What Cheeses Pair Well With Sweet Wine?

Sweet wines are a favorite of deserts and casual get-togethers. They are fun and delicious by themselves, but are also particularly well suited to wine pairings. However, some cheeses do not mesh well with the sweet and often nutty flavors of the richer sweet wines. Knowing the cheeses that mix the best will get you far at a wine and cheese party. Here are a few cheese types you will want to consider if you are looking for delicious pairings with sweet wines.

Blue Cheeses:

It is generally accepted that the blue cheeses are some of the best universally paired with sweet wines. These cheeses have a very rich flavor that matches their wine counterparts, and play very nicely together. The richness can be overpowering to some people however, so be careful when pairing blue cheese with nuttier wines that would be better suited with a salty cheese.

Goat Cheeses:

These soft cheeses are creamy and may even be a little sweet themselves. They are a perfect dessert choice for pairings like Rieslings and other richer wines. The one goat cheese to avoid with sweet wines is feta, as this cheese tends to hold onto an excessive amount of sweetness, and can make some wines even taste bitter from too much of the sugars used.

Munster:

This sharp and savory cheese is an amazing pairing with some of the fruitier dessert wines. It is both a compliment, and an opposite to many of the flavors sweet wines express. This delicious juxtaposition is not for everyone however, as the subtle clash of flavors may overwhelm some pallets. However, this is generally the perfect example of two subtle flavors that become very strong together.

Triple-Cream Cheeses:

These are the ultimate dessert cheeses by themselves, buttery and rich, with creamy thickness that fills the palate. However, despite this thick and creaminess, these cheeses do not have a very powerful flavor by themselves. When mixed with a sweet wine though, they hold onto the flavor of the wine in an almost magical way. This is truly the desert cheese to pair with a rich dessert wine.

White Cheddar:

While a fairly sharp cheese may not seem like a good pairing, the mix of flavors is often very satisfying. White cheddar is not quite as overpowering as its’ yellow counterparts, and allows for more of the wine’s flavor to shine, making it a delicious pairing with some of the dryer sweet wines.

Can You Get Sick From Eating Too Much Cheese?

Can you really get sick from eating too much cheese? Well, the truth is that too much of anything, including even water, can make you sick. But there are some components of cheese that may make it more likely that you will feel a little queasy after indulging a little too much. This can be especially bad if you have a condition known as lactose intolerance, which can reduce your bodies’ natural ability to digest the compounds in cheese. Here are a few reasons why you may feel sick after eating too much cheese.

Why Did You Eat So Much Cheese?

Before we can know why cheese makes you sick, we should look at why it is so easy to eat too much cheese in the first place. Like chocolate, cheese contains a compound known as castromorpines, which react in the body in much the same way some pain killers do. Eating cheese triggers the brain's “reward” response, releasing chemicals linked with happiness. They are the same chemicals that help prevent depression when you eat large amounts of chocolate. This causes you to want to eat more... and more, until you begin to feel sick from so much delicious cheese.

Lactose

The primary ingredient that would cause you to feel sick in cheese, is lactose, or milk sugar. There is a good deal of this milk sugar present in most cheeses, and sugars are one of the most complex and difficult substances for your body to break down. On average, it takes about three days to break down the lactose from a single piece of cheese! This is not just the case in those who have the condition known as lactose intolerance, but in most humans. As difficult as it is, avoid ingesting large quantities of milk, cheese, and butter in a day, and you can enjoy more of the cheese you love.

Lactose Intolerance

Lactose intolerance affects over thirty-million Americans, and is the single most common food intolerance in the world. This means your body has a particularly hard time breaking down lactic sugars. Lactaids can help break these sugars down before they hit your system, and are advised for people who experience cramping, stomach aches, diarrhea, or even vomiting after eating too much cheese. In general, you may need to avoid some complex dairy products, like cheese, altogether, as severe symptoms can cause ulcers and other long term stomach issues.

5 Key Tips For Throwing An Excellent Cheese Tasting Party

There are a huge selection of amazing cheeses out there to try. Why not try with them with friends at a wonderful cheese tasting party? This is a great way to have a refined and fun get together, while experiencing many flavors that you may otherwise have never experienced. But what makes a good cheese tasting party? Here are five key tips to get you started.

Pairings:

Cheese tasting does not have to be just about cheese. One of the fantastic things about cheeses, is that they go well with so many different beverages and dishes. Consider some pairings to the cheeses you wish to try. Wines and beers are a great choice, but crackers and other appetizers are also worth considering also, as they are common cheese pairings. Even other beverages, like juices, can play a key role here.

What Cheeses:

Know the cheeses that you are going to choose to taste, and what their general flavors are. Not everyone will like each kind of cheese, so throwing out a warning before a new sample as to what it is likely to taste like can be very beneficial. Even if you have not tried it, knowing that it is a nuttier or dryer flavored cheese can go a long way.

Arrangements:

Take time to consider table and food arrangement. Simple things like this can make a cheese tasting party seem much more classy. Use platters and other decorative serving items when possible, this can be a good opportunity to crack out the dinnerware that you have been dying to show off. Again, the little things make a cheese party classy and fun.

Company:

Some people are not suited to a cheese tasting party. These may be friends that like to cause a ruckus, which may be fun in another setting, but makes enjoying a gathering like this fairly difficult. These types of guests make it more difficult for those who are really interested in the flavors of the cheeses to really enjoy themselves.

Theme:

Choosing a theme to base the cheeses you are tasting off from can make it much easier to narrow down the huge selection of fine cheese available. Sharp cheeses, dry cheeses, and fine cheeses make good themes, or you can choose regional cheeses if that seems like more fun. By picking a direction and theme, you can also help decide what future cheese tasting parties can be.

Keys To Telling If Cheese Has Gone Bad

Cheese is one of the food items that almost everyone has in their home but because it is a dairy product, it can sometimes start to go bad quicker than other items in your refrigerator. If you don’t want to end up wasting your money by throwing out unused cheese, it is important to know how to tell if your cheese has gone bad. Most of the time, natural instinct can help you with this but sometimes it is necessary to have a bit of knowledge as well. Here are some keys that will let you know whether your cheese is still okay to eat.

Smell

When you first buy a new cheese, you should unwrap it and take a sniff. This is true whether or not you plan on eating it in the near future. It also gives you the opportunity to rewrap the cheese properly (such as in cheese paper) before you put it away. Although it may seem silly, this initial sniff is important because you can use it as a basis for comparison later on if you aren’t sure if your cheese is still edible. All you have to do is unwrap your cheese and smell it; if it smells more or less the same as it originally did, it is fine to eat. Remember that some cheeses (such as cheddar) will smell slightly different as they age but still be fine.

Taste

If the cheese passes the smell test but you still aren’t sure whether or not it is good, you can take a little taste. Some people are afraid to do this but as long as the cheese smells find and you have a very small taste, you will be okay even if the cheese is no longer good. As with smells, remember that the taste of cheese will change slightly over time but a completely different taste means you should throw it out.

Know The General Shelf Life

Apart from smelling and tasting the cheese to see whether it is still good, you should also know the approximate shelf life of the various cheeses you tend to buy. Aged cheeses tend to have low moisture content and that means that they usually age very well. This means that your aged cheddar or Gouda should be fine. You can even scrape off any mold that you find. If you have a fresh cheese such as fresh mozzarella, you should try to eat them sooner rather than later. The ideal shelf life for these cheeses is 7 to 10 days but once again use your senses to judge.

How To Pair Cheddar Cheese With Dessert

When most people think of cheese, they don’t necessarily consider having it with dessert. Most people traditionally choose to have their cheese for a snack or with breakfast, lunch or dinner but that doesn’t mean that you can’t use cheddar in some sweet combinations. When pairing cheddar cheese with dessert, you have two main options: you can add it on to your dessert after it is already made or include it in your favorite dessert recipe. Most people would be surprised at how many desserts can taste even better with the simple addition of cheddar.

Apple Pie

The classic option is to make your favorite apple pie recipe and add a slice of cheddar on top. If you want your cheddar to be gooey and melted, then you can try one of the many delicious recipes for apple pie that involve using it. Some will add it to the filling while others will have you mix it in with the crust. One of the most popular options is to roll the cheddar into the edge of the pie crust when making it from scratch. Although any type of cheddar is a popular addition to apple pie, sharp cheddar is the most common.

Cheese Cake

When most people think of cheese cake they picture the creamy classic made with cream cheese but that is not the only option available. Another great idea is to try making your cake with cheddar instead. Of course this won’t be a traditional cheese cake; instead it will be more of the traditional style cake but with cheese instead of chocolate or some other type of flavoring. Once you try this combination you will realize that cheddar can work perfectly to create a dessert.

Cupcakes

Making cheddar cupcakes is very similar to making a cheddar cake and while you could just follow the same recipe and put the dish into cupcake tins instead of a cake pan, you can also use the opportunity to get creative. If you really want to make a dessert that is both sweet and savory and brings out the flavor of the cheddar, try adding a bit of chopped up bacon as well.

Cookies

Cheese connoisseurs know exactly how to combine the right cheese with the perfect wine or beer and you can even get these combinations in your dessert. You can find some great recipes that combine beer, cheddar cheese and some finely chopped apples. You get to choose the beer and cheddar so make sure you select a combination that works together.