Delicious. Okay. But this post is more than just to let you know I eat cheese. In honor of one of my favorite shows, Good Eats with Alton Brown, lets talk about how the cheese is made.
Louis XIV wanted a French cheese to resemble the Dutch cheese Edam (also delicious). Though, in order to make it "French," he decided to color it orange. What a French prick, good cheese though. So this cow’s milk cheese is aged anywhere from six months to two years and stored in a moist environment. It’s turned once a week and begins to develop a hard crater-like surface.
THE CRATERS ARE ACTUALLY THE RESULT OF CHEESE MITES THAT EAT INTO THE CHEESE AT IT AGES. THE MITES (ciron) ARE BRUSHED OFF THE FREAKIN' CHEESE ON A REGULAR BASIS AS TO MATURE THE FLAVOR OF THE CHEESE WITHOUT HANDING IT OVER TO THE LITTLE BUGGERS! BUT DONT WORRY, THEY COME BACK. WHICH CREATES THE HARD GREY RIND AROUND THE YUMMY ORANGE CHEESE.
I mean, I know cheese is aged milk, which could be considered deliciously disgusting to begin with, but do we really need to invite the bugs? to hang out on my cheese? Do bugs really make my cheese taste good? Better than otherwise leaving it alone? Thats unfortunately interesting, though its hard not to think about the creepy crawling ciron in all of my imaginative forms while noshing on the firm wonder that is Mimolette. I guess its a good thing that I was sloshing back a natural anticeptic - Pinot Noir.
Oh how the good things in life only get tastier with age... and mites.
well that was quite disturbing to read.
ReplyDeletethanks for that.