Page 8 - Ei 2018-2019 Catalog

Serving Cheese
Most cheese should be tempered, that is, brought
to room temperature. This allows the butterfat to be creamy in the mouth, aromas to come to life and flavors to become more prominent. Cheese finds its way onto menus in almost every way, from a garnish on soups
to being an ingredient in dessert. In France there is an entire tradition around cheese service, which classically comes at the end of a meal. Is that save the best for last? accompaniments such as toasts or cakes.
Cheese can be presented as an appetizer, a plate, platter or course. A cheese plate can be an intricate affair, garnished with sweet or savory components and served with grand accompaniments such as toasts or cakes.
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Cheese Plate & Course
A cheese plate is often served on its own, as a light meal or as a pairing to wines and beers. This can be simple or quite elaborate, but often is a small portion or taste, not much more than an ounce per cheese. It is quite typical to find three cheeses, with variety being a key to excitement and milk types, textures and strengths of flavor often being the differentiators. Sometimes there are themes or flights, a vertical tasting of one type of cheese by age or style! The possibilities are as varied as cheese itself.
Components can include sweet or savory, sometimes a
mix of both. Nuts, dried fruits, fresh fruits, olives, pickled vegetables, crudité, crackers, fresh breads, honey, jams and jellies can all be incorporated and paired with precision. A cheese course can be inserted into a meal, often a single cheese that has been prepared or paired with another ingredient, such as a simple salad of arugula with Burrata and a drizzle of olive oil; a ripened goat cheese with a seasonal fruit; Brie baked in pastry with fresh fruit; or any endless combination a chef might imagine. The feature here is the cheese, the star of the course, as it should be!
CHEESE • CHEESE