There is an old saying that goes “age doesn’t matter, unless you’re a cheese”. Besides its funny connotation, there is also a slight truth in it. . Actually, aging in cheese (or ripening) is the most important part of making cheese.
Cheese is placed in particularly controlled conditions, letting them develop the look, the texture, the flavor, and even the aroma properties that make them different from other cheeses. When ripened properly, the bloom blossoms on Camembert, the holes become the classic Swiss, and the veins transform into Gorgonzola.
As a cheese ripens, microbes and enzymes develop inside, breaking down the proteins and the milk fat into several complex combinations of amino acids, amines and fatty acids. In the end, these processes enrich the texture of the cheese as well as intensify its flavor.
Usually, cheeses are aged between two weeks to two yeas, sometimes for several years more. The longer the cheese is aged, the firmer, the sharper, and the more distinctive its texture becomes.
Cheeses like the Stravecchio Parmigiano Reggiano for instance, are allowed to ripen for 24 to 36 months and thus its interesting nutty-fruity taste and its hard, gritty texture. Some cheeses are eaten fresh right away and not ripened at all, just like the ricotta, cream, and cottage cheeses.
However, there are some cheeses that are ripened halfway through these cheeses are called semi-aged cheese for only about 5 to 10 weeks only. And Bucheron Soignon is one of the great tasting semi-aged cheese in the market today.
Bucheron cheese is made from pure goat’s milk, originally a native of Loire Valley in France. The Bucheron is a very popular ingredient for salads and sandwiches because of its distinct taste and is readily available in most grocery stores. Its soft, creamy center has almost the same texture of ordinary chevre (goat cheese), but Bucheron is far from ordinary.
What makes Bucheron unique aside from its gooey and creamy taste is that it is made in short logs and aged before it is cut into much smaller rounds. Surrounding its creamy center is a ring of a much harder, tangier cheese that tickles your taste buds with a pretty sharpness and complexity that will surely out your typical chevre to shame.
Its interesting characteristic the layer of gooey cheese around the large chalky core and a thin bloomy layer of mold similar to brie cheese is due to its youth. Softly ripened cheeses age from the outside in, that is why they have an interesting center.
Thanks to the natural magic of mold, you get two cheeses in one block: a creamy, mushroomy center with a dry and clay-like and mildly tangy fresh goat milk cheese at the crust. Go ahead and try Bucheron cheese today! Pair it with Bordeaux’s or any dry whites and sink slowly into heaven.
Find out more about Bucheron Cheese.
