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The Bleu Cheese Dressing thread in the Recipes forum got me thinking about one of my pet peeves - the way they wrap cheeses at the grocery store cheese counter.
They invest in all of those expensive decadent cheeses then they wrap the individual portions in clear plastic wrap. Every time I purchase a cheese portion, take it home, and unwrap it - it has some foreign "sweaty" odor from being wrapped in the plastic wrap (or maybe stored at improper temperatures?). And, no - the cheese didn't get warm on the ride home.
As John Cleese would say: "It's not much of a cheese shop, is it?"
Cheese is a living entity and requires proper care to maintain its complex, subtle flavors. I wonder how many people "hate" the taste of a particular cheese because what they tasted was a poorly presented example. I thought it might have been the anaerobic environment created by plastic wrap but I've purchased wax-coated cheeses and they have been really good when I removed the wax and that's an anaerobic environment as well. BTW - I purchased some cheese paper to wrap cheese portions and it's permeable.
Am I being too picky? How do your cheese counters/cheese shops present their cheese portions.
My newer Winn Dixi has an awesome cheese counter with all sorts of cheeses and on most days samples..
They are the reason I started to try and love cheeses..
.Most of their cheese is wrapped in some type plastic... never seen saran except on bigger cheeses like Parmesan and Romano cheeses..
Am I being too picky? How do your cheese counters/cheese shops present their cheese portions.
Even the best boutique cheese shops in Manhattan wrap their cheeses in plastic. The US has a lot of laws on cheese. For example, we can't buy unpasteurized Camembert. I suspect the plastic is a government regulation as well.
We don't have much of a cheese culture. For many Americans, cheese is a Kraft Single. Yuck.
I decided to consult some cheesemongers after posting this thread.
They said cheese is a living thing and you should wrap your cheese in cheese paper or wax paper. Plastic wrap is perfectly acceptable but you are supposed to unwrap it and let it breathe every couple of days. Ideally you would wrap the whole cheese and cut portions from it - not wrap individual portions in plastic wrap and leave it wrapped until sold.
The local cheesemonger I contacted said he'll cut a portion for me at time of sale.
BTW - they also said cheese should be taken out of the fridge and left on the counter before serving.
The Bleu Cheese Dressing thread in the Recipes forum got me thinking about one of my pet peeves - the way they wrap cheeses at the grocery store cheese counter.
They invest in all of those expensive decadent cheeses then they wrap the individual portions in clear plastic wrap. Every time I purchase a cheese portion, take it home, and unwrap it - it has some foreign "sweaty" odor from being wrapped in the plastic wrap (or maybe stored at improper temperatures?). And, no - the cheese didn't get warm on the ride home.
As John Cleese would say: "It's not much of a cheese shop, is it?"
Cheese is a living entity and requires proper care to maintain its complex, subtle flavors. I wonder how many people "hate" the taste of a particular cheese because what they tasted was a poorly presented example. I thought it might have been the anaerobic environment created by plastic wrap but I've purchased wax-coated cheeses and they have been really good when I removed the wax and that's an anaerobic environment as well. BTW - I purchased some cheese paper to wrap cheese portions and it's permeable.
Am I being too picky? How do your cheese counters/cheese shops present their cheese portions.
I agree. Being French I am used to buying cheese from markets and it is always wrapped in a special "wax paper" which does not make the cheese sweat.
I simply do not get the cling film type of plastic wrapping used by some places. It kills the cheese. Not that cheese lasts very long at my house! Cheese like wine needs to "breathe" and should never be eaten straight ouf of the fridge either.
Ideally cheese should be kept in a dark, cool place like a pantry. My Great-Aunt wraps hers in a cloth and puts it under a special "cheese cloche" in straw . Then again cheese at her house is never there for much longer than a couple of days as she buys it as they need it. And no it does not smell the house because of the straw presumably.
My Great-Uncle claims to have never had one meal in his life without a cheese board except for his years in concentration camps during the war. And amazingly I do believe it. I have never known that household to not have at least four of five cheeses at all meals...
My store does wrap in plastic but they only cut a few portions at a time from the big wheels . They cut cheese based on demand our what's been sold. I got to know the cheese person at one store and he would give me suggestions or tell me what's new as their selection was always changing. There's another store that has a special cheese locker that it's phenomenal. Plus they dry age their own beef but that's another post. Lol
^^^ Did your relatives have lots of cats, by chance? ........
Now you mention it.... No actually only Dogs.
Their house is ancient ( they reckon at least 14th century if not older) though with really thick stone walls ( they live in a small mountain village) and they have a very cool cellar with a beaten earth floor so that acts as their pantry. They keep their wine there and used to hang the fresh hams my Great-Aunt used to make, and the fresh terrines and pates, dessicated wild mushrooms, preserves etc.... she still occasionally cooks as well as the cheeses of course . And the cellar has no odour apart from cold stone.
And there are two huge freezers for those enormous hunks of venison, wild boar and game birds and fish which will at some point become some delicious goodies. My Great-Uncle two winters ago could not go out of the front door because of heavy snow and ended up climbing out of a tiny side window to get into their cellar ( which is sadly only accessible from outside) for some provisions. He was 91 at the time ! Sadly he is no longer in good health. I have never had a bad meal at that house I can tell you.
^^^ mrsrainroosty and I just read that and are rather awestruck! So interesting! Worlds away from our lives here....where I need to save and visit The Brit Shop for just a bit of Cheshire cheese.
Thank you for your post!
I truly love cheeses!
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Cheese like wine needs to "breathe" and should never be eaten straight ouf of the fridge either. 
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