Bucheron Cheese - The Unique Goat Cheese

There is an old saying that goes "age doesn't matter, unless you're a cheese". Beyond its attempt
to be funny, there is actually a certain truth behind such saying. Aging in cheese, sometimes
called ripening, is the most important part in making cheese.

By letting the cheese to rest in carefully controlled conditions, they are able to develop the look,
the texture, the flavor and even the aroma properties that make them unique. With aging, the
bloom blossoms on Camembert, the holes magically turns into Swiss, and the veins burst through
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.

In order to have their own unique characteristics, most cheeses are aged between the periods of
two weeks to two or more years. In principle, the longer the cheese is aged, the firmer, sharper
and more distinctive its taste and 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. The mildest cheeses
such as ricotta, and cream and cottage, are eaten fresh right away and are not ripened at all.

However, some cheeses are ripened mid-range - often termed as semi-aged cheese - for about 5
to 10 weeks. And one of the best tasting semi-aged cheeses available in the market today is the
Bucheron cheese.

Bucheron cheese is made from pure goat's milk, originally a native of Loire Valley in France.
Widely available and absolutely tasty, the Bucheron makes a perfect ingredient for a salad or
sandwich. It has a soft, creamy center almost the same in texture to a typical chevre (goat's
cheese), but typical this cheese is not.

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, thus explaining its 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.

Buy Bucheron cheese from idealcheese.com, New York's trusted gourmet cheese shop. Our
cheeses are guaranteed fresh and always hand-cut to order. For any questions about our cheese
call us 1800-382-0109 for cheese.

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