Welcome to the France 44 Cheesecutter! Every month, we will aim to explore a new area of cheese and provide our opinions and recommendations. We want to help you decide month by month which cheese is best to melt on your grilled cheese, which soft cheese is best to take with you on a picnic, and which stinky cheese pairs best with that bottle of bubbly in your fridge.
One of the questions that I am guaranteed to be asked when working behind the cheese counter is what my favorite cheese of the moment is. In fact, it’s something that I’ll often think about on my ride to work in the morning and this most recent Minnesota heat wave has me daydreaming of coastal barbecues and fresh salads. To me, a key actor in those scenes are fresh, unaged cheeses. An intense, multi-year Gouda has its place in my heart and on my table, but something about a hot day has me reaching for a high moisture, salty feta or chèvre.
So what is a fresh cheese, and why are they a perfect choice for a hot day? Fresh cheese is any cheese that has gone through the process of fermentation but has not yet been aged, molded, or pressed. In the cheesemaking process, cheese loses moisture and flavors intensify the longer it ages. Since this doesn’t happen with fresh cheese, it retains a lot of moisture and has a lighter feel to it. This higher moisture level paired with the inherent saltiness of cheese practically makes these a health food item in my mind – how else am I to replenish my electrolytes in this summer heat?
Some examples of classic fresh cheeses that you’re likely already reaching for include mozzarella (traditionally a hand-pulled Italian style cheese made from cow or water buffalo milk), feta (which is often exclusively a sheep’s milk cheese, but can include up to 30% goat milk), and chèvre (this technically refers to any goat’s milk cheese, but in the US tends to mean a fresh-style goat cheese that is known for its tanginess).
What to Consider:
- Texture: Fresh cheeses are known for their crumbly, yet still spreadable texture. These cheeses have a high moisture level and can be easily melted, molded, or scooped depending on the needs of the enjoyer.
- Tang: Many unaged cheeses are coagulated through lacto-fermentation in addition to (or instead of) rennet coagulation, which results in a more acidic “tang” that can be tasted in cheeses like feta.
- Flavor: Just like aged cheeses, fresh cheeses can be made from different milk types which can result in very different flavors and fat contents. Are you looking for a high-fat sheep’s milk cheese or a mellow cow’s milk cheese?
- Feeling: Are you looking for something to melt in your sheet pan meal? Is it too hot to cook and you’re looking for something to cool you down and fill your belly?
Perfect for Pizza: Fresh Mozzarella
Starting off with something familiar, mozzarella is a style of pulled, fresh cheese that comes from Italy. Pulled cheeses are made by – you guessed it! – pulling, or stretching, the curd during production. This gives the cheese a much more elastic texture and also washes away much of the calcium content, making it an easy melter. When made fresh, it is best eaten as close to when it was made as possible and before refrigeration. It’s a fantastic melter, making it perfect on a pizza, but it’s mellow, creamy flavor also shines when eaten on its own or with balsamic and basil in a no-cook caprese salad.
Most Versatile: Bovre
Described as “cream cheese that went to culinary school” by its makers, Bovre is a delicious fresh cow’s milk cheese by Redhead Creamery. Its rich flavor and slight tang make it a lovely addition to a toasted bagel as well as a very friendly player with various herbs and flavorings as the base of a spread. At France 44, we use this as the base of our Herby Garden Spread, which I love to mix into my pasta with roasted zucchini and tomatoes.
Best to Beat the Heat: Picuri in i Vigne
This gorgeous sheep’s milk cheese from Blakesville Creamery is wrapped in muscat-soaked grape leaves and has been part of every cheese board I’ve made this summer. The fruity punch of the wine along with the tang of the cheese come together to make a cheese that tastes like biting into a perfectly ripe strawberry. Unwrap for the next stunning centerpiece of your cheeseboard and pair with almonds, dark chocolate, and a sparkling muscat.
