What’s The Difference Between Cold And Liquid Smoked Cheese?

Cheese is delicious in many flavors. People enjoy it on trays with fruit, crackers or veggies. They enjoy putting it on sandwiches, melting it over casseroles or making dips out of it. There are varieties that have been blended with herbs like chives and garlic, flavors that are seasoned with Cajun spices, or laced with peppers. Regardless of what your favored taste is there is something out there for you. Many enjoy the flavor of smooth, smoked Gouda, Swiss or Cheddar. You can still love this fantastic flavor without knowing how it’s been prepared but here’s a little background on your favorite cheese.

Liquid Smoked

If you’re nibbling at some smoked cheese curds and marveling at the flavor you’re likely to wonder how it got there. You read the label and see that it was made with liquid smoke but don’t have a clue what this means. It’s good to know that the smoke liquid is produced from actual smoke. There is a tube it is passed through from a chamber made for combustion and then it’s condensed. It is in this condenser that the liquid is formed. This is done through a cooling process with added water. It can be used for both flavoring and preserving food. 

When cheese is smoked this way it is often added directly to the milk before it is made. You can also get liquid smoked cheese from adding this to the brine, or salt solution. In some cases, the liquid will be added to the cheese after the entire process is done. It can be used as a rub over the cheese and then lightly warmed to bring out the flavor.  In smaller cheese operations the cheese is generally dipped into the liquid and in larger operations it is sprayed over it.

Cold Smoking Your Cheese

In regards to smoking cheese more traditionally there are several things you should keep in mind. First of all, remember the term is ‘cold.’ You will need to keep the temp of your smoker below 100 degrees so that you don’t ruin the food. Most of them are smoked at 85 degrees or below. There are two ways to reach the cooler temperature and still create the smoke. Some will devise the smoke being filtered through ice (only advised if it has to be done this way). Generally speaking most cheese makers set up smoke houses and pipes to run the smoke some distance to the cheese. They may use fans or billows to speed the process but the idea is to keep the cheese cool so it doesn't start to run off oil or lose shape. During this process hard woods such as apple and maple are used in fine chips or even sawdust. It is the flavor of the wood and it’s smoke that lends itself to delicious maple smoked Cheddar, gouda or swiss.