What’s your number one question about cheese? I’d love to help you with your cheesey conundrums.
Maybe you want help planning a special cheeseboard? Or are curious about how your bookclub can become a cheesey bookclub?
Perhaps you want help figuring out how to turn a cheese-o-phobe into a cheese-o-phile? Or maybe you want to know where to buy all these delicious cheeses?
I’d love to help you make your life better with cheese. You can make a comment or email me at lucy @ lifeandcheese.com (just take out the spaces)
Life and Cheese 
Hi Lucy. What do people mean when they talk about raw milk cheese. I have heard it tastes good, but actually not sure what it is, or where you can try some. Cheers
Great question thanks Moerangi. Raw milk cheese is made with unpasteurised milk aka raw milk.
This is the traditional way cheese has been made for over a thousand years. Pasteurisation is a more recent industrial process that sterilises the milk. This kills both harmful and helpful bacteria. Many people, myself included, find that these helpful bacteria make more flavoursome and distinctive cheeses. And that unless you are pregnant or have compromised immunity, these are not ‘dangerous’ cheeses!
At this point, you can only buy European raw milk cheeses, and usually only from specialist shops. I’ve seen one or two in the supermarket but they are quite rare there. They are likely to be more expensive as they will be made by small, boutique producers, rather than big industrial companies. They will signal they are raw milk with the “au lait cru”. I heartily recommend trying them!
I hope that starts to answer your question – I have so much to say so I am going to use your question to do some more research and of course tastings. I’ll then write a series of posts about this most interesting of questions!
impromptu gathering, I have Camembert, marinated mushrooms, roasted cashews, organic apricot , spread, grapes, strawberries, dry uncured Italian salami, assortment of olives, fancy crackers, pumpernickel cocktail bread, cucumbers, smoked salmon,organic raw honey,marinated boccioni, walnuts, tzatziki, hummus and a bottle of Brut champagne..how can I put this together and make it work??
I’m guessing your event is long gone, Sorry I’ve been on hols away from computer. Thanks for posing such a great question. Yum what a great selection of devine sounding food! I’d suggest a couple of platters, one an Italian based antipasti-type with boccocini, salami, dry meat, hummus, olives etc, one the Camembert, grapes, nuts and strawberries. And you also could do pumkernickel, tsatziki, cucumber and salmon canapes or on a plate. Yum, crack open the bubbles and get partying! Love to hear what you did?
Hello. I am your latest fan from India, the land deprived of exotic European cheeses, till lately.
I would like our conversation to begin by asking your rating of Grandma’s Singletons as compared to the commercial/mass-produced cheeses.
Cheers.
Ra.
P.S.Please delete the previous comment. That was a mistake. I had written a question and submitted it and I got the message, “Sorry. Your comment could not be posted!”
Hi Rahul, Grandma Singletons seems a pretty good, widely available cheese- we even get it here in New Zealand, where we have lots of cheese. I wrote a post on their Red Leicester. I thought that a pretty nice cheese, smooth and caramelly with a nice sharp bite at the end.
I have heard down south in India there are some cheese makers- I’d be keen to find out more
Hi Lucy -can you give me a 101 beer and cheese match collection for a party? I like the sound of your post about the garage project and a collection from moore wilsons but it didnt say which beers and which cheese – so 4/5 beers 4/ 5 cheese ‘s?
thanks
sarah
Hi Sarah- great to hear you are going to have a cheese and beer party. I suggest encouraging people to try each beer with each cheese to see what they like. I’ll give you varieties with a some suggestions because I don’t know where you are!
First the cheeses. You usually start from mildest to strongest. I’ll give you 5 types, some people loathe goat so you’d still have 4. I suggest you get some French cheese if you can because Kiwi craft beers are quite strong and can overpower kiwi cheeses which tend to be quite mild. Get the best you find and afford.
1. goats cheese, like a Buche de Chèvre, Valancay or Selles sur Cher.
2. A triple cream bloomy rind- you want a big creamy bomb- Delice de Bourgogne, brill at savarin or see what you can find by Over the Moon. At a pinch A Whitestone too. The triple creams are sweeter with less earthy mushroom
3. Semi-hard – make sure you include a sweet nutty cheese like a Comte, Or An aged Edam or Gouda. If you are lucky see if you can get a Mahoe aged Gouda or Edam – amazing!
4. You gotta have a cheddar. See if you can get a cloth bound one- Keens, or Cymglin or Mt Eliza. Sharp and tangy is the business
5. Blue- you want a good strong blue – a stuchlton, Stilton or a Valdeon, mt Eliza again. You know if you needed to skimp I’d throw in Galaxy blue vein in the foil wedge. Not the creamy one, the classic. Cheap and good.
6. Oops almost forgot Washed rind cheese. Over the moon galactic gold is a great cheese. Munster. There is also a cute oval French one with a bit of fern on top. Mmm and great with beer. I would give Epoisse a miss as it can over power other cheeses.
Now to beer…
1. Something light colored – if you can get Garage Project Hops on point then do. It is one of my favs. Otherwise a wheat beer or Pilsner. Although really bitter pilsners can be a bit tricky. Kereru from Upper Huts might be good
2. Saison – this pale ale style is great with cheese and I have noticed Kiwi Brewers starting to do this. Try Emmerson, No 8 wired or others
3. English style ale – Red ale or brown. Make sure you have one of this style – as the really hoppy Apas can be a bit challenging for cheese. I like Old Speckled Hen, Emmersons Book binder or Tuatara Red aRye Ale
4. APA – I liked Garage Project’s Venusian Pale Ale as a good match. Choose your fav on this one. Rog has gone to play cricket and he Apa is real his forte!
4. Stout or porters- boom this one is interesting with cheese. I would steer clear of flavored ones, unless you want to have a cheeky chocolate one up your sleeve as a surprise extra. I really liked GP’s milk stout. Delicious and there were some surprise matches.
Phew there are some options. Remember there are no rules, so you can’t go wrong. Have some bread and sliced apples on hand as palate cleansers. Lots of knives so you keep the cheeses separate. And mostly enjoy! Ooh and let me know how it went, what your favourite and least favourite combos were!
That is a comprehensive and fabulously complete reply……I am in Wellington too…….I would love to start a cheese club…..A la a book club……..Once a month….cheese lovers……talk and taste……
HI Sarah – I think a cheese club would be awesome! I have pondered whether to set up a meetup group, though I wasn’t sure what the take up would be. Did you have a beer and cheese feast?
I am doing a Cheese tasting on the 6 December with Elissa from the Wellington Winey Little Tasting Group on Meetup.
I have joined the waitlist for the 6 Dec – thanks for letting me know – if you do start a meetup for cheese I will be in ! Beer and cheese feast is December – advance planning!
Excellent- I hope you get in! I will have a think in earnest about a cheese club Meetup. Hopefully you are able to practice a little for you beer and cheese feast!