Divya Gugnani: Hi! I’m Divya Gugnani and we’re here at Artisanal, the Mecca of all things cheese. So let’s go behind the burner and meet the cheese enthusiast, expert and author.
I’m here at the Artisanal Cheese Center with the Dean of Curriculum and Maître Fromager, Max McCalman. We have a wide range of cheeses from mild to pungent, from different regions across the world. What are we tasting now?
Max: Of these, I think that probably I would start up with this Garrotxa, this goat’s milk cheese right here and on this leaf, and so with this cheese, it’
Divya Gugnani: It’s beautiful because it’s actually, the leaf is around the cheese.
Max: Right, it’s like a little package. This is what I used to do to treat a lot of cheese before they had to pay for it in Europe they would sometimes carry cheeses around on leaves or wrap the cheeses in leaves, and that way, young, freshly made cheese, fairly wet will have leaves so you weren’t really touching the cheese. It also keep the pests off the cheese, by having the leaves on the outside.
Divya Gugnani: That’s a good tip.
Max: So, when you taste cheese. Use your nose, use your eyes and note the attack the way you taste wine.
Divya Gugnani: Beautiful fragrance, you can tell immediately that it’s kind of milky, it’s creamy.
Max: Goats milk, very mild but lovely. Divya our next cheese I think we should try in this group is sheeps milk. And one reason we would have a goats milk cheese is first because goat’s milk is cheesier. Most of them are a little bit whiter, and this is Pecorino delle balze Volterrane. And this is Italian.
Divya Gugnani: Italian? Of course.
Max: And Tuscan.
Divya Gugnani: It’s a little bit cold and it’s got a light fragrance to it. Goat cheese I can smell the distinctive goat sort of aroma. But this is a little…
Max: That flavor is bigger though right?
Divya Gugnani: It is. Flavor is definitely there.
Max: This type of cheese does pretty well with some fairly high acid white wines, you know so it does pretty well with some pretty reds. This is great with Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a great breakfast cheese.
Divya Gugnani: And our very last one.
Max: Cabrales from Northern Spain. Now take a little bit because this is, like it looks, it’s pretty, pretty intense.
Divya Gugnani: Very dark. It’s got a very strong smell.
Max: And this is a—so the blue is rum. And the blue and the cheese, these are flours in the cheese.
Divya Gugnani: Right. So can you explain to me like what makes blue cheese blue, and this may be a very dumb question but I’ve always wondered, why is blue cheese blue?
Max: Well, the flours. Strains of penicillium, and in this case, it is Roquefort so, but different strain. Some people say I should not eat cheese because I’m allergic to penicillin. But this cheese just sucks the blue out of the air.
Divya Gugnani: This was a very educational and entertaining experience.
Max: Well thank you, thank you so much. Hurry back and—
Divya Gugnani: And come for a class. Get talked by Max at Artisanal Cheese Center. Behind the Burner members can enjoy this special opportunity to purchase these fine cheeses at Artisanal. Stay tuned to Behind the Burner, where we give you the tips, tricks, and techniques that are lighting the culinary world on fire.
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