What Cheese Is Best In Charcuterie?

Cheese is a classic appetizer for dinner parties and other social events and one of its many potential pairings is with charcuterie. If you aren’t sure what charcuterie is, this is essentially a range of dry-cured and cooked meats. This is a French appetizer course that also includes smooth pates and sausages, mustards, crusty baguettes, pickles, and cornichons among other savory bites. It goes great with cheese and you can enjoy the combination of your favorite cheeses and charcuterie in a restaurant or at home. If you plan on making this at home, you will need to know what cheeses go best with it.

Get A Variety Of Cheeses

As with any other cheese platter, one that combines this dairy product with charcuterie should offer a range of textures. Ideally, you want a minimum of one soft cheese and at least one or two cheeses that are semi-firm. This way, guests can pick and choose the texture that they prefer.

Things To Avoid

While a variety of cheeses will work well in charcuterie, there are a few types that should be avoided. You won’t typically want to include smoked cheese as these flavors will be similar to those of the smoked sausages and other smoked meats already on your tray; you want complimentary flavors, not repeats. You should also opt for cheese that is unflavored, meaning nothing that has added garlic, herbs, or other similar enhancements.

The Best Cheese To Include

Now that you know what to avoid, here are a few of the top cheeses to consider including in your charcuterie. If you want a soft cheese, consider Chevre, Camembert, or Brie as all of these will balance the flavors of the meats. Provolone is also an excellent choice since it has a smooth texture that contrasts with sausages. Opt for a Provolone that is either young or aged so you get mellow flavors. Gouda also goes well, either goat’s milk Gouda that is lightly colored or the cow’s milk variety that is slightly aged and the color of pale butterscotch. Going with a young Gouda is ideal as it will give you a smooth texture and buttery and milky flavor. Gruyere is another cheese made from cow’s milk that is great in charcuterie since its color and flavor both contrast with the dishes, delivering nutty, rich flavors. Finally, consider Manchego. This cheese made from sheep’s milk has a nutty flavor that pairs perfectly with the meats on the charcuterie. 

Five Ways Your Cheese Is Protected During Shipping

You have a right to be cautious when ordering cheese online since this is a perishable food item and you need it to be well cared for. The best cheese retailers will take extra precautions to make sure that your cheese arrives in good condition and still cooled so it hasn’t gone bad. Golden Age Cheese takes multiple steps to ensure this is the case and you can enjoy your cheese without worry.

With An Ice Pack

Every cheese order is shipped with an ice pack. This way, the cheese is able to remain the proper temperature throughout its entire journey, regardless of the weather conditions it meets along the way. The ice pack is a simple measure that makes a significant difference and allows us to ship cheese across the country.

Sturdy Insulated Box

In addition to an ice pack, every order is shipped inside an insulated box. This box will help the ice pack do its job and ensure that all the coolness from the pack remains in the box with the cheese instead of dissipating. Of course, we only use incredibly sturdy boxes as well so the insulation or the cheese itself won’t be damaged.

Using Reliable Carriers

At Golden Age Cheese, we make sure that we only use shipping companies that we can count on to deliver the cheese and your other items in a timely manner. Our preferred shipper is UPS and we offer a range of delivery options depending on how far you live from our location. We do also work with USPS Express and Priority when requested, but won’t ship with any other company. By limiting the shipping carriers, we can uphold our quality standards for shipping.

Only Faster Shipping Options

You will notice that we also only offer quicker shipping options. To make sure your cheese is protected and doesn’t go bad while in transit, we have multiple shipping options. We also make sure that you don’t select a method that will take longer to get to you than the cheese can optimally handle. Our system will automatically stop orders that would put the cheese at risk of going bad and contact you to adjust the shipping method.

No Sitting On Weekends

Because we ship with UPS and they don’t deliver on weekends, we make sure that every cheese order will arrive at its destination by Friday. If you place an order on Thursday or Friday, this means it will likely ship on Monday. This way, your cheese’s quality can be guaranteed during shipping. 

Three Tips For Introducing Your Child To Cheese

You will want to introduce your child to cheese early on as a way to expand their food options and help them enjoy a well-balanced and delicious diet. There is no reason to be concerned about showing your child the wonderful variety of cheese. With the proper methods and knowledge, your entire family will be eating grilled cheese or enjoying cheese and crackers together in the near future.

Know When It Is Safe

The most important thing about introducing your child to cheese is knowing when it is safe to do so. The general rule of thumb is that if your baby is able to gum or chew food, he is ready to be introduced to cheese. You just need to make sure to give him small pieces the size of a baby fingertip to prevent choking. Most babies will be perfectly fine eating cheese after they have had several other foods without any allergic reaction. The only exception is that you should consult your pediatrician if your baby has another food allergy or chronic eczema. You probably won’t even have to worry if you have a family history of asthma or food allergies. Just be sure to watch your child for the next few days for any signs of a reaction and not introduce another new food for several days after so you know the cause of any potential reaction.

Make It A Small Party

Once your child gets older, introducing cheese becomes more about expanding their palette beyond just cheddar, mozzarella, and other common cheeses. Turn the idea of trying these new cheeses, like Gruyere or Brie into a fun mini-party. Let your child invite a friend or two over and make a cheese platter. Have everyone try a little bit of everything and see what they like. Your child may appreciate being treated like a grown-up and be more likely to enjoy the cheese.

Sneak In Different Cheeses

Of course, not all children are willing to try new things. If this is the case for your kid and they already have a handful of cheesy dishes they like, be sneaky about it. You can put a small amount of a melty cheese like Gruyere into their macaroni and cheese or grilled cheese sandwich. Let them enjoy the meal and eventually let them know that they just liked another type of cheese. This should encourage them to try it in other situations as well. 

7 Tips For Creating A Wonderful Cheese Gift Basket

A cheese basket is the perfect gift for nearly any occasion, whether it is a holiday, birthday, graduation, or something else. Cheese basket gifts can even be used for romantic occasions, such as your anniversary or Valentine’s Day. The good news is that in addition to being versatile, cheese baskets are very easy to create with a few pieces of advice.

1. Consider Buying A Cheese Basket

The easiest way to create a wonderful cheese gift basket is to leave it to the professionals. All specialty cheese retailers should offer a range of gift baskets that have already been designed to offer just what you need. This way, all you have to do is pick from their available options and place an order; no work is required on your part.

2. Get Inspiration From Gift Baskets

If you want to make the cheese gift basket personal, then you can make it yourself but get inspiration from professionally made ones. See what types of cheese they put together and what other items they include. Or even look at how it is all packaged together. This way, you can add your own unique twist to the professional cheese basket.

3. Pair With Chocolate, Meat, Or Wine

To make your cheese basket even better, don’t make it just cheese. While this food is delicious by itself, it can also go great with other items, like wine, beer, chocolate, or meats. Do some research on the ideal pairings for the cheese you want to include and create a basket with those items. Or choose your favorite wine and include all the cheeses that work well with it.

4. Don’t Forget Crackers Or Bread

Ideally, the cheese gift basket should be all inclusive, requiring nothing else from the gift receiver. This means that it is a good idea to include some fresh bread, crackers, or something similar to help with eating the cheese.

5. Include Sample Sizes

When it comes to the actual cheese itself, there are a few options and including several smaller sample sizes is a great choice. This way, the gift receiver can enjoy a range of cheeses and maybe even develop a new favorite.

6. Get Something Unusual

A gift should be something you wouldn’t buy for yourself. To meet this goal, consider including a cheese in the gift basket that the person receiving it wouldn’t normally have the chance to try. Whether that is a unique artisanal cheese or very well-aged cheddar, it can be a great addition.

7. Create A Theme

Finally, consider giving your cheese gift basket a theme of some sort to tie it together. This can be as simple or complex as you want and even extend to the wine or other items you include. Some ideas are Italian cheeses, types of cheddar, cheeses that melt well, or fresh artisan cheeses. 

What Diets Can You Still Enjoy Cheese While On?

Cheese sometimes gets a bad reputation for being unhealthy, but it is actually perfectly fine to eat in moderation. In fact, it can be the perfect snack for a well-balanced diet and an excellent source of calcium and protein when you are trying to lose weight or just maintain a healthy weight. If you love cheese, but want to go on a diet, don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to balance these things.

Low Carb Diets

One of the most popular types of diet is one that is low in carbohydrates and high in protein. If you are on one of these diets, you will still be able to enjoy the vast majority of cheese. That is because while yogurt, milk, and certain other dairy products have a high number of carbs, the fermentation process that cheese goes through will reduce the numbers of carbs significantly. Better yet, cheese is rich in protein, making it perfect for low carb diets that emphasize protein-rich foods.

If you are on a low carb, high protein diet, you will want to avoid a few types of cheeses that have less protein. While they aren’t high in carbs, you are likely to eat more of them, putting you past your daily carb limit without getting you closer to your protein goal. Try avoiding ricotta, cottage, and cream cheese. Instead, opt for a cheese with low moisture content as it will have more protein in every serving. Good choices include Parmesan, Brie, Gouda, cheddar, mozzarella, and blue cheese. If you want to choose a cheese with the lowest possible carb content, opt for one that has been aged longer as the aging process reduces carbs.

Paleo Diets

The paleo diet gets a bit more complicated when it comes to cheese. It encourages you to eat foods that our ancestors ate, which puts dairy in an odd place. Many people on the paleo diet encourage eating small quantities of dairy as a way to get nutrients. While most try to stay away from it, you can opt for hard cheese as it won’t have as much sugar and can supplement your diet.

Why Cheese Is Good For Diets

Of course, the best way to diet is simply by eating healthy instead of creating random restrictions. When you do this, eating cheese is actually a very good way to lose weight. Its protein and fat content will keep you full longer and you can use it as a replacement for other, less healthy options, such as mayonnaise and butter. Just be sure to choose a cheese with a naturally lower fat content.