European cheeses offer unique flavors
Finding the right pairing can be just as good as the choice itself.
Grandma Potempa’s farm resourcefulness in the 1930s included making her own homemade “farmer’s white cheese.” It was something she had learned much earlier from her kitchen time with her own mother back in the “old country,” aka Poland.
Whether it’s for last-minute menu planning for parties for the Oscars Sunday telecast or advance planning for Friday’s Valentine’s Day, paired with a favorite spirit, wine or Champagne of choice, cheese continues to rank as an ageless centuries-old love affair.
After writing an earlier column about bourbon, Charles Duque, New York-based managing director and the U.S. liaison for the French Dairy Board, found me and called to chat about cheese. He was especially emphatic about the often under-played possibilities for cheeses to be paired with spirits like bourbon, whiskey and cognac, in addition to the traditional libations such as wine and Champagne.
“I’ve made it my platform to educate both consumers and also retailers about the most ideal serving suggestions for fine cheeses,” Duque said.
“Cheese should be enjoyed fresh. If you are experiencing a purchased cheese that is ammoniated or the packaging has bubbled from the release of gasses, the cheese is well past its prime.”
Duque said the key to the fine art of tasting and savoring cheeses, especially those imported from Europe, is to focus on flavor balance and always remember that “taste buds can travel.”
While Duque acknowledges the Midwest contributions to dairy and cheese favorites, including neighboring Wisconsin as well as Illinois and Indiana, he reminds the “great cheese families of Europe” have been making cheeses for not just centuries, but for thousands of years.
“I think sometimes we associate the U.S. contribution to cheese as being all of the processed cheese products sold,” Duque said.
“Compare that to the fact that there are 1,300 cheese classifications in France with the noted connections to soft cheeses like brie. When you think of other neighboring countries like Spain and Italy, they are often noted more for the hard cheeses.”
During our conversation, we both agreed the American cheese palate has become far more sophisticated now compared to even a decade ago because of the ease and speed of today’s importing and delivery.
Today, European cheeses much easily find their way to stores, markets and direct delivery to consumers because there are so many more refrigerated distribution warehouses around the U.S. for added ease and superior products.
I explained that my first experience with contrasting flavors with cheeses came as a 10-year-old youth in 1980 sampling slices of aged sharp cheddar, served with a drop of strawberry preserves at the local Hickory Farms Store in Southlake Mall in Merrillville.
“Besides that idea of sweet versus savory, pairing cheeses with anything from beer, tea, coffee or even sake, gives a fresh flavor experience every time,” he said.
Some of his favorite tips include:
Many spirits go with cheese but the trick is not to overpower the flavors of the cheese. There are varying strengths to cheese that can complement the varying strengths of spirits so the best way is to experiment.
For peated scotch, the smoky flavors go best with triple cream or creamier cheeses like Brillat Savarin to coat the palate and balance peatiness of the scotch. Even blues like Bleu d’Auvergne and Fourme d’Ambert are a good match for peated scotch with its savory sharpness to handle to the intensity of the scotch.
For whiskey, it is best to go with sharper, saltier cheeses like an aged Mimolette to round out the flavors especially Mimolette having a fruity and spiciness. Softer creamier cheeses like Brie and Camembert can work with lighter less intense whiskies with their earthiness and mushroomy notes.
For bourbon, a hard-aged cheese like Comte with its nuttiness and salinity can go well with bourbon that has sweeter notes like honey and vanilla.
Most cheese and spirit pairings work as long as the flavors and strengths of each product match.
As an ambassador for European cheeses, Duque also spreads the word about the importance of designations such as PDO which is “Protected Designation of Origin.”
For example, Beaufort cheese, a firm raw cow’s milk cheese similar to Gruyere, is an Alpine cheese which is only produced in the Beaufortain, Tarentaise Valley and Maurienne areas located in the French Alps. As for Roquefort, a favorite blue cheese made from sheep’s milk often crumbled in salad dressings, it should only carry this name designation if it has been produced in the special caves near Roquefor-sur-Soulzan in France.
“It was a series of ancient earthquakes that caused mountain ranges in southern France to collapse forming natural caves with just the right amount of humidity and naturally cool temperatures for Roquefort cheese to age,” Duque said.
“For anyone who might think the taste and flavor of blue cheese is too intense, try just a drop of honey on it and the result is something amazing.”
For more details and tasting information, Duque recommends visiting www.frenchcheeseboard. com or www.CheesesofEurope. com or www.fromages -france.com/en and he urges sampling some of the recipes included just in time for Lenten observance starting in two weeks, especially some gourmet grilled cheese sandwich ideas or an easy appetizer for party gatherings such as blue cheese stuffed bacon wrapped dates.