I've never really made a study of cheese so the other day got some
muenster and monterey jack at the grocery store to see if I could tell
the difference.

I recognize the taste of swiss, parmesan, cheddar, American (at least
the kind that comes in sandwich slices), cottage cheese (if it's
really considered a cheese) which all seem to have distinctive flavors
and seem pretty consistent from brand to brand, but trying the
muenster and monterey jack, I really didn't find a distinctive flavor
difference. I doubt I could tell the difference blindfolded.

It occured to me, how do you know if the cheese you get tastes the way
that type of cheese is supposed to? How do you quantify a cheese
taste? Are there "standard" formulas for making various cheeses? Are
there particular brands that are readily available in grocery stores
that you can be sure are "the real deal"?

Thanks for all input

Doc wrote:
> I've never really made a study of cheese so the other day got some
> muenster and monterey jack at the grocery store to see if I could tell
> the difference.
>
> I recognize the taste of swiss, parmesan, cheddar, American (at least
> the kind that comes in sandwich slices), cottage cheese (if it's
> really considered a cheese) which all seem to have distinctive flavors
> and seem pretty consistent from brand to brand, but trying the
> muenster and monterey jack, I really didn't find a distinctive flavor
> difference. I doubt I could tell the difference blindfolded.
>
> It occured to me, how do you know if the cheese you get tastes the way
> that type of cheese is supposed to? How do you quantify a cheese
> taste? Are there "standard" formulas for making various cheeses? Are
> there particular brands that are readily available in grocery stores
> that you can be sure are "the real deal"?

(I removed the cross posts.)


You DON'T know if a cheese tastes the way it is supposed to. The
examples you gave, swiss, parmesan, cheddar, american, and cottage, are
all the equivalents of generics. They come in many varieties. There's
no single standard that defines a cheese.


I'll use cheddar as an example. The word can be used in many ways.
Cheddaring is a process that's used in making cheese. That's technical,
and I'll let you look up what it means if you're curious. Suffice it to
say that many cheeses can be cheddared without being called cheddar.
Black Diamond cheddar, Baldersen cheddar, Coastal cheddar, can all taste
different. (I bought the Baldersen tonight. The others that I named
were in the store where I bought it. There are countless other cheddars.)


Lots of things go into the flavor of a cheese: aging, the animal the
milk comes from, the diet of the animal, the way the cheese is made.


Individual cheese producers might have a standard they try to keep to.
That tends to be the case with the big factories. Even so, the same
producer might make a mild cheddar, a medium cheddar, a sharp cheddar,
and an extra sharp cheddar.


Cottage cheese IS considered a cheese. It is a fresh cheese which means
it isn't aged very long. Yogurt, cultured butter milk, and sour cream
also go into the category of fresh cheeses.


You don't quantify a cheese taste any more than you quanitify an apple
taste or a hamburger taste.


There are standard formulas for making individual cheeses, but there are
a lot of cheeses out there, which means there are a lot of formulas.
It's a fascinating subject. I'm always trying new cheeses and learning
more.


--Lia

Doc wrote:
> I've never really made a study of cheese so the other day got some
> muenster and monterey jack at the grocery store to see if I could tell
> the difference.
>
> I recognize the taste of swiss, parmesan, cheddar, American (at least
> the kind that comes in sandwich slices), cottage cheese (if it's
> really considered a cheese) which all seem to have distinctive flavors
> and seem pretty consistent from brand to brand, but trying the
> muenster and monterey jack, I really didn't find a distinctive flavor
> difference. I doubt I could tell the difference blindfolded.
>
> It occured to me, how do you know if the cheese you get tastes the way
> that type of cheese is supposed to? How do you quantify a cheese
> taste? Are there "standard" formulas for making various cheeses? Are
> there particular brands that are readily available in grocery stores
> that you can be sure are "the real deal"?
>
> Thanks for all input

That's like asking how sausage is supposed to taste, how bread should
taste, how ice cream is suposed to taste...

The only way to know how any food is supposed to taste is to do a lot
of eating.

Keep in mind that only about 5 pct of the world population ever
realizes how foods should taste... the other 95 pct is afflicted with
CTIAD.

http://www.cheese.com


SHELDON

"Doc" > wrote in message
> It occured to me, how do you know if the cheese you get tastes the way
> that type of cheese is supposed to? How do you quantify a cheese
> taste? Are there "standard" formulas for making various cheeses? Are
> there particular brands that are readily available in grocery stores
> that you can be sure are "the real deal"?
>
> Thanks for all input

The best you can do with flavors is give broad descriptions such as
mild/sharp, pungent, nutty, buttery, etc. To say good or bad is very
subjective.

I'd say you can't go wrong to develop your base with any of the major brands
and compare to them as you branch out and taste others. The big brands may
not be the best around, but they are not bad and at least you have a start.
Better yet, visit a good cheese shop when they are not busy. Most will give
a you a taste of a few cheeses. If you keep buying they will let you taste
every cheese in the house. I've been to a few places where they have 100+
types to choose from. You can be sure they are "the real deal" too.

Go here and check the cheese list for good descriptions of 37 types.
http://www.chcheeseshop.com/extra/05extra/index.asp

On Feb 7, 10:16*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:

> Eat your cheeses at room temperature. *And stop smoking. *Then
> you'll be able to tell the difference.


I guess I'd have to start smoking so I can then stop.

On Thu, 7 Feb 2008 18:26:30 -0800 (PST), Doc >
wrote:

>It occured to me, how do you know if the cheese you get tastes the way
>that type of cheese is supposed to? How do you quantify a cheese
>taste? Are there "standard" formulas for making various cheeses? Are
>there particular brands that are readily availa

Cheese and wine are pretty diverse, even within their types.

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"Doc" > wrote in message
...
> I've never really made a study of cheese so the other day got some
> muenster and monterey jack at the grocery store to see if I could tell
> the difference.
>
> I recognize the taste of swiss, parmesan, cheddar, American (at least
> the kind that comes in sandwich slices), cottage cheese (if it's
> really considered a cheese) which all seem to have distinctive flavors
> and seem pretty consistent from brand to brand, but trying the
> muenster and monterey jack, I really didn't find a distinctive flavor
> difference. I doubt I could tell the difference blindfolded.
>
> It occured to me, how do you know if the cheese you get tastes the way
> that type of cheese is supposed to? How do you quantify a cheese
> taste? Are there "standard" formulas for making various cheeses? Are
> there particular brands that are readily available in grocery stores
> that you can be sure are "the real deal"?
>
> Thanks for all input



If you could not tell the difference between muenster and monterey jack, you
need to get to your doctor. You may have had a mild stroke.

Doc wrote:

> It occured to me, how do you know if the cheese you get tastes the way
> that type of cheese is supposed to? How do you quantify a cheese
> taste? Are there "standard" formulas for making various cheeses? Are
> there particular brands that are readily available in grocery stores
> that you can be sure are "the real deal"?

I recommend going to a store that specializes in cheese a few times,
and trying the different kinds there. Where I live, there's an
especially good co-op that does all kinds of cheese, and will not
only let you taste before you buy, they don't like it if you
*don't*. Also, they're great if you walk in the door and say, "I
like X and Y -- what do you recommend?" This is how I found out
about D'Affinois. The moment I found D'Affinois, my life got
happier. :-)

And Cambozola. And Cotswold. Mmmmm, Cotswold.

Serene

On Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:59:44 -0800, Serene >
wrote:

>And Cambozola.

with pears!

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