• Roquefort is one of the most revered of the smelly cheeses. It is from raw sheep's milk and matured in caves. It is known as the "king" of cheeses.

• Limburger is a German contribution to our list and is often considered the most popular of the smelly cheeses. This German delicacy is quite tasty, if you can manage to get past the smell.

• Blue Stilton is known by some as the "King of English cheeses." The older this cheese matures the softer and smellier it becomes. This is the cheese for you if you subscribe to "the smellier, the better" approach to cheese.

Blue Stilton Cheese

At the risk of being indelicate, these cheese are likely where the expression "who cut the cheese" came from.  

For those of you who prefer not to have your nose completely offended, we offer you other options.  Namely, those cheese that are mild in taste and smell.

Brie Cheese

• Brie is a creamy, soft and mild flavored cheese.  It has a very short aging time, less than a month.  Served at room temperature or baked it is eaten on crackers or bread.

• Mozzarella is a very traditional cheese for cooking because it melts easily with a soft texture. Be sure to use fresh mozzarella on your pizza as it makes all the difference.

• Bel Paese is a semi-soft cheese with a mild flavor and can be used as a substitute for mozzarella.

• Havarti is a semi-soft cheese from Denmark and is made from cow's milk.  It has mild and buttery taste and can be found in flavors that include herbs and garlic.

• Queso Fresco is a white mild cheese from Mexico by way of Spanish influence.  It has a crumbly texture and is commonly used in taquitos and enchiladas.

• Meunster is a semi-soft cheese from the US, with a mild to pungent taste depending on how long it is aged.  It is a good melting cheese and is popular in grilled cheese and cheeseburgers.  It is distinguished by it's orange colored rind.

Please don't consider these mild cheese as wimpy in comparison to the previously mentioned smelly cheeses.  Their more delicate tastes are wonderfully paired with fruit and wines and provide a luscious cheese experience.

You might be wondering how it is that some cheese is hard and other are soft.  We wondered that, too.  Simply put, soft cheese is unripened cheese made from milk proteins and acids (like lemon juice).  Really soft cheeses include cream cheese, cottage cheese, and ricotta. Semi-soft cheeses include include mozzarella, gouda, Monterey jack.

Fresh Mozzarella

Hard cheeses have been ripened, or aged, made from milk protein with enzymes called rennet and culture acids.  It is also true that aging depletes the moisture in cheese leaving it harder.  These cheeses are ripened by bacteria or mold.  Hard cheeses include parmesan, romano, and asiago.  Semi-hard cheeses include swiss, colby, and cheddar.

And if you are interested in cheeses that have an extra little something to them, many of the semi-soft and semi-hard cheeses give you so many more options.  For example, some of the best cheese tastes are those that are smoked.  Gouda, provolone,and mozzarella are wonderful examples.  Be careful though, because sometimes cheaper cheeses are given a simple artificial smoked flavor additive.  Make sure you are getting a quality cheese and you won't be disappointed.

Smoked Gouda

Besides smoked cheese there are an endless supply of cheeses that have great herbs and spices added to them before the aging process begins.  Maybe the most common is Pepper Jack cheese.  It has an added dose of jalapeno peppers that give it an extra kick.  It is great for melting on your burger or for adding to your Chili Con Queso.  More about that later.

Pepper Jack Cheese

We've all heard of blue cheese.  This cheese is made from either cow, sheep, or goat's milk. It is aged with cultures of the mold Penicillium.  It has the characteristic blue, green or black veins of of mold throughout.  As with so many things there is a legendary story behind the first blue cheese.  It is believed that a drunken cheese maker left behind a half-eaten loaf of bread in a moist cheese cave.  When he came back, he discovered that the mold covered the bread and changed it into blue cheese.  Whether accurate or not, the story of cheeses being aged in damp caves is accurate.  Such an environment is a happy home for molds that are not harmful to consume.  So if you are a blue cheese love, then we are happy for the mold that not only makes cheese blue, but also contributed to what we all know as penicillin.

Blue cheese

As with all things food related, we could go on for many pages of days about food.  There is so much to know and so many cheeses to taste.  You would be hard pressed to find a city or town that doesn't have some sort of cheese shop.  Go there and sample something new and different.  You may like it or you may love it, or you may love it, or maybe it won't be your cup of tea.  Either way, there are too many cheeses out there that are waiting for you.  Find a few that you like and serve them up with some lovely pears or grapes.  Open a bottle of wine and break some crusty bread and enjoy one of the most delightful culinary moments.  In case you want a bit more information about selecting cheese, here's a helpful link from The American Cheese Society.

We leave you today and your adventures in cheese with a recipe for Chili Con Queso.  This is a cheese dip that is smooth and filled with mild green chilies.  If you like to jazz this recipe up for your personal tastes, feel free to add some jalapeno peppers, or habenaro  peppers to give it a little more heat. 

Green Chili and Garlic Con Queso

Here's what you need:

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can green chili's drained

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

2 ounces cream cheese

1 cup Mexican cheese blend (or any sort of cheese you like)

Here's what you need to do:

Melt butter in sauce pan.   Add chopped onions and minced garlic.  Saute for about 5 minutes on medium heat until translucent.  Do not brown.  Add chili's and saute for another minute.  Add flour and mix thoroughly.  Add milk and stir until mixture thickens.  If it gets too thick, add a bit more milk.  Do not let mixture boil.  Add cream cheese and stir until cheese is melted and mixture is creamy.  Take pan off heat and stir in cheese.  Stir until all the cheese is melted.  Pour in a serving bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

It's time to be daring and taste cheeses that are new to you.  Mix and match.  Combine different flavors and find the one(s) you like best.  And most of all, ENJOY!

Now go out and make something good.....with CHEESE!