How to Choose, Store and Serve Gourmet Cheeses

If you’re starting to branch out and get more adventurous with your cheese selections, it’s important that you learn a few tricks when it comes to tasting, buying and storing your delightful new flavors. 

As with any other type of culinary purchase, there are going to be flavors that you like and flavors that you don’t like – knowing the difference is important to finding the perfect dairies for your table.  Learning proper storage and presentation techniques also becomes important, letting you feast upon your new cheeses without risking spoilage or unwanted mold development.

Sampling

If you’re buying fancy cheeses, chances are that you’re visiting a deli counter at your local supermarket, or possibly even a fancy delicatessen or bakery.  Another option available in most cities is to do your cheese shopping at farmer’s markets and other small, grassroots produce events. 

In all of these cases, you should be able to ask for small samples of the cheeses that you’re considering.  Take samples whenever the opportunity presents itself.  Don’t just munch down and then make a snap decision, either – ask for a description of the cheese in question, get a good sniff of the aroma and nibble thoughtfully.  Take a minute and peruse the other goods before coming to your decision.

Buying

When someone is learning about gourmet cheeses, they have a tendency to buy big bricks of their new favorites, and ultimately this tends to lead to one of two situations.  The first is that they eat nothing but brie for a week and immediately get sick of it, and the second is that it sits in their crisper and eventually spoils. 

In order to avoid these two ill fates, remember a simple rule: buy in small quantities.  Instead of buying one large wheel of Camembert, maybe buy a smaller portion and then a piece of Stilton, as well.

Remember that cheese should always be pared with something else – you’ll be serving it alongside and before meals, and often pairing it with a wine or other drink.  Sliced figs, strawberries and grapes go well with any cheese.  While it isn’t necessary to plan all of these details in advance, do think about what you’ll be serving your cheese alongside, and buy an appropriate pairing.

Storage

The best approach to store cheese is to do so for as short a period as possible.  Buy in small quantities, a few days before you intend to eat.  For the duration that you do store it, try to keep it in moisture-retaining environments (like your crisper).  Aged cheeses tend to “weep,” and therefore should not be stored directly in plastic.  Instead, first wrap in wax paper or tin foil to absorb any moisture and prevent it from spoiling the cheese. 

Never leave cut cheese unwrapped in your fridge, or it will dry out and turn waxy and hard on the cut edge. Wrapping cheese in paper towels and placing it in a zip-lock bag is all that is required to keep your average cheese fresh and tasty.