Say cheese with a smile
By Mridula

ONE of the things to look forward to on a trip anywhere in Europe is its vast heritage of cheeses. Believe me, it is an experience as strong as some of the cheeses themselves. The wide variety in availability, in usage and in taste and texture makes it a gastronomic excursion. Cheese is a culture by itself guarded vary passionately by those who pursue it. Conservatives by nature the cheese-specialists would not tolerate any tampering with the real thing for any commercial reason.

Cheese, according to the ancient Greeks, was a gift from the Gods. This may have been another way of saying that nobody could really remember when, where or how it first came into being, or perhaps unaware of the chemical processes involved, the Greeks believed there was something miraculous about the transformation if milk into cheese. Coming a long way since then to this day of factory cheeses the age-old traditions of cheese making are however, still best preserved in the European villages especially those of the British Isles, France Italy and Germany and also the Scandinavian countries.

Then, as now, cheese was prized not only as a staple food (often being for the peasant the only form of protein in an otherwise frugal diet) but also as a delicacy worthy of the attention of the most exigent gastronome. Cheese was and is all things to all men. It can be robust or delicate, soothing or strong, an abundant meal in itself or a rare and precious morsel to be savoured and treated with the reverence afforded to all great miracles of art or nature.

Here, in India, unlike across the continent the most popular local cheese is only — the one and only paneer! Surprising because a large part of the population is still ethnically vegetarian. It is probably because the controlled conditions necessary to ripen cheese successfully present insuperable problems in tropical climates. However, there are regions which make their own cheeses but remain a local secret only. There is aarey — a semi-hard buffalo milk cheese made near Bombay; bandal — acid curd cheese eaten fresh or smoked is made in West Bengal, the chhena used for sweetmeats and surati panir — from Gujarat this particular cheese is made by draining the curds and ripening them in whey for 12 to 36 hours. Sold in clay pots it is available only in Gujarat. And then there is the Tibetan cheese made out of Yak’s milk and is very very strong smelling. Even if one can identify the varieties in Indian cheeses there is a virtual dirth of their usage except in sweets and vegetable cooking.

A number of imported cheeses are now available in the Indian market and it is possible to enjoy them right here. Emmenetal, Brie, Camembert, Danish Blue, Holland cheese, are sold in the markets that cater for the foreigners living in India. Besides there are the other upmarket stores that sell Gouda, Ricotta, parmesan, Cheddar and mozzarella cheeses on a regular basis. There are also some Indian names now emerging in the cheese markets but they really have a long way to go before they can be enjoyed as exotic stuff as some of them genuinely are. The processed cheese that we get here in the general market is quite an apology if one has been on a cheese spree across the continent.

Good cheese can luxuriate one’s senses if relished with the right kind of accompaniments — good company being the foremost! Cheese and wine parties are common in France and the good taste is spreading the world over. But it isn’t quite as simple as that to host such niceties in one’s refrigerator. Cheeses can be fairly temperamental and one must know how to handle them. For those who deal with it, it is a passion.

In London, there is a shop called Cheeseblock which has in its inventory 300 varieties of cheese from all over Europe. Cheeseblock sells not only cheese but also other exotic foods such as Lime and Vodka jelly, Geranium (flower) jelly, delicate, a variety of vinegar and oils, olives, chocolates, crackers and breads, snacky food and pickles; all of which could go on a cheese table. Mentioned twice over in the Time Out magazine the best thing about this shop is that it is owned and run by an Indian Gujarati — Bhanu Prasad Rao.

Catering to a discerning clientele, Bhanu’s shop is also famous for the sandwiches that he puts together using his imagination and a sixth sense for flavours. He took me around his cheese salon and explained how to buy good cheese and then how to store it.

The first essential is to find a reputable cheesemonger where one can find cheeses in excellent condition. A wide selection is not the only criterion. A few well-chosen cheeses displayed with care attention to their particular characteristics may well be a better indication. If at a shop you are allowed, even encouraged to taste before you buy it is almost bound to be a good one. It indicates that the retailer has confidence in his product. It helps to know some desirable and some undesirable features of the cheese one plans to buy. He says, "remember that it is nearly always better to buy pieces cut from a whole cheese rather than pre-packed sections. Cheese should always be cut properly, either with a wire cutter or a special knife, and them be covered with plastic wrap or metal foil".

To avoid the problem of storage altogether, it is recommended, if possible to buy only as much cheese as you can eat on that day or the next. Mountain cheeses especially, Bhanu tells, tends to melt very fast. Soft cheeses such as Brie, and Camembert can be stored for a day or so in the warmest part of the refrigerator-the vegetable drawer is best. Most cheeses can be frozen without too much loss of flavour or texture. It should be wrapped well and frozen in portions that can be finished in one sitting, as defrosted cheese develops a bitter taste after 24 hrs.

Blue cheeses reign supreme — besides being most expensive they are the exclusive ones among the herd. Blue Stilton, Blue Cheshire, Blue Vinn(e)y and Coleford Blue are some of the exotic ones hailing from England. France, too, has its share of them — Olivet Bleu, Bleu du Haut-jura, Bleu de Langeac, Bleu de Loudes and Bleu de Velay are only some of them. These are the ones that are served with caviar and champagne!

Getting back closer home there is a Kalimpong brand of farmhouse cheese available in blocks. Major food stores sell it and is much cheaper than the imported cheeses. Nannu’s and Super Chef are the other Indian brands coming on the scene — fine for cooking but if it is for an experience — it is he French and English cheeses that win hand down!