2torial #0980:
Learn2 Appreciate Cheese

Smile and say cheese!

If you think cheese comes in a box and melts into a plasticky orange ooze, you have a world of discovery ahead of you. Cheese is an art form whose flavors and textures have been developed over generations. In fact, the delightful block of flavor that rests on your cracker can be the result of months--sometimes years--of careful pressing, prodding, mixing, and storing.

Becoming a true cheese connoisseur may require reading about, looking at, and tasting many of the thousands of cheeses available, but you don't have to devote this much effort to find out what you like. Simply knowing a bit about the basics will help you explore the many excellent cheeses right under your nose.

You may be concerned by the fact that making cheese involves the necessary presence of bacteria. In an effort to make cheese "safe" for consumers, many cheeses today are processed or pasteurized. Here's what those processes involve:

• Processed cheese is made by melting together very small pieces of various cheeses, mixing them with other dairy products, such as cream, butter, whey, or casein, and then, once smooth, pouring the mixture into airtight molds. Sometimes dyes, emulsifiers, or preservatives are added to make a cheese more colorful, softer, or longer lasting, respectively.

• Pasteurized cheese may or may not contain pasteurized milk, but the cheese itself is heated to a very high temperature to delay spoiling.

These processes sterilize and extend the shelf life of cheeses, making them more economical and appealing to the public, but they also rob cheeses of the original flavors and textures created by bacteria that are killed off in the process. This 2torial will help you select and enjoy delicious (and safe) cheeses and store them properly.