The power of Cheese

I love cheese!!!!YAMMY!!! What’s good about cheese these days is that we don’t have to travel in order to try them all!! Luckily Brussels is full of cheese shops where you can find what you look for. Hopefully this little guide will help you to learn about what is there to find on the cheese market. First advice: for improvements in flavor and texture, it is widely advised that cheeses be allowed to warm up to room temperature before eating. It’s also good to know that as a general rule, the harder the cheese, the longer it will remain fresh. Nevertheless cheese will continue to ripen, no matter how carefully it is stored. Hard cheeses can generally keep for several months, whereas softer cheeses will keep from one to three weeks after opening, if stored in an air-tight container.
It took me some time to figure out how I should introduce the wonder of cheese to you…but finally I decided to go by a country. Let’s start with Belgium.

Bouquet des Moines is made from pasteurized cow's milk, and is produced in the east of Belgium, at the Abbey du Val-Dieu, in the Pays de Herve. It is a small local Belgian gourmet cheese with a flowery-rind crust and a soft interior. Deliciously creamy just under the rind, the cheese gradually matures towards its centre and displays a unique shape unlike any other. This cheese is also extremely versatile: eat it grilled, melted or fresh from the cheese platter. A very popular Belgian delight that is worth trying....
Brugse Blomme is a round gourmet cheese that has a light red-orange rind, is soft and creamy and finishes with a 'spicy' taste. This fine Belgian gourmet cheese is also sold under the name Fleuron de Bruges. Brugse Blomme is soft to the touch and tastes soft as well. This gourmet cheese is made from cow's milk and is rightly admired in Belgium, certainly a deserved addition to any Belgian gourmet cheese tasting....
The Chimay Grand classique is a semi-hard pressed gourmet cheese. After maturing for four weeks, the gourmet cheese becomes creamy with a fine taste of good, fresh, milk; a very complete classic flavor. Since 1876, the Trappist monks of Scourmont have known the secrets of making this semi-hard cheese made from good milk from their farm. Today, Chimay cheese is made exclusively with regional milk and the Trappist monks have modernized their production equipment…
Echte Loo is a medium hard Belgian cheese, made according to an old recipe of the Fathers of the old Abbey Lo. Echte Loo is a Trappist-type cheese with an easy to recognize black 'rind'. This Belgian gourmet cheese is a full cream cheese that has a particular interesting taste that is also noticeable in its aroma. Beer and wine are good accompaniments of this snack cheese. Enjoy this delightful Belgian gourmet cheese with a Belgian beer or any strong red wine....
Exquis is a cheese with a very spicy taste that is the result of 8 weeks maturation in cellars. This Belgium cheese is made in the area of Herve, the Eastern part of Belgium, bordered by The Netherlands and Germany. The Belgians consider this part of the country their 'Normandy'. The square form and the warm brick color of the cheese is characteristic for the Herve area. The characteristic flavor of the cheese is a perfect match with sweet flavors such as pears, apples, figs and white wine such as Gewurztraminer....
La Ramée is a medium-hard traditionally-made Belgian cheese, with an incomparable smoothness and unique taste. The cheese is washed with "La Ramée" beer during its production. This gourmet cheese has a medium soft paste with an aroma of malt of the La Ramée beer; a distinct sharp-bitter beer flavor. It is worth trying!...
Limburger is creamery, washed-rind cheese. The smooth, sticky, washed rind is reddish-brown with corrugated ridges. The yellow interior hints at sweetness but the taste is spicy and aromatic, almost meaty…
Orval is an excellent Belgian gourmet cheese made by Orval Cistercian Trappist Abbey in Villers-devant-Orval, located in the Gaume region of Belgium. Made in an Abbey originally founded in 1132, Orval is produced using the full cream pasteurized milk local to the Gaume region…
Passendale may be the best known Flemish Belgian cheese. It is a creamy, semi-soft cheese; it has a firm and damp consistency, with very small and irregular holes. It has a round shape. The flavor is mild and creamy and the crust can be eaten. You can drink anything with the Passendale cheese, as long as it is not too strong that it overpowers the cheese flavor....
Père Joseph is an aromatic cheese from Belgium. This gourmet cheese is a popular dessert cheese in Northern Europe. It has a strong aroma, almost as strong as Limburger cheese. Each wheel of Père Joseph sits for over a month in a ripening cave before a brown paraffin rind is applied to stem the aging process. Père Joseph is a cheese that melts well, and adds a lot of flavor to the foods to which you apply it. This gourmet cheese has a creamy, satiny body that is slightly salty and a bit sharp....


I have a little dilemma what cheese should I be writing about now....I think I will be a bit selfish and write about the cheese that can be found and associated with Greece. Why do I want to do that? Well, soon I will be gone for a long deserved vacation and the country I will visit during my break is.....GREECE!! I thought it will be good to know what can I expect and what will I be able to find there...
....So...Let's not start with Greek obvious choice number 1, Feta...we will get there, no worries:))

Anthotyros is a traditional, unpasteurized, cheese made from sheep's and/or goat's whey with the addition of milk. The cheese is dry and white. It is eaten for breakfast with honey and fruit, in savoury dishes with oil, tomato and wild herbs, ideal for spaghetti dishes. This cheese has been made for centuries. Its name ("flower cheese") comes from the aroma and flavor, carrying the hint of wild herbs. Smooth, hard and moist, the cheese has a fine, crumbly texture.
In Greek cuisine, Feta is a curd cheese in brine. It is traditionally made from goat's and/or sheep's milk. It is commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads and in baking. Feta can range from soft to semi-hard, with a tangy, salty flavor that can range from mild to sharp. The average (per capita) annual consumption of Feta in Greece is more than 12 Kg!! Feta is manufactured mainly in mountainous and semi- mountainous regions of Greece.
Formaella of Parnassos is traditional Greek cheese. It is manufactured from sheep’s or goat’s milk or mixtures, in the region of Arachova at the foot of the Parnassos mountain. It is a hard cheese with piquant taste and rich flavour which is consumed as table cheese after ripening for at least for 3 months. It is also consumed fresh as “saganaki” (shallow-fried cheese).
Galotyri is one of the oldest traditional cheese of Greece. It is manufactured from ewe’s or goat’s milk or mixtures in the regions of Epirus and Thessalia. It has a soft and spreadable texture with sourish and very pleasant refreshing taste and is consumed as table cheese.
Kasseri, a medium hard yellow cheese made from sheep or goat milk. It is consumed as table cheese or used in the preparation of pizza.
Kefalograviera is one of the newer Greek cheeses. Production was started in the 1960s and it has quickly become a favorite table cheese. The taste of this hard cheese is salty. It is made from sheep's milk. It is mainly served as a table cheese (appetizer, meze), kefalograviera can also be used in saganaki (fried cheese), as a roasted cheese, or grated.
Kefalotiri is considered the ancestor of many hard Greek cheeses. It has a salty and piquant taste and a unique rich aroma which is obtained after ripening for at least 3 months. It is consumed as table cheese, grated cheese, in cheese-pastries and as saganaki (shallow-fried cheese).
Kopanisti is exclusively manufactured in Cyclades islands from ewe’s, cow’s or goat’s milk or mixtures. The main characteristics of Kopanisti are the intense salty and piquant taste and the soft texture and rich flavour which approaches that of Roquefort. It is consumed as table cheese, in cheese-pastries and as a snack with wine and ouzo.
Ladotiri of MITILINI is traditional Greek cheese exclusively manufactured in Mitilini island from ewe’s milk or mixture of it with goat’s milk. It is ripened for at least 3 months and is also known with the name “Kefalaki” (small head) due to its particular shape. The main characteristic of this traditional cheese is that is preserved in olive oil and this is the reason why is called Ladotiri (ladi=olive oil, tiri=cheese). It has strong flavour, hard texture with slightly salty taste and is mainly consumed as table cheese.
Mizithra has been manufactured in Greece for thousands of years and is considered the ancestor of all Greek whey cheeses. Mizithra is manufactured from whey derived from ewe’s, goats’ or cows’ milk or mixtures of milks in the regions of Macedonia, Thrace, Thessalia, Sterea Hellas, Peloponissos, Ionian islands, Aegean island and Crete island. There are two types of Mizithra; Fresh Mizithra which is unsalted or slightly salted and consumed a few hours or days after its manufacture and Dried Mizithra which is salted, dried and consumed as grated cheese.


Let's talk about a beautiful french cheese.....