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Smoked Cheese: Everything you need to know
Are you a cheese lover? Have you ever tried smoked cheese?
We stock a huge range here at Shisler’s Cheese House but we know that some customers don’t pick it up because they’re not sure about how it’s made or how to use it. That’s where this blog post comes in. We’re going to tell you everything you need to know about smoked cheese and show you some great uses for it so that you can add this delicious treat to your table.
A huge range of smoked cheese
We currently offer Smoked Baby Swiss, Smoked Bacon Cheese, Smoked Cheddar, Smoked Gouda, Smoked Habanero Cheddar, Smoked Horseradish Cheese, Smoked Hot Pepper Cheese, Smoked Mozzarella, Smoked Provolone, and Smoked Swiss Cheese.
That’s 10 smoked cheeses to choose from! We recommend that if you haven’t tried it before, start with a simple hard cheese such as the Smoked Cheddar or Smoked Gouda.
How is cheese smoked?
There are several ways to smoke cheese, but the main ones are the cold or hot smoke processes. The cold smoke method involves smoking chunks of cheese in a smoker for a few hours at a time with a tray of ice under the cheese. This allows the smoke to infuse into the cheese without it getting too hot and melting. Some smokers will keep the heat source separate to the cheese so that there is no need for the ice.
Smoked cheeses are usually aged for a brief period to allow the smokiness to mellow. The type of wood used will affect the flavor of the cheese. Common types of wood used include apple, oak, hickory, and chestnut. Our Smoked Cheddar is slowly smoked over a hickory fire to give it a deeply smoky flavor. So is our Smoked Horseradish Cheese which has a kick from the horseradish root and our Smoked Hot Pepper Cheese which is also really spicy. Our Smoked Mozzarella is smoked using both hickory and cherry wood smoke.
How should I eat smoked cheese?
There are so many ways to enjoy this but we are going to share just a few with you to give you inspiration today.
- On a cheeseboard
Add another dimension and extra flavor to your cheeseboard with smoked cheeses. They’re also great if you’re building a board around different textures of cheese. These are hard to semi-soft cheeses so you have a good range to choose from. Smoked cheese will surprise your guests if they haven’t tried it before!
- In a sandwich
Thin slices of smoked cheese alongside a good quality ham makes for a very special sandwich indeed. A sweet relish will offset the smokiness if you need some balance.
- On tacos
Grate some smoked cheese over your tacos for an authentic, smoky flavor.
- With fruit
Tart apples or white grapes are the perfect accompaniment to smoked cheese as the flavors marry really well.
We hope you learned something about smoked cheese today! Have you tried it? Let us know in the comments!