Cheese

Question 1

Basic steps to make cheese

Answer 1

• solidify milk
• add slat
• evaporate part of the way
• pour into molds (fascere) & let dry
• age (months or years)

Question 2

“high fat” cheese

Answer 2

more than 42% fat

Question 3

“semi-fat” cheese

Answer 3

20-42% fat

Question 4

“low fat” cheese

Answer 4

less than 20% fat

Question 5

soft cheese

Answer 5

more than 40% water content

Question 6

hard cheese

Answer 6

less than 40% water content

Question 7

soft cheese categories

Answer 7

fresh, aged, and fermented

Question 8

hard cheese categories

Answer 8

raw, cooked, and fermented

Question 9

Table cheeses

Answer 9

served at the end of the meal before dessert and fruit. should be accompanied by foods that enhance their taste, texture, and aroma

Question 10

Cheese Board

Answer 10

at least 6 different cheeses…

• 3 mild soft varieties (cow, goat, ewe)
• 1 flavorful soft
• 1 pressed
• 1 herb

Question 11

Fresh Cheese (which wine?)

Answer 11

Wines that don’t mask delicate flavor

light white wines or fresh fruity roses…moscato and sauterne dessert wines

Question 12

High Fat Cheese (which wine?)

Answer 12

wines that accentuate the buttery cheese and enhance flavor

spicy white wines or decisive reds

Question 13

Delicate soft cheese (which wine?)

Answer 13

light, aromatic white wines, and soft reds

Question 14

Flavorful soft cheese (which wine?)

Answer 14

robust and smooth red wines & dry, full-flavored white wines

Question 15

Sharp and piquant cheese (which wine?)

Answer 15

dry red wine

Question 16

Hard aged cheese (which wine?)

Answer 16

dry, full-bodied red wines

Question 17

Herb cheese (which wine?)

Answer 17

white dessert wines…sauterne, port, or malvasia

Question 18

Caprini (goat) (which wine?)

Answer 18

light and fresh red or white wine

Question 19

Asiago

Answer 19

• Northern Italy: Colomite Mountains, Veneto, Trentino
• cow’s milk
• Types: d’allevo & pressato
• D’allevo: 4mo - 2yrs, 34% fat, sharp taste, straw to medium brown color
• Pressato: 20-40days, 44% fat, sweet/buttery taste, pale gold with reddish-yellow exterior

Question 20

Gorgonzola

Answer 20

• made in Lombardy
• pasteurized cow’s milk
• 48% fat
• Types: Dolce & Piccante
• Dolce: 2mos, pleasantly sharp taste
• Piccante: 3mos, sharp and tangy taste

Question 21

Mozzarella

Answer 21

• one of the most popular and versatile fresh cheeses
• originally made from water buffalo’s milk in Campania region
• Now: cow’s milk and all over Italy
• Minimum 50% fat
• sweet, fresh, & milky taste
• bocconcini, fior di latte, mozzarella affumicata, treccia, burrata

Question 22

Parmigiano Reggiano

Answer 22

• King of Italian cheeses & best known internationally
• Made in Bologna, modena, Reggio-Emilia, Parma, & Mantua
• Strict laws about production & no addition of preservatives allowed
• Aging: 1-4 years
• skimmed cow’s milk (can only eat fresh grass/hay)
• 3.2% fat
• intense taste

Question 23

Pecorino

Answer 23

• one of the oldest cheeses in Itlay
• Made in central & southern Italy & the islands
• aging: 2mos - 3yrs
• ewe’s milk
• 48% fat
• Taste: sharp & spicy (aged), creamy & pungent (younger), sweet & intense (Tuscan)

Question 24

Ricotta Fresca

Answer 24

• ricotta = “recooked”
• Made all over Italy
• Made by reheating the why leftover when making hard cheeses; milk or cream sometimes added to improve consistency
• cow’s milk, or mixed cow’s and ewe’s milk
• 10% fat
• should be eaten the day it is bought, refrigerated
• very delicate taste

Question 25

Ricotta Salata

Answer 25

• Made by adding salt to fresh ricotta to preserve it for 2-12 months
• Made in southern Italy
• 38% fat
• sharp & salty taste
• table cheese, used in cooking, grating

Question 26

Crescenza/stracchino

Answer 26

• Ancient fresh cheese from Lombardy
• Aging: 5 to 6 days
• whole, pasteurized cow’s milk
• 48% fat
• sweet, delicate, & buttery taste
• creamy & spreadable

Question 27

Fontina

Answer 27

• Made in Valle d’Aosta
• Aging: 3 months
• Unpasteurized, whole cow’s milk
• 45% fat
• sweet, distinctive, full flavor, nutty taste
• perfect table cheese & cooking (melts beautifully)

Question 28

Grana Padano

Answer 28

-Invented in the year 1000 as a way of conserving excess milk production
-Made in southern Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Roagna
Aging: 1-2 years
-Skimmed cow’s milk
-32% fat
-mild almost sweet taste
-grainy/crumbly texture
-Easy to digest…perfect for after dinner

Question 29

Taleggio

Answer 29

• table cheese with a firm, creamy consistency & a light aromatic flavor
• Made in Lombardy & Veneto
• Aging: about 40 days
• Cow’s milk
• 48% fat

Question 30

Mascarpone

Answer 30

• Originally made from the excess cream extracted during the production of crescenza & stracchino
• made from pure cow’s milk cream
• appearance is a yellowy-white color and similar to a custard
• widely used in cooking & desserts
• Made in Lombardy
• Fresh
• 60% fat
• smooth, creamy, & sweet taste

Question 31

Scamorza

Answer 31

• a spun cheese; same family as mozzarella & provolone
• Firm to the cut, white, & buttery
• Eaten fresh or smoked
• Made in Southern Italy
• Aging: minimum of 7 days
• made from cow’s milk
• 38% fat
• Sweet & delicate taste

Question 32

Montasio

Answer 32

• Over 700 years old
• Made in Northern Italy
• firm cheese
• cow’s milk
• 40% fat
• 3 types: fresh, moderately aged, & aged
• fresh: table cheese, 2-5mos, delicate taste
• moderately aged: 5-12mos
• aged: over a year, strong taste

Question 33

Quartirolo

Answer 33

• good table cheese & goes well with salads & walnuts
• Made in Lombardy
• aging: 5-40days
• cow’s milk
• 30% fat
• taste: slightly acidic, but acquires intensity and fragrance with aging