Say (Australian) cheese!

Don’t throw away that cheese! Those white crystals that you sometimes see on the surface of your cheese are not molds.

“These are natural calcium lactate crystals that result from aging, which is desirable,” says Neil Willman, Australian master cheese maker, cheese grader, preeminent cheese educator and consultant, who recently visited the Philippines.

Here’s one more priceless piece of advice:  that “best before” date is simply an indication of when the cheese is best eaten, according to its description. For example, a mild cheddar cheese is best eaten as a mild cheese closest to its “best before” date. Beyond that, it simply becomes stronger or tastier as it matures.

From mild at three to four months of age, natural cheddar becomes tasty at four to nine months, extra-tasty at nine to 15 months, and vintage at more than 15 months of age. It will crumble more as the cheese ages. Also, the more mature the cheese, the more flavor it will have. Hard cheeses such as cheddar and Parmesan are popular for cooking due to their great melting qualities and the depth of flavor that they add to a dish.

The harder the cheese, the longer the shelf life. Willman, who has judged world cheese competitions across the world — including the Australian Grand Dairy Awards, where he has been the chief judge for the past 10 years, as well as the World Cheese Championship Contest in the US — relates how he once saw a 20-year-old cheddar cheese at one of these competitions in Wisconsin.

Master cheese maker Neil Willman: “A day without cheese is not worth living.”

For fresh cheese, which was never meant to mature, however, the opposite applies, Willman says. This should be used before the “best before” date. Examples of fresh cheese would include cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, and fresh goat cheese.

So what is the best way to store cheese? When possible, keep the cheese in its original container or wrapper. Use waxed paper if the original wrapper is not available, to allow the cheese to “breathe.” Plastic wrap is suitable only for short periods of time as it can cause the cheese to sweat. Store each cheese separately in sealed containers with the use-by date visible. Do not stack cheeses on top of each other to avoid the rind from getting damaged.

Refrigerate cheese at four to six degrees Centigrade. Here’s a tip: Always grate cheese straight from the refrigerator as it will be easier to handle.

You can cut or scrape off the mold from the surface of semi-hard or hard cheese, but only if the mold is white, blue or green, Willman says. If it is black or red, throw it away. Willman, who has worked for over 40 years in the Australian dairy industry and regularly conducts in-house as well as international training programs, was in town as part of a special series of events to promote the “Australian Cheese, Please” campaign. The program, hosted by the Australian Trade Commission and supported by Dairy Australia, included seminars, trade sessions and consumer cheese-tasting events featuring top-quality cheeses produced by some of Australia’s most famous cheese makers.

“Australian cheese has a natural color and creaminess that comes from the fact that they are made with milk from cows that graze freely on green grass in the pasture, which is not true of cows in other countries that are fed grain and corn,” Willman says.

“Australian cheese has come a long way, beyond cheddar. We now have a wide range, with an increasing variety of specialist cheese.” These would include mold- and surface-ripened cheese such as Camembert and Brie, blue-veined cheeses, and washed rind cheese.

Hard grating cheeses would include Australian Parmesan as well as Australian Romano and Pecorino, which is similar to Parmesan, only sharper in flavor. Then there are the stretched-curd cheeses such as mozzarella and pizza cheese.

Popular Australian cheese brands that are found in the country include Australian Gold, Bega, Coon, Warrnambool, Jindi, Woodside Cheese Wrights, as well as Bulla, Meredith Dairy, Tasmanian Heritage, and King Island Dairy, which you’ll find served in the fine-dining restaurants of five-star hotels.

Cheese ahoy: In the Philippines, the best Australian cheeses are served in fine-dining restaurants in five-star hotels.

We can’t talk about cheese without mentioning wine. “There’s a strong affinity between cheese and wine,” Willman remarks. “Both are fermented products and require patience, care, and a moderate temperature to mature naturally.”

“The flavors must be compatible and balance each other. To discover the perfect cheese and wine matches, you need to sample for yourself.” When you do, it would help to keep certain general principles in mind, such as the stronger the cheese, the darker and stronger the wine; the more pungent the cheese, the sweeter the wine should be; red wines match best with hard cheeses and milder flavors; white wines match best with soft cheeses and stronger flavors; the “sparkle” in sparkling wine or Champagne can help break through the creaminess in cheeses.

Is eating too much cheese unhealthy? Here’s the good news: Research shows that eating cheddar and semi-hard cheeses does not increase your cholesterol. In fact, they have high levels of calcium that’s good for your bone strength. All hard cheeses have very little or no lactose. Only ricotta, paneer and haloumi, which are fresh cheeses, contain small levels of lactose. So those who are naturally lactose-intolerant can still enjoy their cheese. And get this, eating cheddar cheese after a meal helps prevent tooth decay, “four to five times longer than mouthwash,” Willman says.

Take it from the master cheese maker himself, who says, “A day without cheese is not worth living.”

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For inquiries, call the Australian Embassy Public Affairs at 757-8173.