The popularity of restaurant cheese platters, offered after the main course and before dessert, leads many of us to consider a similar home presentation. But how to go about it? Part guide, part recipe book, Janet Fletcher's The Cheese Course offers a deft introduction to choosing and presenting cheese for mealtime enjoyment. The book doesn't pretend to be comprehensive
If your seek-and-destroy refrigerator missions regularly turn up moldy or dried-out cheese, you may want to improve your handling techniques. All cheeses are perishable, but careful storage can prolong their life.
Most cheeses prefer a humid, cool environment. The dry, circulating air of a refrigerator dries them out. On the other hand, most cheeses need to "breathe"--to release their own moisture. They deteriorate if the moisture they release is trapped.
Most experts recommend a storage approach that tries to balance these two concerns--keeping the storage environment humid, yet allowing the cheese to breathe. Complicating the issue is many people's belief--one I share--that aluminum foil and some plastic wraps impart an unpleasant taste.
Nevertheless, it's no crime to simply leave many of the firmer cheeses tightly wrapped in plastic, changing the plastic every couple of days so that moisture can escape. If you find that you can taste the plastic, try another brand of wrap. If you still notice a plastic taste, or if you are dealing with moist and sticky cheeses such as Teleme or Reblochon, you will want to try some version of the following method.
Wrap the cheese in wax paper, parchment paper, or butcher paper, then overwrap with plastic. Store in your refrigerator's produce bin, which has higher humidity than the designated cheese bin in refrigerator doors. Alternatively, refrigerate the wrapped cheese in a cardboard box or in a plastic container with the lid slightly ajar.
You can store different cheeses together, although it's a good idea to keep really stinky cheeses and blue cheeses separate. The mold from blue cheese can "travel."
Even the fussiest storage system is no substitute for frequent monitoring, however. Merchants suggest that you check your cheeses often to see if they are drying out or look too moist; then you can adjust their conditions accordingly.
If you will be serving your cheeses within a day or two and your home is cool, you don't need to refrigerate them at all, except for fresh cheese such as ricotta (see below). Keep them in a cool place, wrapped, until you are ready to serve them. Their texture will be better than if they were refrigerated and then brought to room temperature, especially with soft-ripened cheeses such as Brie or Camembert.
Special Storage Cases
FRESH CHEESE: Keep fresh cheeses, such as cottage cheese, fromage blanc, and ricotta, tightly covered and well chilled. Always bring these cheeses straight home from the store, refrigerate, and use quickly. They are highly perishable.
MOZZARELLA: At the store, fresh mozzarella should be covered in whey to keep it from drying out. (The whey is the liquid part of milk that remains after the solids are coagulated for cheese.) Ask your merchant to cover your purchase with whey; at home, keep it well chilled and use quickly.
FETA: If possible, ask your merchant to cover the feta with the brine it came in. The brine will preserve it for several days. If you purchase cut-and-wrapped feta without brine, you should use the feta within two to three days; for longer keeping, make a brine at home by dissolving salt in water in the ratio of 1 teaspoon salt per ] cup water.
PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO, PECORINO ROMANO, AND OTHER HARD GRATING CHEESES: These cheeses have little moisture and do not need to breathe. Wrap them in wax paper, parchment paper, or butcher paper, then overwrap tightly with aluminum foil.
