Fresh Specialty Cheeses Must Be Refrigerated at Once and Used Quickly : Aged Cheeses Have a Longer Shelf Life

Fresh specialty cheeses should be used as soon as possible after purchase for best quality results. Once home, treat them as a priority item and refrigerate quickly due to their high perishability. Once cut or opened, the unused portion should be wrapped airtight in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator to be eaten within five days, or as specified. Production dates of fresh cheeses usually appear on the package.

Aged cheeses have a longer shelf life, once refrigerated, but should be eaten soon after purchase for best results. Any mold appearing on the cheese should be cut off and discarded. Wrap airtight in plastic wrap and store to use as you would Cheddar or Jack cheese. Cheese that develops an unsavory odor and begins to show signs of “weeping” should be discarded. Aged cheeses store well in the refrigerator from three to four weeks, depending on the cheese and its condition.

References to “blooming rind” indicates a soft-textured cheese that has been sprayed with Penicillium Candidum to create a growth of white mold on the surface. On young cheeses, the mold is pure white and darkens to amber or brown as cheese ages, as in Brie and Camembert.

Double cream (creme) cheeses are those with a minimum of 60% butterfat content, while triple cream cheeses contain at least 70% butterfat.

Fresh cheese indicates that the cheese is unripened or barely ripened, as in cottage cheese.

The word paste refers to body or interior of the cheese.

Rind is the exterior of a cheese.

“Washed rind” means that the cheeses have been treated with brine, plain water, beer or brandies to encourage bacterial growth. The rind may range from pale yellow to pale red, as in Reblochon.

Most fresh cheeses (except for creams) contain fewer calories than aged or firm cheeses made with high fat content. On the average, fresh cheeses contain about 150 to 250 calories per 100 grams, while aged cheese contain about 300 to 400 calories per 100 grams, depending on butterfat content.

The following are some specialty cheeses available at cheese shops and supermarkets:

Italian:

Asiago D’Allevo (cow’s milk cheese): Used for eating up to 6 months, but mainly for grating.

Parmigiano Reggiano (cow’s milk cheese): This hard, natural-rind cheese with the words Parmigiano Reggiano stamped out in dots throughout the cheese, is excellent for grating and cooking in pasta and other sauced dishes or salads and soups. Especially high quality milk is used for Reggiano; Parmigiano Reggiano is monitored carefully under Ministerial Decree. Year and month of production and name and registration number of manufacturer are also marked on the rind. No other cheese can carry the label Parmigiano Reggiano.

Pecorino Romano (full cream ewe’s milk): This hard, boiled cheese is compact with whitish, smooth clean rind. It is used at the table for grating over pasta, salads, soups, or rice, especially throughout Southern Italy.

Pecorino Siciliano (full cream ewe’s milk): This compact cheese made exclusively in Sicily, has a white rind and white flesh with a few holes. Strong flavored, it is used for eating out of hand or grating after ripening several months. Sometimes found peppered in a truncated cone shape, but otherwise cylindrical.

Ragusano (full cream cow’s milk): This hard, stringy cheese from Sicily is salted in brine and used as a table cheese and for grating.

Caciotta (cow’s or ewe’s milk): From Central Italy, caciotta , probably derived from the word caclo meaning cheese, is produced throughout Italy with the best produced in Urbino, Umbria, Assisi, Norcia, Cascia, Tuscany and Rome. The cheese has a thin rind and flesh that is somewhat soft with a few holes. It is used mainly for eating with fruit or as snacks.

Caciocavallo (full cream cow’s milk): Also from Central South Italy, this hard, stringy cheese curdled by acid fermentation is compact, with a mild delicate flavor although the grating type is stronger in flavor. It is generally used for eating or grating. In cooking, it is used as you would Pecorino. It can be roasted, grilled, pan-fried or drizzled with olive oil and spices. It also can be used in pies and goes well with fried vegetables.

Fontina (full cream cow’s milk): From the Valle D’Aosta region, this round loaf with flat sides has an esteemed place in regional Valle D’Aosta cuisine and the name is protected by Ministerial Decree. It is a high fat variety cheese from once-milked cows and produced by natural fermentation. Soft in texture, it melts easily and has a mild and delicate flavor. Use it as a table cheese with or without fruit and wine.

Gorgonzola (fresh full cream cow’s milk): This soft, high-fat cheese produced in many areas of Northern Italy is compact and very creamy with strong flavor and blue veins similar to blue cheese due to growth of mold. Its name, after the parish of Gorgonzola where migratory flocks used to pass the winter, is registered by presidential decree. All cheese entitled to bear the name of origin must have permission of the Consortium for Gorgonzola.

Stracchino or Crescenza (full cream cow’s milk): From Lombardy, this rectangular or square cheese with flat sides is white, soft and creamy with no holes and no rind. Its name is derived from the word stracche , meaning “tired,” attributed to cows which had just come from mountains in search of new pastures and were thus fatigued. It is used mainly as a table cheese or melting cheese in foccacia.

Mozzarella (full cream water buffalo milk): The cow species grazing in swamp areas in the Campania and Latium regions creates a rather sour milk. When cured, the stringy cheese with a light, soft white and rubbery rind and white color is used in cooked dishes and grating. Uncured it is sweet, moist with a delicate lactic flavor, used as a table cheese or in salads. The tiny balls of fresh mozzarella are called bocconcini. Highly perishable, mozzarella is sometimes smoked using wheat straw leaves and wood. The name mozzarella di bufala is recognized by presidential decree.

Ricotta (cow’s and ewe’s milk): Soft textured, with a very thin, shiny rind and ivory color, this delicately sour cheese is eaten and used fresh in preparation of sweet and savory dishes. The best cheeses are produced entirely from ewe’s milk (particularly Ricotta Romana di Pecora from Roman ewe’s milk ricotta). Ricotta is not really a cheese, but the whey after producing the cheese.

Mascarpone: Sold in bulk form, it is a creamy cheese with sweet, fruity aftertaste. It is made of acidulated cream and eaten for dessert or used in pies or creamy desserts.

Caciocavallo: A southern Italian cheese that is pear-shaped with semi-soft golden or light brown rind. It is pale golden and buttery when young. When aged, flavor is sharper and cheese is used for grating.

Scamorza: A semi-soft cow’s or water buffalo milk made in Abruzzi. The cheese is drier than mozzarella and available in pear or animal shapes, plain or smoked.

French:

Altesse (a double cream cheese): Used as dessert cheese with wine or fruit, the cheese is spreadable at room temperature and excellent with French bread.

Boursault (a triple-cream): The cheese with no crust has a light creamy body made from cow’s milk to which cream is added. Boursault must contain 75% butterfat by law. It is used like Brie as a dessert cheese with fruit, wine or nuts and is spreadable at room temperature.

Boursin (also a soft-ripened triple-cream): A very thin edible crust and soft white creamy body distinguishes the cheese made from whole milk to which cream has been added. Boursin must contain 75% butterfat by law. It is used as a dessert cheese with fruit, wine and is spreadable at room temperature.

Brie: This soft-ripened white mold cheese is usually found in large thin rounds weighing two to five pounds, as well as in smaller wedges. Made from whole cow’s milk, flavor is mild but distinctive. It is used as a dessert cheese with wine, fruit and French bread, or as an appetizer with crackers. Shelf life in the refrigerator is four to five weeks, but serve only at room temperature.

Camembert (from whole cow’s milk): Distinctive with rich, mild flavor and a soft, creamy yellow-white edible crust, Camembert is highly perishable but will store in the refrigerator up to six weeks. Use as a dessert cheese served at room temperature. Like Brie, it should not be cut until soft to the touch and fully ripened.

Coulommiers Gaye: This cheese has a thin white rind and smooth creamy texture, similar to Brie, but fruitier with pronounced flavor.

Brillat-Savarin: A double or triple cream cheese from Normandy, this cheese with a thin rind and white light texture is rich and delicate. Comes in tall, round loaves.

Fondue Au Raisin (La Grappe or Grape Cheese): This seed-covered cheese is pasteurized after it is made. It is then rolled in seeds and pulp from which juice has been pressed to make wine, leaving an edible black coat. Body is white and creamy. Made from cow’s milk, it is used as a dessert cheese with wine and fruit. Slight mold formation between seeds is fine.

Roquefort (semi-soft): A blue mold cheese, which is sometimes crumbly with white curd. Made from ewe’s milk, it comes in medium-size wheels. Flavor is sharp and peppery. Its shelf-life in the refrigerator is three months or longer. It is used as a dessert cheese or in salad dressings and dips. The name is government controlled. No other cheese can bear its name.

Goat Cheese, Fresh Cheeses:

Fromage Blanc: A light, fluffy, creamy cheese, fromage blanc is sold like cottage cheese or in portions to order.

Chabis: Cured only one week, it is very young and is sold in cylindrical shapes.

Pyramide: Cured longer than chabis, usually ash-coated and made in 8-ounce pyramid shapes.

Log: Aged about one week and sold in 1 1/2-inch diameter ashed white log shapes weighing eight to nine ounces

Pepper, Herb, Dill: These young round, flat cheeses are coated with various herbs.

Fourme: An ashed and white Penicillium mold-sprayed cheese is aged one month and made into 2 1/2- to 3-pound rounds and sold in portions cut to order.

Taupiniere: Shaped like a molehill (taupiniere), it is aged three weeks. Ashed exterior is sprayed with white Penicillium mold to produce its distinctive flavor.

Cabecou: These button-like one-ounce cheeses are cured two to three weeks then marinated in olive oil and herbs. Has nutty flavor and dry texture.

Crottin: Aged two to three weeks, crottin is round and golden in color with a sharp pronounced goat flavor and dry texture, weighing 2 1/2 to 3 ounces.

Montrachet: A log cheese with or without ash, ripened for a week and wrapped in leaves.

Mexican:

Crema Mexicana: The freshest and softest of the Mexican cheese-type products similar to sour cream, it is used as a cream topping over cooked foods, salads, tacos, or incorporated into sauce.

Blanco Fresco: A fresh, part skim milk cheese made into rectangular loaves and used in cooking or eating fresh.

Panela: A member of the fresh cheese family made with part skim milk in small round wheels, panela can be used as any queso fresco in cooking or eating as you would Brie or Camembert.

Queso Ranchero: A semi-soft fresh cheese used in cooking or eating as you would pot cheese.

Queso Anejo Enchilado: A fresh cheese that is somewhat firmer than panela with a red pepper coating. Usually found in small square loaves.

Manchego: A semi-aged cheese which originated in Spain and was brought by early settlers to Mexico. It is a favored melting cheese used for sandwiches and quesadilla.

Queso Cotija: A hard whole milk cheese used primarily for grating cheese over beans or can be crumbled to use in salads as you would feta cheese.

British:

Double Cream: Made by adding equal amounts of cream to curd; a soft, white, rind-less prepacked cheese made from cow’s milk plus cream. Excellent with smoked salmon, cocktail spread or over scones.

Stilton (blue farmhouse cheese): A gray-rinded wheel cheese with blue-green veining that is creamy, rich and tangy. Excellent as a dessert cheese or in salads.

Double Glouchester: A semi-hard cheese with an orange waxy texture and strong, nutty flavor. Excellent for dessert.

Farmhouse Cheddar: A semi-hard cheese with pale golden texture. Flavor is nutty and full-flavored. A preferred cheese among Cheddar connoisseurs.

Swiss:

Emmentaler: The personification of Swiss cheese, with supple texture, fruity and nutty flavor.

Gruyere: A pressed, cooked cheese with small holes, drier, firmer and nuttier than Emmentaler.

Raclette: An uncooked cheese made with unpasteurized milk. There are a few holes and flavor is fruity. Used primarily as a melting cheese for raclette.

Vacherin Mont D’or: A light brown elastic rind cheese with ivory paste made in fall and winter. Wrapped with a strip of bark, the fruity, herbaceous rich cheese is runny when ripe.

Edam: The semi-hard cheese is found in ball shapes with a smooth surface. Has a slightly tangy after-taste. Ideal for cheese tray.

Gouda (farmhouse and aged): A semi-hard, firm straw-colored cheese with small holes. It is mild, buttery and nutty when young. When aged, it is darker, dried and has a more piquant flavor. Good for cheese tray or sandwiches.

Danish:

Havarti: A semi-soft, rind-less cheese with small irregular holes in a buttery paste. Ideal for cheese trays.

Norwegian:

Jarlsberg: A top favorite semi-soft cheese with yellow body and holes. Good in sandwiches, salads and eating out of hand.

Canadian:

Canadian white Cheddar: Similar to American Cheddar but white in color; white Cheddar can be used as you would any Cheddar in cooking or snacking.

Greek, Bulgarian, French, Danish:

Feta: A soft ewe’s milk or goat’s milk-white cheese with a tangy flavor is cured in salt brine.