The big cheese

Source: Lansing State Journal
Americans are discovering what the French have known for centuries: There's more to cheese than orange slices wrapped in cellophane. More and more people are gobbling up Gouda, enjoying Edam and chewing a nice Cheshire flavored with chives and onions.

It would be a stretch to say buyers are lining up for Limburger. But cheese is showing up in record amounts in U.S. refrigerators.

In the first six months of 2000, U.S. cheese consumption increased 6 percent, an upward trend experts predict will continue. Today's average American eats 30.3 pounds of cheese a year, an increase from 24.5 pounds of cheese in 1990, according to the American Dairy Association. And they seem to be looking for better cheese.

Hill's Homecured Cheeses at the Lansing City Market offers handmade cheese. Several other local stores have growing inventories of imported and U.S.-made cheeses.

"We've always had a nice selection of cheeses and a strong following, but the niche producers are becoming more available to us," said Matt Rhodes of Dusty's Cellar in Okemos. Cheese was discovered 4,000 years ago by an Arabian merchant. But just 10 years ago, artisan cheesemakers were almost non-existent in the United States. Today there are more than 200 artisan farms distributing cheeses such as Fromage Blanc, Crescenza and Fontina to stores nationwide. Artisan cheesemakers create small amounts of cheese using traditional methods.

Dusty's carries about 100 varieties of cheese, including imports and handmade American cheeses at about $9 to $12 a pound, said the store's buyer, Diane Pozniak. This month the store is featuring French cheeses, with a wine- and cheese-tasting set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday on the patio.

Other stores with cheese collections include Veritas Wine Shop and Goodrich's Shop-Rite, both in East Lansing.

It's not necessary to be a cheese expert to switch to the fancy stuff. Pozniak admits she was a basic cheddar and blue cheese type before she started working at Dusty's.

"A lot of people don't know a lot of different cheeses," she said. "We see people poking their heads in the cheese case, and we make some recommendations. Everybody has different tastes."

To make cheese, a culture containing bacteria and other elements is added to cow or goat milk. Over time, the action of enzymes and acids provides the cheese with its character and flavor, said John Engstrom, dairy plant manager at Michigan State University. The dairy plant makes about 12,000 pounds of cheese a year, considered a small producer in the United States. Favorites there are hard cheeses such as cheddar, monterey and colby jack.

Most cheese is aged in an environment-controlled storage room for a period of months, sometimes longer.

"Our mild cheese will be in there for three months," Engstrom said. "A lot of our sharp cheese is 12 months to 2 years in age." Flavored cheese such as smoked cheddar, jalapeno cheese and MSU's unique chocolate cheese are popular for parties and holidays, Engstrom said.

"It's more of a treat," he said. "People appreciate the cheese here, and when they go visiting relatives they want to take some." When using cheese as an appetizer or a course in a meal, serve it at room temperature, Pozniak said. That allows the full flavor of the cheese to come out. Also serve it with bland crackers or French bread.

"You want to taste the cheese," she said. Cheese neophytes may want to start with the softer and milder cheeses, she said. She might suggest a typical brie, then move on to a harder, more flavorful cheese such as an Emmenthaler or a Gruyere. On the other end of the spectrum are the sharp cheeses or dry, tart cheeses, such as blue.

Among her favorites are English farmhouse cheeses such as the Cheshire, a semi-hard cheese flavored with chives and onions. Cheese also can be a satisfying and nutritious main ingredient in many entrees.

"Cheese doesn't have to be something you eat before or after meals. It can be the meal," said Laura Werner, author of "The New American Cheese," a cookbook that profiles artisan cheesemakers from New York to California. "Even though cheese goes well with meat, like veal Parmesan, it really stands well alone." Health experts are promoting cheese as a calcium boost.

"Cheese can go a long way in helping meet the calcium requirements. The fact it tastes so good is just a bonus," said Kaye Lunsford, communications director for the Dairy Council of Arizona.

One ounce of cheese, or one slice, provides as much as 20 to 25 percent of the recommended daily calcium intake. Certain types of cheese, such as Cheddar and mozzarella, might help prevent tooth decay.

The downside is that cheese can be loaded with fat, calories and salt.

"You should not eat cheese with abandon, but in reasonable amounts," Werner said.

If you have never tried cooking with cheese, begin with simple recipes and cheeses you like. The next stage is to begin experimenting with the new artisan cheeses.

"This is one of the most exciting times for cheeses. I like to compare it to the wine boom of the 1970s, when California wines started beating French wines," Werner said. "These new American cheeses are filled with lots of interesting flavors and hold their own against the French cheeses."
Source: Lansing State Journal