THOUGHTS: How little I know about cheese

By Erica

When I was a 15, my sister told me I should be a cheese connoisseur. I don’t think she meant it seriously. I think we were sitting in the kitchen and, as usual, I was in the middle of eating an entire wedge of whatever cheese was in the refrigerator. It was probably her way of saying, “Erica, you eat too much cheese.”

In fact, I do eat a lot of cheese. Now that I have my own apartment, I make sure to always have cheese and crackers handy. My unofficial cheese mantra is “the stinkier, the better.” Consequently, my favorite kind of cheese is Époisses, a French cows milk cheese that comes in a circular wooden box. Its stench can clear a room. My mother used to buy this cheese for me whenever I visited home.

Despite my extreme love of eating cheese, I have very little knowledge about cheese. In fact, I had no idea that Époisses was called Époisses until last year. And I didn’t know it was a French cows milk cheese until I looked it up on Wikipedia a minute ago. It is high time that I learn about the food that I love so much. Perhaps I will even become a (amateur) cheese connoisseur after all.

Before Kara and I embark on our cheese journey, I will document the current state of my knowledge for posterity:

These are the names of cheese that I know*:
Cheddar
Goat Cheese
Gruyere
Monterey Jack
Gouda
Époisses (of course)
Mozzarella
Brie
Roquefort
Asiago
Parmesan
Feta

*A pathetic list.

How cheese is made according to Erica**:
1) Take the milk of some animal: cow, sheep, or goat
2) Do something to it (remove the fat? Pasteurize it? What does Pasteurize mean?)
3) Use a cheese cloth to squeeze the liquid out and create a solid
4) Let it sit for some about of time
5) Eat it

**Laughable.