Category: Cheeses
Wine Pairings with Cheese: The 29 Most Popular Cheeses
Wine Pairings with Cheese can be particularly challenging. One must select cheeses and wines that compliment each other perfectly without the flavors competing or overwhelming one another. So here is an alphabetical listing of 29 of the most popular cheeses in the United States and suggestions for wines that pair well with them. Keep in mind this list is not comprehensive. There are other wines that pair well with these cheeses. But these are the best matches in my humble opinion. This list should easily print to two pages so it can be used as a handy guide. Hopefully it will help you impress you friends at your next gathering. Click on any cheese to find more information and other pairing options.
Amish Butter Cheese – Chardonnay
Asiago Cheese – Beaujolais, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Merlot. Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah (Shiraz)
Baby Swiss– Asti Spumanti, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Dolcetto, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Sparkling/Champagne, Vidal Blanc
Bacon Cheese– Baco Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir
Brick Cheese– Baco Noir, Gamay Noir(Beaujolais), Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Zinfandel
Canadian Cheddar (Sharp) – Cabernet Franc, Cabernet/Merlot(Bordeaux), Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Rioja, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Syrah(Shiraz), Tempranillo, Zinfandel
New York Cheddar (Medium)– Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Merlot, Pinot Gris,Pinot Noir
Colby Cheese– Chardonnay, Dry Champagne/Sparkling Wine, Gamay Noir(Beaujolais), Muscat, Riesling, Rose/Blush, Sauvignon Blanc
Danish Blue Cheese– Cabernet Franc, Cabernet/Merlot (Bordeaux), Cabernet Sauvignon, Desert Wines-(Icewine, Late Harvest Muscat, Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Viogniers), Maderia, Port-Tawney, Sherry
Farmer’s Cheese– Chardonnay, Gamay Noir(Beaujolais), Muscat, Pinot Noir, Reisling, Rose/Blush
Goat Cheese – Beaujolais, Chablis, Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc, Tempanillo
Gouda– Beaujolais, Champagne/Sparkling Wine, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc
Gruyere– Beaujolais, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Syrah (Shiraz), Sauvignon Blanc
Havarti Cheese – Beaujolais, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel
Havarti with Caraway – Beaujolais, Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel
Havarti with Dill– Cabernet Franc, Cabernet/Merlot (Bordeaux), Rioja, Tannat, Tempranillo
Horseradish Cheese– Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Noir
Marble Cheese– Baco Noir, Cabernet/Merlot(Bordeaux), Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Rose/Blush
Mozzarella– Beaujolais, Chianti
Muenster– Baco Noir, Gamay Noir(Beaujolais), Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Zinfandel
Parmesan– Baco Noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet/Merlot(Bordeaux),Grenache,Sherry, Syrah (Shiraz), Zinfandel
Provolone – Beaujolais, Chardonnay, Chianti, Syrah (Shiraz)
Pepper Jack Cheese– Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc
Raclette – Fendant, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Savoie
Romano (Pecorino) – Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Merlot, Zinfandel
Sharp Swiss– Cabernet Franc, Dolcetto, Gerwurztraminer, Grenache, Merlot, Muscat, Riesling, Vidal Blanc
Swiss Cheese – Beaujolais, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Gris. Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc
Smoked Cheddar– Cabernet Franc,Cabernet/Merlot(Bordeaux), Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Syrah(Shiraz), Tempranillo, Zinfandel
Smoked Gouda – Chateauneuf-du-papa, Chianti, Garnacha, Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah(Shiraz), Tempranillo
Most of the suggested wines should be available at your local wine and spirit store. Please feel free to give feedback on this list or additional wine pairing suggestions.
Do Processed Cheeses Get a Bad Rap?
Pepperoni Cheese
Most cheese connoisseurs cringe at the thought of processed cheeses. Think of Kraft singles, Laughing Cow, or Velveeta. Most of us loved such cheeses when we were kids, we always made sure Mom grabbed some at the grocery store. So why do they offend our adult palates? Labels that contain the name “cheese food” don’t make them sound any more appetizing either.
Processed cheeses are made with some natural cheeses, but usually contain other unfermented dairy products as well as chemical emulsifiers like sodium phosphate and citrate to circumvent the aging process necessary to produce most natural cheeses. Normally processed cheeses are medium firm, have a very mild flavor, and a consistently smooth texture.
Processed cheeses are often criticized for having a small range of flavors and textures and for potential health effects associated with the use of trans-fats, chemical preservatives, and artificial colorings. But like anything else, the health risks are negligible when these items are consumed in moderation, and these types of cheeses also offer many advantages.
Being cheese enthusiasts ourselves, we originally began stocking certain processed cheeses in order to satisfy our customers who requested them. But there has been a recent surge in the acceptance of many of these processed cheeses amongst the culinary community. The consistency of processed cheeses enables them to melt much more smoothly than natural cheeses, which tend to separate and pool after prolonged heating. They also have a much longer shelf life and the shortened production process lowers their cost significantly. This makes them ideal for use in cooking.
Some dishes call for only the finest natural cheeses, but many do not. It would be unusual for a chef to use a top shelf wine or liqueur to cook with. The same goes for cheese in many cases. This came to our attention when Jim Kennedy, a customer and friend of ours who also happens to be a retired chef ordered some horseradish cheese from us. He specialized in classic French cuisine and had been an apprentice to the first American-born Master Chef, Richard Schneider. So his opinion carried a lot of credibility with us. He shared his ideas for incorporating the horseradish cheese into high-end cuisine with us: “We melted it into mashed potatoes and it was superb. We melted it into Alfredo sauce and it was wonderful. We baked it into a quiche and it was sensational. We baked it with macaroni and it was incredible. In the future we intend to combine it with the smoked bacon cheese in all the above.” he said “We were afraid it would be tame for mainstream palates, but we were pleasantly surprised.”
That brought us to the most important benefit of processed cheeses: they come in a very diverse array of flavors. Besides horseradish, processed cheeses come in flavors like bacon, pepperoni, garden onion, Bermuda onion, hot pepper, super hot pepper, caraway, and even Southwestern Salsa. We also offer smoked varieties of many of these. Of course American cheese is the archetype of processed cheeses, but we also offer Sharp (aged) American, which is probably our best-selling processed cheese because few other cheese stores offer it. All of these flavors make excellent additions to simple or complex recipes. We were very impressed with the zing the Bermuda onion cheese added to our burgers!
So while most cheese aficionados will wrinkle there noses at the mere mention of processed cheeses, we have now found some very sophisticated uses for them. Of course, if the cheese is offered by itself or used as a finishing element for a fine dining recipe, natural cheeses are best. But processed cheeses can be excellent ingredients in complex recipes and add zesty variations to simple ones.
The Art of Cheesemaking
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hjYzEMf4ZY]
Here is a video demonstrating the difference in the Amish Cheesemaking process. Video footage courtesy of one of our principal local cheese suppliers, Guggisberg Cheese. Here are links to the cheeses described in this video:
Swiss Cheese
And you can find over 60 other cheeses, including several others produced by Guggisberg Cheese at: https://cheesehouse.com/cheese.aspx
Making Cheese The Amish Way
We now live in a society whose greatest value has become productivity. We get our news from short sound bites from the internet or TV now instead of reading the paper. We rarely read books anymore. We listen to them while we are stuck in traffic, trying to get to work so we can get as much done in as little time as possible. The products we buy are made with the same goal in mind: maximum efficiency. But those who produce the few products that we still make in the U.S., whose ultimate goal is maximum efficiency, seem to have lost their standard of quality. They make it fast, but what happened to the concept of taking your time and doing it right? Some things just cannot be made fast without sacrificing quality.
One of those products is cheese. Mass produced cheeses all seem to have the same “tinny” metallic taste. That is because the manufacturers add chemicals to speed up the maturing process, but the residue from these chemicals creates that metallic aftertaste. The corporate manufacturers even rush the cows to produce more milk by injecting them with hormones and feeding them over processed feeds that are measured and distributed by computers. While these processes are efficient, we all agree that the quality suffers greatly.
Fortunately for cheese lovers, there is still a culture among us that believes in doing almost everything the old fashioned way: The Amish. Cheese making is a skill brought to Ohio by the earliest Swiss and German immigrants, and it still survives in Ohio Amish Country to this day.
Not only do the Amish have traditional knowledge and skill in the trade, there are numerous Amish dairy farmers in the area that provide the best possible milk. The cows are hormone free and they feed on natural grasses native to the valleys of northern Ohio that have never been sprayed with pesticides. The average Amish farm has only ten cows, so they can be more closely monitored. The milk is delivered to the cheese makers in numbered cans that can be traced back to the exact farm, and even the exact cow it came from. This provides a quality control system that prevents any sub-standard milk from entering the supply, but does not affect the distinctive Amish farming methods.
Cheese making is an art and a science, so some modern technology has been added to the final cheese production process to ensure a sanitary and healthful product. But the technology has all been carefully introduced so as not to affect the quality of the cheese. The milk is pasteurized to prevent the introduction of any foreign bacteria. The cheese is now made in stainless steel vats as they are easier to clean and more sanitary than the old copper kettles. The enzymes that are introduced to form the cheese curds are now more carefully measured to ensure the highest quality. No chemical preservatives are added, but the individual pieces of cheese are vacuum packed and refrigerated after the aging process is complete to ensure the cheese stays fresh until it makes its way to your table. All of this ensures an unmatched standard of quality.
Most Amish made cheeses have a cream content level of up to 33% milk fat, which is high compared to mass-produced cheeses, but that’s what makes them so creamy and full flavored. The cheeses are refrigerated during storage, but are best served at room temperature. There are over 50 flavors of cheese that are made in Ohio’s Amish country. The most notable are Amish Swiss, Sharp Swiss, Baby Swiss, Amish Butter Cheese, Colby, Farmers Cheese, Jack Cheese, Marble (Colby Jack), and Yogurt Cheese. They also produce numerous variations of each including smoked varieties and cheeses infused with peppers, onions, and bacon to name a few. A byproduct of the cheese making process is also butterfat, which is used to make Amish Butter, the best butter most will ever taste.
But the Amish level of patience and dedication does not only apply to dairy products. Their religion discourages them from worldly pursuits, so their ultimate goal in everything they do is perfection rather than profit. Their patience and dedication is evident in their other specialty foods including fruit preserves, pickled vegetables, and the specialty meats that they inspired. Anyone who has ever visited Ohio’s Amish Country has most likely seen the top quality bedding and furniture they have also become famous for.
For the cultural tourist, Ohio’s Amish Country is a must see. The cheese connoisseur need not leave his/her own living room. All of the cheeses and other delicacies mentioned are available over the Internet. But nothing compares to actually visiting and seeing the labor of love firsthand.
Swiss Cheese or “Swiss” Cheese?
Ohio Swiss Cheese
We all know what Swiss cheese is. An image probably comes to mind of the neatly pre-sliced cheese we buy in small packs from the grocery store characterized by its myriad of holes. It has a mild taste and the slices are good for making sandwiches. But do we know where it came from? Most non-cheese connoisseurs do not.
The concoction riddled with holes that we know as Swiss cheese was inspired by specific types of cheese that originated in…you guessed it…Switzerland. However, the cheese you buy in the grocery store is very different from the real, premium Swiss cheese, which is still available today, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg unless you are a purist and insist that the only real Swiss cheese is imported from Switzerland.
The “Swiss” cheese that was the original inspiration for what we now call Swiss cheese is called Emmental or Emmentaler. Emmentaler is so named because the particular process by which the cheese is made originated in the Emme Valley, in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. The process involves certain natural bacteria consuming the lactic acid in the cheese and releasing carbon dioxide gas, which slowly forms the bubbles that create the perfectly round holes that characterize Swiss cheese. Cheese experts often refer to these holes as “eyes.”
This process that was born in the Emme Valley has inspired a large number of the cheeses we enjoy today. Emmentaler is now produced in other European countries like France, Finland and Germany as well as it’s native Switzerland. Jarlsberg from Norway, and Leerdammer and Maasdam from The Netherlands are all similar variations of the original “Swiss Cheese.” But the problem we have in North America is that importing food can be an expensive process, from transporting it under the proper conditions to the government inspection standards. That all adds to the price of the cheese we enjoy, making it a luxury product. But those on a budget can still enjoy delectable Swiss cheese.
The problem with the mass produced Swiss cheese we find in the grocery store is that the production process has lost its integrity in the name of high volume output. This is often debated, but generally the larger the eyes, the more pronounced the flavor of the cheese. The reason for this is that the conditions that provide the ideal flavor, longer aging at higher temperatures, are also the ideal conditions for the enzymes and bacteria to create larger eyes. This creates two problems with mass producers that are focused on turning a profit. The longer aging process slows production, and the larger eyes make it difficult to neatly slice the cheese on mechanical slicers, because the cheese comes apart. Both of these factors cost time and money, so Swiss cheese manufactured in North America is often less aged and flavorful than imported varieties.
So how can we enjoy good Swiss cheese without spending an arm and a leg? We buy it from a “cheese artist”, rather than a “cheese business.” During the wave of European immigration to North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many immigrants from the canton of Bern, Switzerland, where the original Emmentaler was produced, settled in Northeastern Ohio in what is now Holmes County. Holmes County, OH is now also the largest Amish settlement in the world. The Swiss immigrants brought their cheese making traditions with them, and although production has been aided by some automation, the original process is still strictly adhered to. But the process is not the only element necessary to successfully produce incredible Swiss cheese. It is essential that the milk used in making the cheese comes from specific types of cows that graze in specific grasses. All of those elements are present in Holmes County Ohio, and the milk is provided by local Amish farmers who do not give their cows hormones or antibiotics or add preservatives to the milk. The result is a Swiss cheese that tastes as good, if not better than the original Emmentaler that is imported from Switzerland, at approximately 1/3 the price.
Shisler’s Cheese House, a specialty cheese retailer located in Northeastern Ohio, conducted a double-blind taste test pitting imported Swiss Emmentaler against locally produced Pearl Valley Swiss Cheese, a fourth generation owned and operated cheese maker from Holmes County, OH. Of all the customers surveyed, approximately 10% were undecided, 10% said they preferred the imported Emmentaler, 20% said they liked both equally, and 60% preferred the locally made Ohio Swiss cheese.
So if you are a chef who likes to include fine cheeses in your recipes, you entertain frequently, or are simply a cheese enthusiast with a taste for fine Swiss cheese, you don’t have to take out a second mortgage to buy imported cheese or sacrifice quality for affordability. All you have to do stop into one of the local cheese stores in Northeastern Ohio, or if that’s not an option you can order online from www.cheeshouse.com/ohio-swiss-cheese. They ship to all 50 states and Canada.
