Complex Cheese Parings Spice Keith Müller and Elizabeth Benalick Contents 1. Spices – a brief history 3 2. Spices and Cheese 3 3. Contemporary uses 4 4. Selection of Products 4 5. Tasting5 5.1. Paneer 5 5.2. Grey Owl 6 5.3. Beemster 6 6. Conclusion 7 6.1. Recipes 8 7. Bibliography 8 Spices – a brief history A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. Eg. Turmeric, which has also been used to colour cheese. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavour. In the kitchen, spices are distinguished from herbs, which are leafy, green plant parts used for flavoring. India 86 % China 5 % Bangladesh 3 % Pakistan 2 % Nepal 1 % Other countries 3 % Total 100 % Spices and Cheese With the beginnings of the Dutch East India trade company and the British East India Trade Company new merchandise from the east was available that hitherto had not been a part of the culture of western Europe-particularly in the northern reaches of Europe. 1600’s Holland saw the small town of Gouda as an important trade hub because it stood at the junction of two rivers. Of course it is also the birthplace of the most famous of the Dutch cheeses. Because of the nature of young Gouda, mild sweet and elastic it was not a far jump off point that eastern spices made their way into this cheese. Also because of the rich trade in the Netherlands these cheeses made their way all around Europe, as dairy at that time was one of their most important exports. Cumin has long been seen as a spice with medicinal and preservative qualities, the Moors introduced the spice to Europe prior to 1100 AD. Many apothecaries used this seed even after the expulsion of the moors from Spain in 1492. Monasteries also followed this tradition and kept cumin on hand for medicinal purposes. Cumin was often given to monks on meat and cheese after they had been bled. In the Abbey of Munster the practice of cumin on foods continued and eventually made its way to the lay folk of the area. Hence cumin is still today eaten on the washed rind cheese Munster. Fleur de Maquis is a semi soft sheep’s milk cheese from Corsica. This cheese belongs to the “what grows together goes together” school of thought. Certainly you will not find red Thai curry in the cheese, but you will find birds eye chili, which grows in the underbrush (maquis) along with juniper, rosemary and savory. These dried herbs adorn the outside of the cheese. Many modern cheese makers have used this for inspiration ie, Monforte Dairy’s Piacere. Other popular combinations for milder cheese are: paprika, cayenne, chili powder and ground black pepper. Contemporary uses With Colonialism and trade on the world scale today eastern spices are used in all manner of cuisine. Curry in Britain is now considered one of its national dishes along with fish and chips and steak and kidney pie. Cheese with various spices also finds its way into countless modern recipes. With the advent and popularity of fusion cuisine traditional recipes take on a new life when blended with spices and flavours from other cultures. Because cheese is a major protein provider among lacto vegetarians, cheese is being paired with spices that are not seen as traditional pairings, but delicious nonetheless. ie; Asian vegetarian steamed dumplings with mozzarella or haloumi style cheese, potato and cheddar pierogi with a vinaigrette of sweet red curry. (These are both from a Martha Stewart publication). Selection of Products In theory, accompaniments which are irritant in taste profile, would be best suited for cheeses that have sweetness and umami in their profiles, based on the Primary tastes and Palate Peceptions table below. As a result the following 3 cheeses were selected along with the suggested pairings: • Paneer (sweetness) – Green Curry • Grey Owl (sweetness and umami) – Green bean Relish • Beemster (umami) – Fig and Date Chutney Salt Sweet Sour Bitter Umami Astringent Irritant Salt keeps Salt makes Salt diminishes Salt seems Salt intensifies Both more Over-stimulating sweetness from sweet-sour food perception of Salt stronger astringency intense being dull seem sweet bitter Harsh Need liquid Sweetness gains Sweetness in Both are Reduces aversion Sweetness seems Sweetness Over-satiating interest from counterpoint to Sweet enhanced to bitterness stronger buffers irritation sourness astringency Will battle Appetizing unless in equilibrium Will battle Increases Sourness Sourness less Sourness lifts Sourness is Sourness does not unless in aversion to increases Sour intese with salt sweetness diminished buffer irritation equilibrium bitterness astringency Will battle Bitterness Bitterness does Bitterness less Balances Bitterness is Bitterness is unless in increases not buffer Bitter intense with salt sweetness more intense diminished equilibrium astringency irritation Enhances Enhances Diminishes Diminishes No impact on Umami buffers perception of perception of aversion to Intense Umami aversion to sour astringency irritation salt sweet bitter Satiating Stronger with Buffered by Stronger with Stronger with No change OUCH OUCH Astringent salt sweetness sour bitter Stronger with Buffered by Stronger with Stronger with Buffered by OUCH OUCH Irritant salt sweet sour bitter umami Tasting Paneer Paneer is a fresh cheese common in South Asian cuisine. It is of Indian origin. In eastern parts of India, it is generally called Chhena. It is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese or curd cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or other food acid. Unlike most cheeses in the world, the making of paneer does not involve rennet as the coagulation agent, thus making it completely lacto-vegetarian and providing one of the sources of protein for vegetarians in India. It is generally unsalted. Preparation To prepare paneer, food acid (usually lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid or yogurt) is added to hot milk to separate the curds from the whey. The curds are drained in muslin or cheesecloth and the excess water is pressed out. The resulting paneer is dipped in chilled water for 2–3 hours to give it a good texture and appearance. From this point, the preparation of paneer diverges based on its use and regional variation. In most cuisines, the curds are wrapped in cloth and placed under a heavy weight, such as a stone slab, for 2–3 hours, and then cut into cubes for use in curries. Pressing for a shorter time (approximately 20 minutes) results in a softer, fluffier cheese. In Eastern Indian and Bangladeshi cuisines, the curds are beaten or kneaded by hand into a dough-like consistency called Sana in Assamese, Chhana in Bengali, or Chhena in Oriya & Bihari. In these regions, sana/chhana/chhena is distinguished from ponir, a salty semi-hard cheese with a sharper flavor and high salt content. Hard ponir is typically eaten in slices at teatime with biscuits or various types of bread, or deep-fried in a light batter. In the area surrounding the Gujarati city of Surat, surti paneer is made by draining the curds and ripening them in whey for 12 to 36 hours. Grey Owl Fromagerie la Detour’s newest cheese is the grey owl, named for the man who was one of the forerunners of the Canadian environmental movement. The cheese is an ashed rind goat’s milk type, firm and dense with tart, lemony flavours and a rich, crumbly texture when young. When aged the texture is creamy to runny (at room temperature). The beautiful presentation and complex flavour would surprise many who think that they know goat cheese. The vegetable ash on the exterior of the cheese is tasteless and edible, and helps the cheese to retain its moisture. Producer: Fromagerie la Detour Producer type: Artisanal Region: Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Quebec Milk: Pasteurized goat milk Type: Ashed rind Firmness: Soft Wine pairing: Loire valley's Muscadet or Vouvray Beemster Aged for over three years in Holland, this cheese is a classic example of an aged gouda. The flavours are intense, with powerful caramelization and smoky undertones predominating; the texture is equally enticing, with the hard cheese’s paste studded with crystals of milk protein that give the cheese a satisfying crunch. Producer: Het Beemsterwapen Production type: High volume Region: Beemster, Holland Milk: Pasteurized cow milk Type: Gouda Firmness: Hard Wine pairing: Spanish Rioja Conclusion Although not a flavour match for all cheeses, spice is a viable accompaniment to a number of surprising cheeses. Paneer of course is the traditional cheese of India and its mild nature carries the flavours of the spice well. The lactic character of the cheeses also assists in cooling some of the more strong heat components in the spice mixtures. Based on this argument we thought that a triple cream bloomy rind cheese would also work well. This was not so. The spices brought out the bitter nature of the rind and the soft luxurious pates, was lost to our accompaniments. Grey owl was a pleasant surprise. All the accompaniments went well with the fresh chevre, and to be honest we thought that the ash covering the Grey Owl would be a hindrance. Again our assumptions were proved wrong. The ash gave a pleasant vegetal backbone to the pairings and was particularly nice with the green bean relish and also the pears. The sourness of the cheese brought out the sweeter character intrinsic in many eastern spices and the milky-ness of the cheese again cooled the Thai curry. Not surprisingly the Beemster worked well with all the compotes.