blue cheese Archives - Shislers Cheese House

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Cheeses

Why do we eat moldy cheese?

By admin / Date Jul 19.2018

It’s a question that a lot of cheese lovers will hear: why do we eat moldy cheese?

There are some molds that are safe to eat. These are used to make cheeses such as Brie, Blue Cheese, and Camembert.

For Blue Cheese, Penicillium cultures added creating dark blue or blue-grey veins throughout the cheese. These are safe to eat because they do not produce the toxins that could be harmful to us.

The way that Blue Cheese is aged creates a level of acidity, salinity, moisture, density, temperature, and oxygen flow that cannot create dangerous molds.

In fact, our bodies can use the variety of different properties found in blue cheese to contribute to our healthy digestion.

Blue molds cause a breakdown of proteins in cheese known as proteolysis which creates a very creamy taste and texture. It also breaks down the fats, known as lipolysis, which gives blue cheese the tangy, sharp flavors that people love.

One of the reasons that people love moldy cheese is because these cheese often contain much more salt than other cheeses. Combined with the blue veins and whole milk, this creates a flavor that makes you want to eat more and more.

Blue cheese was discovered almost by accident. Cheeses in Europe were aged in high moisture caves which are also ideal environments to produce mold. Gorgonzola dates back to around 879 AD and Roquefort was invented in 1070. Today, all Roquefort eaten around the world is still made in the small French village where it was invented.

If you love rich, tannic red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir then you are likely to enjoy moldy cheese with it as you like strong flavors. Sometimes, we develop a stronger love for blue cheeses as we age because our taste buds reduce in strength. This means that flavors that we might not have enjoyed in childhood or younger years can become some of our favorite foods. People will often experience this with other strong flavored foods such as olives.

If you are looking to try more blue cheese, enjoy it with crackers or melted into dishes, to begin with. You’ll be able to build up to eating more of it over time. It’s also delicious with Port and Scotch if you are having a cheeseboard after dinner.

So, next time you are asked why you eat moldy cheese, or whether it’s safe to eat, you’ll know how to answer!

Do you like to eat moldy cheese? Let us know how you like to eat it in the comments!

Cheeses

Blue Cheese: Everything You Need to Know

By admin / Date Jun 28.2018

What is blue cheese?

Blue Cheese is a generic term for cheeses that have had Penicillium cultures added creating dark blue or blue-grey veins throughout the cheese. It can be made from cow, sheep, or goat’s milk and is typically aged in a temperature and moisture-controlled environment like a cave.

How was blue cheese discovered?

Blue Cheese is said to have been discovered by accident. Cheeses in Europe were aged in high moisture caves which are also an ideal environment to produce mold. Gorgonzola dates back to around 879 AD and Roquefort was invented in 1070. Subsequent Blue cheeses were invented to fill the demand for Roquefort like cheeses. We prefer Danish blue, as it is more moderate in its sharpness and more creamy.

What does it taste like?

The characteristic flavor of blue cheese is usually sharp and salty, but levels of sharpness vary by region. It can be eaten by itself or crumbled or melted over foods. We know that blue cheese can divide opinion, so we’ve put together a list of tips that will help you to appreciate it!

Serve it at the right temperature

The unique flavor of blue cheese is best appreciated at room temperature to allow the flavors and textures to be enhanced. This goes for most cheeses: they should not be served straight from the fridge if you want to truly enjoy them.

Serve it with the right drinks pairing

Blue cheeses are strong, rustic-flavored cheeses and go best with similarly strong, flavored foods and drinks, and with tannic red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, and even Port. For beer lovers, the cheese compliments porters and stouts perfectly. It also pairs very well with Scotch, which is why we offer it with our Scotch collection.

Serve it with the right foods

Just as blue cheese deserves strong flavors from drinks, it needs them from food too. One classic combination is cheese with fruit. Pears, figs, and apples all stand up well to the flavor as they each have a sweetness that cuts through the saltiness of the cheese. The earthy quality of mushrooms brings out the same flavors in the cheese and the crunch of celery will contrast with the creaminess of any blue cheese.

It’s just as important to consider texture as well as flavor. Find crunchy foods to pair with the soft texture of the cheese and you’ll find it really stands out.

Start small

If you’re not yet a blue cheese fan, start by trying small pieces as part of a cheeseboard. You’ll gradually be able to move up to crumbling a little into soup or over pasta. In no time you’ll be asking for it on pizza and enjoying it with a glass of port! Let it surprise you. Sometimes we think we might not like something but in the right combination it is our new favorite dish.

Do you think you could become a blue cheese lover? We really do recommend trying our Danish Blue – it’s converted many a customer in the past!

Let us know your favorite blue cheese pairings in the comments!

Alcohol Cheeses

The Scotch Collection – How to Pair Whisky with Cheese

By admin / Date Dec 05.2017

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Want to really wow your guests?

We know that you love to pair wine with our cheeses, and we’ve explored how you might try them with beer, but have you ever thought to pair cheese with scotch?

Read on to find out all about our Scotch Collection and why we think this should be the centerpiece of your next party!

You might not have thought to pair scotch with cheese, but rest assured that it’s a great choice. You’re going to be looking for bolder cheeses with a lot of flavors because these will stand up to the strong flavor of the whisky.

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Danish Blue Cheese

Our Danish Blue Cheese has a moderate sharpness and a creamy flavor. Blue cheeses have penicillium cultures added, which create the blue veins that you will see running through the cheese. It is then aged in a temperature and moisture controlled environment like a cave. The unique flavors are best enjoyed at room temperature with fruit and crackers, alongside your scotch.

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Gruyere

Gruyere is one of our favorite imported cheeses, originating in the Alpine region between Switzerland and France. It has a sweet, nutty flavor with a slight saltiness. It ages into an earthy, complex cheese. It’s great for baking and melting, as well as served with crackers. If you’re looking to serve something more substantial with your scotch, consider serving a quiche using gruyere, a fondue, or even a French onion soup topped with gruyere croutons.

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Cheddar

Cheddar was first produced in England as early as 1170 and originated in the village of Cheddar in Somerset. It would be aged in the nearby caves of Cheddar Gorge. It has a sharp, pungent flavor with a firm, slightly crumbly texture. It’s versatile enough to be enjoyed with a huge variety of drinks, including Scotch.

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Parmesan

Parmesan is an Italian cheese with a complex, sharp, and nutty flavor. It has a slightly grainy texture and works well with pasta, risotto, or soup when grated. You may not have included it in your cheese boards before, but you can be confident that it’s a great choice. Because of its strong flavor, it pairs extremely well with the strength and smokiness of a good whisky.

Choosing your whisky

To pair with this cheese collection, you are looking to get a scotch whisky, rather than a bourbon. If you have a favorite, then select that or one from the same region as you’re likely to find a similar flavor. If your friends are whisky connoisseurs too, why not ask them to bring a bottle and then you can compare flavors?

If you’re entertaining, this collection should serve up to 20 guests. If you have guests who do not drink whisky, grab some craft beers. The barley flavors of both drinks will work well with the cheeses from the Scotch Collection so no-one will be disappointed. You could also pick up some salty snacks such as nuts, hot mix or chips, and some dark chocolate as a sweet treat. These will pair well with the scotch and give you even more flavors to explore.

Now that you know all about the cheeses, don’t delay. Order our Scotch Collection today.

Create A Cheese Board Perfect For Fall

By johnkassell / Date Oct 17.2017 / Category Baked Goods, Bread, Cheese Recipes, Cheese Rind, Cheese Use, Cheeses, Favorite Recipes, Friends of Shisler's Cheese House, Ireland, Seasonal, Special, The Shisler's Family

Let’s be honest… it isn’t a party until there’s a cheese board included. This season is one of the best for warm cozy nights followed by a bottle of wine with a delicious cheese board amongst friends.

The most important part of a Fall cheese board is white cheese, but let’s begin with all of the other festive components of our board that is needed before assembling.

The first component is honey. At Shisler’s Cheese House we stock Pure Clover Honey Comb which is perfect for this board. It pairs well with many different kinds of cheese, especially goat cheese.

Fresh fruit definitely gives a fall vibe and flavor. Using a fresh mix of figs and grapes give that whole harvest feel and they go well with cheese.

Nuts is another important component of our board. There are no specific nuts advised, it is all based on your personal preference. Personally, we like to add some Marcona almonds and candied walnuts to our cheese board. The almonds give off a savory flavor whereas the walnuts have notes of sweetness to them from the candying process. This makes them a match made in cheese board heaven.

We always need something a little brim on our board, Olives add that perfect effect. Castelvetrano Olives, in particular, tend to be a good pick.

Finally, crackers and breadsticks. Can’t go wrong with cheese and crackers. Going back to childhood, cheese and crackers were always a delicious snack- nothing changes! Pick out a few different types of crackers in all shapes, flavors, and sizes to give the board some personality.

Now to get into the cheese! Each board needs a variety of cheese.

Firstly, aged cheese. An aged White Cheddar from our website is a delicious addition to our Fall cheese board. The little crystals that develop within the cheese during the aging process give the cheese an extra crunch, which complements the next cheese in particular, really well.

Next, we need a soft cheese. Goat cheese is ideal for this. You need to absolutely try this cheese with the honey, it will change your life!

What is a cheese board without a Blue Cheese? Exactly. Any blue will work for this addition, but at Shisler’s we recommend our Danish Blue. The flavor isn’t completely overwhelming and makes a perfect contrast to go with the other cheeses.

The last cheese needed for a cheese board is, of course, a firm one. A particular favorite to use is our Smoked Cheddar. The flavor is sharp and pungent with a firm texture. Not only that, it adds some Fall color to the board, which is perfect as it is a Fall board after all!

Now that you have all you need, you can get started assembling your board! Get yourself a big board and start arranging it how you like. It’s important to keep the presentation simple and bountiful. Tuck the cheeses into each other and then add your fresh fruit when you need to add some color. Your board is then ready for all of your Fall entertainment!

Cheesemaking: How To Make Bleu d’Auvergne

By johnkassell / Date Sep 24.2017 / Category Cheese Facts, Cheese history, Cheese Recipes, Cheese Rind, Cheese Use, Cheeses, The Shisler's Family

It is not recommended to make this cheese unless you have made a few other kinds of cheese in the past for experience. The cheese needs to be around 4-5 lbs to develop a good blue.

However, if you are wanting a smaller version, you can change the scale down from 5 gallons to 2 gallons:

2 gallons of milk (Not UltraPasteurized)
1/16tsp MM100, 1/32tsp TA061, 1/16tsp P.roqueforti culture
Liquid Rennet (1/8tsp)
Colander and butter muslin to drain the curds

Small Cheese Mold (the curd may initially mound over the top but will settle with the lightweight suggested here)

For a 2 gallon recipe, I suggest a 4-5 lb. weight, only enough to settle the curds, not enough to consolidate them. For a 5 gallon batch, no weight is needed.

Salt non-iodized medium grain

Recipe

What You Need

5 Gallons of Milk (Not UltraPasteurized)
1/8tsp MM100
1/16tsp TA061
1/8tsp Penicillium Roqueforti
2 ml (just under 1/2 tsp) Liquid Rennet
Cheese Salt
Calcium Chloride (for pasteurized milk)

What To Do

1. The P.roqueforti needs to be rehydrated in 1/8 cup of boiled and cooled water before heating the milk.

The first step is to heat and acidify the milk. So let’s begin by heating the milk to 90F. To do this, place the milk in a container and then place it in a large pot of very warm water. If you heat it on the stove, be sure to heat it slowly and stir it as it heats if you heat it on the stove.

Once you are done heating the milk, all the cultures can be added, including the rehydrated mold. The powder can become very cakey and sink in clumps so to prevent this, sprinkle the culture over the surface of the milk and then let it sit for a couple of minutes. This allows the powder to re-hydrate before you stir it in. After stirring, let the milk sit for 60 minutes before adding the rennet.

2. Now, add 2ml of single strength liquid rennet.

Let the milk sit for 90 minutes while the culture works and the rennet coagulates the curd. The milk will begin to thicken in around 20 minutes but you need to wait the full 90 minutes until you see a good curd.

The thermal mass of the milk will keep it warm during the 30 minutes but it is fine if the temperature drops a few degrees during this time.

The coagulation is much longer than most cheeses because the extra time will allow for more moisture to be bound into the curd structure. This is what makes the cheese so creamy.

While the coagulation is taking place a draining area should be sanitized and prepared.

– For a small 2 lb. curd mass, this can be as simple as a large colander lined with cloth.

– For the larger cheese, I am making in the photos here, I use a large tray set at an angle to drain well and lined with draining cloth.

3. The next step is to separate the curds but retains as much moisture in the curds as we can while forming a good surface that will stop the curds from consolidating too much on molding. This will result in a lot of small openings between the curds for the blue mold to work its magic.

You initially cut the curd surface into large cubes to retain the final moisture of the cheese:

– Cut to 1/2-3/4″ then rest 5 min, the larger size will retain more moisture and provide larger openings internally for the finished cheese

– Stir intermittently over 20 mins, stirring just enough to firm the curd surface and keep the curds from consolidating

– Drain 20% of whey and then stir gently 10-15 min

– Repeat the 20% whey removal and gently stir for 10-15 min.

The stirring in step #2 is to keep the curds separate but not dry them out too much. Step #3 and #4 of whey draining and stirring are to firm the curd surfaces while maintaining the internal moisture. This is ‘Grain’ development which is very important for this cheese and can be one of the most challenging parts of this recipe.

The final curds should be plump and springy and you should examine them to make sure that the curds have a light skin on the surface and remain heavy when held in your hand. They should also not slump together excessively or be too firm throughout.

Once you have reached this point with the curds, don’t allow them to settle under the whey, but transfer them to a draining cloth.

4. When the curds have been transferred to the draining area, don’t allow the curds to the mat and consolidate after the final whey removal. Give them a gentle stir before transferring to avoid consolidating.

Allow the curds to drain for 10-20 minutes and stir gently while making sure that the whey drains well and the curds remain separated.

Small openings will be formed in the cheese body which are essential for the blue mold to develop and do its magic while aging, this is because the blue requires aerobic environment. Enzymes will be produced as it grows which will allow the proteins and fat to form, leaving the texture soft.

5a. The curd can now be moved to the molds. Initially, it will have a very open texture but the cheese will retain a good supply of lactose and as the bacteria continue to convert this lactic acid, the curds will shrink, release whey and begin to consolidate somewhat. The openings should be left throughout the cheese body.

There is no weight required on the large-scale cheese because the cheese weight will be enough to form a tight surface. You need to turn the cheese as soon as the curd begins to consolidate a bit (15-20 minutes) and then flip it every 30 minutes for 3-4 hours as the acid continues to develop. Be sure to keep the cheese at room temperature during this time.

To make sure that there is an even consolidation and whey drainage, turning is important. At each turn, you will notice that the cheese has formed smoother surface and rests lower in the mold.

5b. The cheese should be kept at room temperature until evening to allow the final acid to develop. Whey will continue to weep during this time.

Then move it to a cooler space for it to rest overnight. (Make sure the aging space is at 52-54F).

6. This blue cheese needs to be salted over a period of 4-5 days with dry salt. It will receive less salt than most of the other blue cheese which results in a slightly milder flavor in the finished cheese.

Weigh out 2.5% of the cheese weight in salt. The final weight of this recipe should approximately be 6.5lbs, therefore the salt required is 2.4oz by weight.

Salt by applying 30% of the salt to the top surface and spread it evenly to the edges and then rub as much as you can into the sides. The sides will get less salt but they will also get treated twice as much. Allow 8 hrs to form its own brine and be absorbed by the cheese. You can then let the cheese rest overnight and turn it the next morning and treat the other side the same as on the first day. On the third day, the remaining salt is split between the two surfaces and the surface will have become hardened by the salt extracting moisture at the surface.

The dry salt will form a brine and be absorbed by the cheese.

For the next week, the surface will soften as the salt penetrates the cheese and interior moisture migrates to the surface.

Be sure to turn the cheese daily and maintain a high moisture of 90-95% and temperature of 46-54F. During this period, the proteins will begin to transform.

7. In around 1 week, the initial protein changed of the cheese will be well underway meaning that it is time to punch holes to aerate the cheese for mold growth. There should be many small openings internally from the care preserving curd structure through the draining process. If there are not any openings, you will only see blue developing in the holes you punch. You can use a skewer to make these holes about 1 inch apart on both the top and bottom surface and extending about 2/3 the way into the cheese.

Once you have made the holes, you will need to turn the cheese daily to even out the air flow. You should see signs of blue mold growing internally and a bit on the surface after around 3 weeks.

If the surface remains too moist, you will see a rose to orange colored surface developing and if less moisture, a slight white drier surface mold will develop.

In a good aging space that is well controlled, the cheese can be stored on their edges for better air flow. You can turn them about a quarter turn every day.

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