{"id":274301,"date":"2025-01-14T09:37:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T08:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langhe.net\/274301\/practical-guide-choosing-cheese\/"},"modified":"2025-01-14T09:39:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T08:39:16","slug":"practical-guide-choosing-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langhe.net\/en\/274301\/practical-guide-choosing-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical guide for choosing cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just as no devotee of the nectar of Bacchus could ever respond to a waiter’s request with “you do it, one wine is as good as the other,” a true cheese aficionado must know what he is looking for and how to find it<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n

As we said, this is your moment, in front of you is a myriad of different cheeses<\/strong>, let’s see how to look for the one that’s right for you and recognize the differences between one and another.<\/p>\n\n

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Cheese is something as old<\/strong> as mankind, basically a very simple product that is made by putting together milk<\/strong>, salt<\/strong> and rennet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Et voila, with three simple ingredients we have created this wonderful food<\/strong>, the cross and delight of gastronomy, the enemy of diets and the trusted companion of cold cuts and wine in the fight against quinoa and avocado apericenas.<\/p>\n\n

In this article<\/a> we explain in more detail how cheese is made, but now let’s look at how different variables<\/strong> in processing give very different results, starting with the basic ingredient.<\/p>\n\n

Milk<\/h2>\n\n

First, we can divide cheeses according to the origin of the milk used<\/strong>: the main ones are cow, sheep or goat.<\/p>\n\n

\"Milking\"
Milk is the real star of a good cheese.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Cow<\/strong>‘s milk is certainly the most common and also the one that lends itself to very different seasoning and processing, but it is also the richest in lactose<\/strong>, and therefore the least digestible.<\/p>\n\n

Goat<\/strong> ‘s milk, on the other hand, is much more digestible and rich in protein and vitamins such as B12 and calcium. Beware, however, that it is also much fattier<\/strong>, so goat’s milk cheeses have a higher caloric intake. <\/p>\n\n

Sheep<\/strong>‘s milk is the richest in protein and vitamins, but it is also the highest in fat. It makes very tasty cheeses suitable for aging<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

It’s up to you to figure out how to recover from your diet those extra 300 calories you ate with that wonderful slice of pecorino cheese<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

Raw or pasteurized milk<\/h2>\n\n

Another major difference between cheeses is how the milk<\/strong> is or is not treated<\/strong> during processing.<\/p>\n\n

The term “raw milk<\/strong>” means that the milk does not undergo heat treatment, is processed at milking temperature and slightly heated<\/strong> to bring it to coagulation temperature.<\/p>\n\n

In general, the most natural products follow this methodology, which preserves<\/strong> all the properties of milk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

Mind you, however, this does not mean that a cheese made from pasteurized milk<\/strong> is necessarily a shapeless, tasteless mass like the one we find in a fast food sandwich.<\/p>\n\n

\"Pasteurization\"<\/figure>\n\n

Pasteurization is simply the process by which milk is heated to 72 degrees for 15 seconds.<\/strong> This sanitizes<\/strong> and stabilizes<\/strong> it for processing. <\/p>\n\n

It is a compromise that in no way detracts from the naturalness of the product<\/strong> and still makes for great cheeses.<\/p>\n\n

What about the paste?<\/h2>\n\n

Let’s move on to another aspect of classifying a cheese. You may have heard of hard cheese, cooked cheese, etc. What does this mean? Depending on the temperature<\/strong> at which the curd<\/strong> is processed we will have: <\/p>\n\n