Feature Article
 What's
Up with Cheese?
Imagine . . . sharp white cheddar, crumbling
through your fingertips . . . slightly warmed Brie smoothed over a crisp
cracker . . . mild buffalo mozzarella stacked on fresh bread, a
garden-fresh slice of tomato and basil strips, drizzled with olive oil . .
. sharp yet smooth blue cheese crumbled atop a crisp lettuce salad .
. . mmmmmmmm!
If you enjoy cheese, you understand completely the
variety of flavors, textures, uses – even the new discoveries that await
you in the world of cheese. Cheese
can be enjoyed without guilt, if you’re smart about balancing cheese
across a healthy diet and lifestyle.
How long have people been enjoying cheese?
You might be surprised to learn that cheese has been around for at
least 4,000 years. According
to “The History of Cheese” on CheeseNet.com, most authorities consider
that cheese was first made in the Middle East.
Legend has it that cheese was 'discovered' by an unknown Arab
nomad, who filled a saddlebag with milk before traveling across
the desert by horse.
When he stopped to take a drink after a few hours, he
found that the milk had separated into a pale watery liquid
and solid white lumps. (The saddlebag,
made from the stomach of a young animal,
contained a coagulating enzyme known as rennin, so the milk had been
effectively separated into curds and whey by the combination of the
rennin, the hot sun and the galloping motions of the horse.
The nomad, unconcerned with technical details, found the whey
drinkable and the curds edible.
From those humble beginnings we now have more than 400
varieties of cheese across the three major categories of cow’s milk,
sheep’s milk and goat’s milk. In
all of these categories you find fresh and ripened cheese:
fresh cheese is lightly processed - just curdled and drained,
perhaps pressed. Examples
include cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta and feta.
Ripened cheese is cured by one or more treatments of heat,
bacteria, soaking, flavoring, coloring and controlled storage.
Examples of hard ripened cheese include Parmesan, Pecorino and
Asiago. These types of
cheeses are cooked, pressed and aged at least two years.
The semi-firm cheeses are firm but generally not crumbly.
They are cooked, pressed and lightly aged.
Examples include Cheddar, Colby, Edam, Swiss and
Monterey Jack.
Semi-soft ripened cheeses are pressed, can be cooked or
uncooked, and are soft yet sliceable.
Within these types of cheeses you find Gorgonzola, Gouda, Monterey
Jack and Tilsit. Soft
ripened cheeses are not cooked and not pressed, and do have bacteria
applied. These types of
cheeses develop a rind – Brie, Camembert and Pont L’eve’que.
You can enjoy cheeses with any part of a meal:
appetizer, main course or dessert.
At the start of a meal, with light wines, consider a mild goat
cheese paired with a Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, or a simple cow’s
milk cheese with lighter red wines. Parmesan or Brie work well with champagne.
If you want to end the meal with white wine, consider
Fontin d’aesta with white burgundy, or Garrotxa with Meursault, or a
firm goat cheese with a dry Riesling.
With a red zinfandel, Lancashire or Beenleigh Blue work well; they
are sweet and firm cheeses. Reblochon
cheese compliments Pinot Noir, and sheep’s milk cheeses blend nicely
with Rhone Syrahs. English
cheddars pair wonderfully with Cabernet wine. Blue cheese can be
served with heavier after-dinner wines such as port, Madeira, sauternes,
or late harvest Rieslings.
At Wine Expressions, we’re proud to offer a fine
selection of artisan cheeses.
If you enjoy fine cheese, you owe it to yourself to try our
selections. You can sample
our cheeses each Saturday during our regular Prairie Wine Sampling events
– we always have an assortment of cheeses to offer with the wines.
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Highlights
From
Our Store
We
carry a variety of fabulous cheeses, such as:
Garrotxa,
a Spanish goat cheese that is milder than many other goat cheeses,
particularly those of the lower Loire Valley in France. Garrotxa is
in the semi-soft category, yet this cheese is almost hard; it has a firm
consistency, it's smooth and creamy and very rich.
Garrotxa
is outstanding when paired with Martin Codax Albariño 2001.
Our
Farmhouse
Cheddar, imported from England, is a cow's milk cheese with
excellent flavor - sharp and rich. It's a hard, fairly dry cheese
that pairs well
with Edna Valley
2001 Chardonnay.
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Schedule
of Events
March
11
Special Beer Tasting, 4-7 pm
March 15
Prairie Sampling wine
tasting, 1-6:30 pm
Wines from the Loire Valley
March 20
Prairie Cellar Tasting - Spanish wines
6:30 - 8 pm, includes educational
presentation, hors d'oeuvres and wine.
$25.00 per person.
Purchase tickets in advance by calling us
at (630)435-9463.
March 22
Prairie Sampling beer
tasting, 1-6:30 pm
Beers and Ales from the British Isles
March
29
Prairie Sampling wine tasting, 1-6:30 pm
Bordeaux wines
April
5
Prairie Sampling wine tasting, 1-6:30 pm
Kosher wines
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Store
Location & Hours
We
are located in downtown Lisle at the southwest corner of Burlington Ave.
& Main St.
Hours
of Operation:
M - Sat 11 am - 7 pm
Closed
Sundays
NEW
HOURS
Starting in April
Starting
April 1st, we will change our store hours to better meet your needs:
Tues
- Sat 11am - 7 pm
Sunday
1 - 5 pm
Closed
Mondays
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