How Can You Use All Of Your Senses When Tasting Cheese?

If you are new to the world of cheese, then it may seem like a daunting task at first to know what to look for when you are tasting a new kind. Whether you simply want to evaluate the new cheeses you try or host a cheese tasting party, it is important to use (almost) all of your senses in your evaluation.

Sight

The very first sense you should use when looking at a cheese is the sense of sight. Look at the color, specifically that of the rind to see if it is uniform. Pay attention to whether the surface is smooth or cracked and you should do this for the rind as well as the cheese itself. Some types of cheese, such as aged cheddar, will sometimes develop crystals so look for these as well.

Touch

Next you will use your sense of touch to evaluate the cheese. Try to see if the cheese is smooth or rough and then pay attention to the amount of moisture it has. Some cheeses will be very dry while others are very moist, such as fresh mozzarella. Next you should think about how elastic and spreadable the cheese is. After you take a taste of the cheese, you should take a moment and evaluate it again this time using the sense of touch within your mouth.

Smell

After you look at and touch the cheese, you should take a whiff to see how it smells. If the cheese has a rind, pay close attention to whether the rind and cheese smell different. Every cheese is different so you may not know exactly how to describe it. Some common smells that you may notice are: nutty, spicy, meat, leather, animal, chocolate, caramel, garlic, yogurt, mold, fresh butter and boiled milk.

Taste

After you have used every other sense (except of course hearing which doesn’t apply), it is time to taste the cheese. You want to pay close attention to your first impressions and during this process try to use some of the same adjectives you did when thinking about the smell of the cheese. After you have put the cheese in your mouth, wait until you finish eating it to finish evaluating. Some cheeses will change flavors as you eat them or have a different aftertaste and this is an important thing to appreciate. You should also try to pay attention to whether the cheese tasted like its smell implied it would as sometimes they will, but sometimes they won’t.