How Is Cheese Smoked And What Are The Most Common Smoked Cheeses?

When you start exploring the range of artisanal cheeses available outside of your local supermarket, you will notice that many of them are smoked. This process of smoking is used to add flavor to the cheese, enhancing its taste. There are actually several different ways to create smoked cheese depending on the quality of it. In fact, the cheapest and worst quality “smoked” cheese isn’t smoked at all; they are just cured using liquid smoke or smoke flavoring so they taste like it.

How To Smoke Cheese

The most common method of making smoked cheese is to cold smoke it. This involves taking chunks of the cheese in question and placing them in a smoker for just several hours at a time. If you do this at home, you should stick to small chunks of cheese, a pound or less. You may also want to let the cheese go back to room temperature before you smoke it again.
During cold smoking, an ice tray is put inside the smoker and the cheese goes on top. That way, the smoke can penetrate the cheese completely, spreading its flavor but without overheating the cheese or causing melting. The alternative to cold smoking is to use a regular smoking method, just being sure to keep the cheese very separate from the heat. Ideally, only a vent will let the smoke into the area where the cheese is. Following the smoking itself, the cheese is wrapped up in the fridge for between two and four weeks. This way, the smokiness can mellow down and be delicious without being overpowering.

Adding Flavor Via Smoking

The most flavorful smoked cheese will be made with special chips. Hickory chips and apple chips are both common choices, each of which adds their own flavor.

Common Smoked Cheeses

Some of the most popular smoked cheeses are Cheddar and Gouda, which are among the easiest to find. Colby, mozzarella, provolone, and Gruyere are other common choices that can see their flavors enhanced with smoking.

You can use smoked cheese any way you want with many of the recipes being similar to those that call for un-smoked cheese. Because of the additional flavors in smoked cheese, you may want to keep things a bit simpler, such as with a smoked cheese quesadilla or a melt with cheese, ham, and some spinach. Of course, smoked cheese is also delicious by itself and with crackers or bread.

Can you Share Your Favorite Cheese With Your Pet?

Since pets are part of the family, it makes sense that you will want to share part of whatever you are eating with them. To keep your pets safe, however, you need to make sure that the food you plan on sharing with them is safe to eat. When it comes to cheese, some pets can share your treat while others are best kept away from it.

Sharing With Your Cat

If you have a cat, you probably don’t want to give them some of your cheese. This is in no way a natural part of their diet as the animals are carnivores and don’t need cheese’s nutrients. Since their dry food is packed with protein already, they don’t need the added protein found in cheese. To make matters worse, the cream and milk in it may upset your cat’s stomach. Some cats will still be able to eat very small quantities of cheese without a problem, although they may or may not actually enjoy it. Most cats, however, are lactose intolerant. This means that if they eat cheese, they are likely to have diarrhea, throw up, or face other consequences. Additionally, eating cheese too much will cause your feline to gain weight because of the sodium and fat content. The only time your vet may suggest giving your cat some cheese is if it helps convince him to take medicine and he isn’t lactose intolerant.

Sharing With Your Dog

While your dog doesn’t need cheese either, he will be better equipped to enjoy it than your cat, although still in small quantities. Keep in mind that not every dog will digest cheese well either and you need to stay away from ones with food items or herbs in them as well as rich, fatty cheeses. The first time you give your dog a bite of cheese, watch him carefully to make sure there isn’t a reaction. If you do want to share cheese with your dog, try to opt for ones with lower fat like cottage cheese or mozzarella as well as cheese with less sodium.

Sharing With Your Mice, Rats, Or Rabbits

Despite what you are probably thinking, you shouldn’t really be giving your pet mouse or rat some of your cheese. They simply don’t need any of the nutrients in this food and it is a stereotype that they love it. Buying a well-balanced pet food is a better choice. If you feel like you need to give your mouse or rat a human-food treat, stick to apples, cucumbers, peas, bananas, or something else mouse-friendly. Don’t give them more than a teaspoon or do it more than a handful of times every week. You also shouldn’t give cheese to rabbits as their digestive system can’t handle dairy.

Can Anyone Make A Cheese Cave?

With a cheese cave, you can make your own cheese and age it as much as you want. The problem is that most people don’t have the space in their home for a full-sized cheese cave of the traditional variety. Luckily, a cheese cave doesn’t have to actually be a cave. Anyone can make a cheese cave with a few simple tools and you make it any size you want, from a truly spacious cave with room for aging hundreds of cheeses to the size of a mini-fridge with just enough space for a few.

Turn An Old Fridge Into A Cheese Cave

The best and most popular way to make your own cheese cave is with an old refrigerator. Choose whatever size you prefer and get ready to make a few simple adjustments. You will need to control the temperature as well as the humidity of the fridge to give it the right environment for cheese aging. When setting it up, remember that you want the temperature to be as constant as possible and between 45 and 58 degrees Fahrenheit. You also want the moisture level to be around 80 to 90 percent. Controlling the temperature in your old fridge is as simple as buying and installing a basic controller. If you don’t know where to look, consider a pet store as many reptiles need temperature-controlled environments. You will control the humidity levels with a pan of water that has a partial cover; invest in a humidity detector to keep track of it. If necessary, cover the pan of water more or less and be ready to refill it.

You can also do something similar with an old wine cooler. An alternative to the pan of water is using a personal humidifier with adjustable settings. Remember that you may need to adjust the humidity levels more around seasonal changes.

Section Off Part Of Your Current Fridge

If you don’t have space for another fridge, you can sometimes turn a portion of your current one into a cheese cave, although this is less than ideal. Since your fridge is probably set to 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the ideal temperature for a cheese cave, you will need to put the cheese in the warmest area of it. Put it inside an airtight container with the cheese only taking up about 40 percent of the room as this prevents drying. Keep it humid with a crumpled wet paper towel within the container.

Who Should Consider Purchasing Cheese Wholesale?

The short answer is that anyone who uses large quantities of cheese regularly should consider buying it wholesale. Restaurant owners, food concessionaires, school cafeterias, hospital cafeterias, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, summer camps—anyone who prepares food on a volume basis should be purchasing their foods wholesale.

Stores

Any grocery store that carries cheese should be ordering at wholesale cost also. Any type of business that sells cheese, whether in package form or in ready to eat foods, should be purchasing their cheese at wholesale. This will allow you to get a better value on the cheese and reduce the frequency that you need to replenish your supply.

Food Manufacturers And Restaurants

Food manufacturers who create products using cheese should be buying at wholesale, too. These include makers of TV dinners, frozen burritos, frozen pizzas, or any of a myriad of prepackaged and/or frozen foods.

Fast food establishments wanting to step out and try higher quality cheeses than they normally use should check out the wonderful array of cheeses at Golden Age Cheese. We will be delighted to sell our cheeses to you at our wholesale prices. The same goes for convenience stores or deli counters within grocery or other stores. Order your cheeses from Golden Age Cheese and benefit from our wholesale prices that cut out the middle man.

Benefits Of Buying Wholesale

Why purchase wholesale from Golden Age Cheese? We are the producers of some of New York’s finest cheeses. Our cheeses go directly from our factory to you, so you know that you are getting the freshest cheeses possible. Aged cheeses are aged to the perfect time and then sent directly to you at the peak of their perfection.

Our wholesale prices are very competitive with other wholesalers and you are receiving a fresher, more wholesome product. If serving a quality cheese in your establishment, our cheeses are just what you are searching for. Quality cheeses at a fair wholesale price are our goal. You will be buying direct from the factory and not paying one or more middle men unnecessarily, thereby saving money. Buying in volume saves you money. The more cheese you buy from us, the more money you’ll save.

We promise to fill your order promptly and accurately, and to ship it using our best, cold shipping methods for the quickest possible delivery time. We do our best to ensure that your cheeses arrive in the freshest and best possible condition. We want to connect with our customers and maintain solid, long-term relationships with each one; therefore, we offer quality products at wholesale prices. We pledge to do our utmost to make you one of our happy customers.