Of course, here at Shisler’s Cheese House, we love cheese! Today we are going to tell you about five surprising cheese traditions from around the world. Read on to find out why some people like maggots with their cheese and where you might find cheese on the menu for breakfast.
Cheese Rolling – Gloucestershire, UK
In late May, in the heart of the Cotswold countryside, you will find the shouts and screams of people running down a hill in pursuit of cheese. A 9lb round of Double Gloucester cheese is thrown down the incredibly steep hill and the competitors chase it down. The winner gets the cheese. Supposedly, the competitors are supposed to catch the cheese but as it can move at up to 70 miles an hour, this is almost impossible.
2. Live Insect Larvae – Sardinia
Casu marzu is a Sardinian cheese that starts out as pecorino. It undergoes the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. This makes the texture of the cheese extremely soft. Some people do not eat the larvae but many do. The cheese is considered to have gone bad if the larvae have died, so they will be eaten alive. This is certainly not a cheese tradition for the faint-hearted. Would you try it?
3. Cheese for breakfast – many countries
Whilst it might not be on every breakfast plate in the US, many countries around the world enjoy cheese for breakfast. In Brazil, they enjoy cheese with ham and bread, alongside a cup of coffee. Germans serve cheese with cold meats, bread, and jam. In Turkey, breakfast will often consist of cheese with bread, butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, and honey. In Sweden, they eat their cheese with fish or cold meats, mayonnaise, and vegetables. We’re not sure about mayonnaise in the morning, but we definitely endorse adding cheese to your table at breakfast time.
4. Maturing cheese in a cave – Somerset, UK
Cheddar Gorge in Somerset is world renowned for the creation of cheddar cheese. But did you know that some of the cheese is aged in the caves of the gorge? The constant temperature and high humidity are perfect for aging cheese. You can even go exploring in the caves and see the cheese maturing for yourself. The cheddar will be firm with a strong, tangy kick after aging. If you can visit, do!
5. Cheese with Fruit Cake – Lancashire and Yorkshire, UK
It has become a tradition in Lancashire and Yorkshire to serve a slice of fruit cake with a slice of crumbly, tangy cheese such as Wensleydale. The combination of sweet and savory is very popular. The cake is packed full of dried fruit and often flavored with brandy, whilst the cheese adds a sharp, salty contrast.
We hope you enjoyed our tour of some of the cheese traditions around the world. What are your cheese traditions? Let us know in the comments!
You can usually find tartaric acid in a lot of fruits, especially tamarind, from which tartaric acid is derived from a lot of the time. It is not only a product of cheese making though, it is also a by-product of the wine making process because it is also found in grapes.
We tend to use tartaric acid in making Mascarpone as it is an easy to make cheese and very inexpensive. It is perfect for beginners because it is consistent and works well.
It takes such a small amount of tartaric acid to make Mascarpone that when you use the full 1/4 teaspoon, there is enough to create Mascarpone 95 times from a 4-ounce packet of it. (Perfect for Tiramisu lovers!)
To make around 10-12 ounces of Mascarpone, food grade tartaric acid is used. All you have to do is add 1/4 teaspoon of tartaric acid to a quart of milk and cream or around 1/8 teaspoon for if you are using raw cream.
Recipe For Mascarpone With Tartaric Acid
What You Need
1/8-1/4 teaspoon tartaric acid 1 quart light cream or half-and-half
What To Do
1. Heat the cream to 185F in a double boiler.
2. Add the tartaric acid and stir it into the cream for several minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken into a cream of wheat consistency, with tiny flecks of curd forming. Don’t worry if the cream doesn’t seem to coagulate, just add some more of the remaining tartaric acid and stir for another 5 minutes. Just be careful not to add too much tartaric acid, or the texture will become grainy.
3. Now line a stainless-steel colander with a double layer of butter muslin. Begin to ladle the curd into the colander and drain for an hour.
4. Once that is completed, place the finished cheese in a covered container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
