The French have subtle ways of doing things. If you don't know their ways, and usually I don't, it's a quick fall on the American ladder; down yet another notch. Of all things...there is a way to cut cheese from a cheese board. Now Ina Garten told me to use Hydrangea leaves to cover the board, which I did, but she failed to mention one NEVER serves cubed cheese nor does one cut the tip off a wedge of cheese in order to eat it. It is considered selfish! Yes! You-you cheese eating misfits, slice it from the side--each side to retain the wedge shape. If you google ways to serve and eat cheese you will be amazed at all the cheese eating mistakes you (and I) have been making. I hang my head in regret thinking of all the cheese platters passed to me at French dinner parties and I bet you a dime I selfishly sliced from the tip to get the best bite.
Here are some tips so you do not make the same mistakes that haunt me still. In fact, just last Saturday I cut up squares of cheese to make it easier for my guests to sample. There were whole wedges too, but alas that pales when placed beside nibbles. AND, the knives, one certainly for each cheese and don't forget to put your blues on a different plate so they don't taint the other cheese nuances. I may just give up serving cheese all together. (I guess taking a bite out of a round from the frig might be considered gauche as well...but then you have never done that, of course.)
An hour before serving take the cheese from the refrigerator--cold cheese has no taste and evidently neither do I.
Q: Help! All these cheese are different! How do I cut them?
A: Cutting the cheese seems like such a simple procedure; but cheese is full of textures and nuances, and is anything but simple, but not impossible.
Round or square cheese: Cut like a cake. In half and triangle-shaped wedges.
Pyramid or cone shaped cheese: Cut horizontally and in slice.
A drum shaped cheese: Always cut into discs and then cake-like wedges.
A bûche or log-shaped cheese: Best served in slices.
A cheese wheel: typically cut by a cheese-monger.
Notes on Cheese-Cutting:
A good cheese knife has a slightly bent blade with two sharp points at the end and a wooden handle, and should be kept clean and sharp. (REALLY????) Use a knife with a strong blade, preferably long. You want to cut the fromage simply and efficiently, without crushing it.
If you’re cooking with a hard cheese that calls for grating, use a strong grater. (NO KIDDING???)
If serving cheeses with very different textures or flavors wash or clean the knife before cutting the next. You don’t want delicate flavors to mix. You can use a piece of bread (and you’re welcome to eat it too. (How gracious, thank you.)
Once I get my cheeses in order and displayed correctly, the next time you visit, I may have to give you time out if you don't follow the cheese etiquette. To all the friends and family I have failed in the past, I intend to make it up to you.
Cheese Etiquette (From The Road Is Life)
When the guests for the evening meal at the B&B were American, British, and some times Dutch—the cheese plate required a chaperone. I would intently hover around the beautifully prepared cheese plate (my favorite job was making the cheese plate) and make sure the cheese wasn’t being held hostage.
It wasn’t their fault that once granted access to the fromage-land-of-plenty, they could not be trusted alone with the plate, for they would devour the entire thing. Cheese as a course, is not apart of the culture. How are we supposed to know unless we’ve spent extensive amounts of time in France?
I did it, before I knew better. I was on a trip to Italy and we ordered the cheese course, not knowing etiquette— having the typical American thinking that you must get all of what you “paid for.” I am embarrassed to admit, that in Italy that one time, we ate the entire cheese plate.
In France, in Italy, quality is everywhere. A French person grows up with Champagne, fine wines, nice cheeses, epicurean delights at every single meal. They are accustomed to it.
Americans, on the other had, eat quality things “on special occasions.” They don’t eat cheese or drink wine every day. Their daily intake of nutrients is rather boring (chicken breasts and microwaved broccoli) and so when they have something special—they want it all and they want to make sure they “get their money’s worth.” Binging on extravagance, they eat all the cheese, they get too drunk off Champagne, and they become gluttons. Hence, my duties as Cheese Chaperon.
The French, conversely, expect quality. They know it is always there, it will be there tomorrow and the next day and the day after that, so the French can cut themselves small pieces of a few cheeses and have a few glasses of wine and be content.
I write this particular post to enlighten my American friends as to proper cheese etiquette, so they don’t suffer from the same embarrassment I suffer from my first Italy trip.
Typically, the cheese course is after the main course and before dessert. There is always a lot of food, so don’t outdo yourself and remember there will always be more, you don’t have to eat it all in one sitting. A variety of cheese will be on a plate or a board along with knives and passed around. Try not to mix the knives and use a separate knife for the soft, gooey cheeses than the hard ones.
When the plate comes to you, don’t get over zealous. Choose three to four cheeses to cut from and cut it presentably, so you don’t leave it in a mess for the next person. And remember, just because you are paying for a meal, doesn’t mean you should eat it all. Cheese is served as close to its original form as possible, to preserve the integrity of the cheese, not so you can eat it all. If the restaurant were to cut smaller pieces from the block or wedge, the cheese could taste differently; it could dry out in its “pre-cut” state.
Now, some of you may be wondering whether or not you should eat the rind. Many dispute this. Sometimes, there are chemicals on the rind, which probably aren’t too good for you but, I almost always eat the rind. The flavor of the cheese is different from the cent to the part near the rind. My advice to you is to explore and find what you are happy eating.
Another thing I see is that Americans tend to butcher the cheese when cutting it. S First of all, a fundamental rule: every portion of cheese should contain some of the rind. This will avoid the other tasters from being left out, and also because the taste of the cheese is never always uniform: it gets stronger the closer it is to the rind due to the mulding process on the surface. Discovering the subtleties is part of the pleasure in tasting. This is why you should take great care in always sharing out the rind with the cheese portions:
Now, sit back, eat slowly and taste the intense flavors and play with the melding of flavors as you sip your wine, it is not a bag of chips, give it the time and attention it deserves and you will see that there is no need to eat a lot.
The picture is of my Otterbein College friends who meet once a year. I never seem to make it, but they do look pretty good.
I had a seasonal taste for black-eyed peas with Rose's cottage ham today. I think the Rose cottage ham is the best with either string beans or beans of any sort. Better get more than one ham because around the holiday season they seem to disappear for some reason from The Giant Eagle stores.
