Patricia Michelson of Marylebone High Street’s La Fromagerie cheese shop started out making just one type of cheese in her garden shed in the 1990s. Today, she is perhaps the best known advocate of artisan cheeses in the UK. With two successful homages to the smelly stuff in London’s Highbury and Marylebone, along with a book and another in the pipeline for 2010, what Patricia doesn’t know about 'affinage' really isn’t worth knowing.
Patricia Michelson
What is artisan cheese?
Often it’s a question of volume – farmers producing just enough to sell at the local market, or to keep for themselves with a little sold on to an ‘affineur’ (who collect from lots of little farms and then sells it on in bulk). It’s also a question of provenance, and terroir – cheeses which reflect the origins in which they are produced. But it’s also a description of farmers who produce their own cheeses, using milk from their own animals.
How is cheese made?
1. At its very simplest, it is made from a single source product: milk – whether ewe’s, goat’s, sheep’s or cow’s.
2. It undergoes a transformation under heat, after which a ‘starter culture’ is added to kick-start the separation of curds and whey.
3. An acidic rennet (usually sourced from an animal’s stomach lining) is then added to coagulate the mixture further. Substitute rennets for vegetarians include lemon juice and yoghurt. Some in Portugal and Extremadura in Spain use artichoke thistle due to its high acidity.
4. The curds are then separated to form the most basic form of cheese. Often the whey is then drained off and fresh water added to wash the remaining curds of any acidity. This is typical of soft cheeses. Others, like Cheddars, are not washed in this way.
5. At this point, the curds are ‘combed’ – cut into ever-diminishing little cubes to the appropriate grain texture level. The cheese is then washed in a brine bath and set.
A cheese churn
How are the different types then produced?
For blue cheeses like a Roquefort or Danish Blue, a roqueforti bacteria is added during stage three above, which produces a softer blue cheese. For something like a Stilton, the blue bacteria is added once the white cheese is formed.
For rinded cheeses like a Brie or Camembert, a candidum bacteria is added to the curds while they’re being produced, and also applied to the outside of the set cheese. The cheese then needs to be stored at a fairly warm temperature to incorporate the rind into the body of the cheese – they shouldn’t separate easily.
What is affination?
It is the laying down of the cheese in cellars to allow it to mature, much like a good wine or Scottish single malt whisky. The cellar might be cool, or warmer to induce mould growth in the cheese, but it needs to be a humid environment. Cheese ripens from the outside in, not the other way around, hence why the location and how they’ve been nurtured is so important.
Can I make it at home?
Absolutely. It’s not rocket science – you can curdle milk yourself at home. To make a simple soft, ricotta-like cheese takes about an hour and a half. Try to get milk that’s not been mucked about with – avoid homogenised and pasteurised milk. If you can find single-farm milk from a farmers’ market which is additive free, that’s ideal. Heat around two pints of milk slowly in a saucepan on the hob (use a sugar thermometer if you have one). Add a little pot of yoghurt to it – a biodynamic type, anything that’s got all the bacteria and everything in it is best. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. Very slowly bring it up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully move the milk once or twice – you’ll see the curds separate from the milk and rise to the top. Once it starts erupting slightly, turn the heat off and leave it to rest. Skim off the curds, leave them in a muslin bag to drip. These fresh curds can then be salted or sugared and used to stuff a chicken or in other dishes. That’s all there is to it.
What to look for when buying cheese:
- Seek out an independent shop where the range is likely to be more interesting.
- Wherever you choose, the smell of the shop will tell you a lot, though that sounds strange. If the shop smells stale or high in ammonia, then the cheese might be too old, or the shop might be too damp.
- Staff should be knowledgeable about their cheeses – if they’re not getting in good staff, is the shop likely to be getting in good cheese?
- Use all your senses – tap the cheese if you can, it should have a fairly light hollow if it’s a hard cheese; it indicates ageing. Use your eyes and your nose, for pepperiness. If the white rinds look fresh, not dried or cracked, that’s a good sign too. Any eye-watering ammonia smells are a bad sign, particularly with white rinds.
- Look for seasonality – you shouldn’t be getting good, fresh, young goat's cheeses in the depths of winter, for example. In the summer you want lighter styles like a really good feta, a light goat's cheese or a buffalo mozzarella served at room temperature. In winter, more intense, hearty cheeses are called for.
Create a divine cheeseboard
How to create a cheeseboard
Keep back the British cheese like Cheddar and Stilton for later – these stand up well on their own and should act as the finale. The main cheeseboard can be a continental selection. You’re looking for something well-balanced but also adventurous and something that grows and develops in intensity as you progress. So always start with a fresh goat’s cheese which acts like a palate cleanser – try a Caprini from Piedmont in Italy. Then a little bloomy rind like a brie or Camembert or a Munster from Alsace – something soft and gooey with a soft-rind. Then a slighter harder cheese like Beaufort or Comte. You could also include something a little bit special like a truffle brie at this stage. Then something with a washed rind. After that, always finish with a blue cheese – try a classic Roquefort from France or a very, very soft Gorgonzola dolce.
Crackers and chutneys
Keep it simple, simple, simple. Don’t be tempted by over-the-top flavourings and structures – cheese is great, there’s no need to mask the flavours. Thinly sliced walnut bread or sourdough along with basic crackers is just the ticket. If you’re combining with chutneys, save it for the Cheddar and Stilton.
Patricia’s three to try:
Entry level:
For those a little less adventurous, choose a British cheese. Someone who likes Cheddar, try another English cheese -- Berkswell, a sheep’s milk cheese from near Stratford-Upon-Avon. Also Dodington from Northumbria. Both hard cheeses but are made differently from Cheddar. Both highly aromatic, but have a more crumbly texture. It’s like an aged Gouda.
For the more adventurous:
Try something from a different country. The softer cheeses from Extremadura in Spain, for example – Torta La Casa, or Torta La Serena along with a glass of Rioja or Douro. The vegetal flavour from the artichoke thistle will blow your socks off.
For those sensitive to cow's milk:
Try a Ticklemore goat's cheese which is more easily digested and lighter-flavoured.
Where to buy great cheese:
Specialty cheese shops like the ones Patricia recommends below have the benefit of often working directly with small artisan producers and co-operatives who only produce cheese in small quantities and whose selection varies seasonally. This means you’re unlikely to find them in the supermarkets where consistency is king, at the expense of the weird and wonderful.
Patricia recommends the following cheese shops:
1. The Cheese Shop, Chester. Run by Carole Faulkner
2. I.J. Mellis in Scotland, various locations
3. The Fine Cheese Co., Bath
Want to learn more?
Many cheese shops organise tutored tastings at their stores. Click here to see those on offer at La Fromagerie in London.
Alternatively, join the Specialist Cheesemakers Association as an Associate – you’ll find out a huge amount about where to go to find good cheese.
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