The Whey, The Truth, and the Philadelphia Lite
1. What was the first type of cheese you ever ate?
I was fed factory cheddar from a young age: the sort that's sold in supermarkets without labels of origin - and often, without the 'cheddar' title, and a list of colourings, preservatives, and flavourings. Think of it as a casein-based waxy plastic with colourants that excite small children and regulatory authorities; and the majority of British people over 40 think of it when you say "Cheese".
2. What was the type of cheese you ate most recently?
A ripe Cheshire, very sharp and 'on the turn' slightly, with an overtone of blue-veined cheeses; and a young Morbier.
3. What is the most unusual cheese you ever ate?
None, really: I would say 'Cheese Curds' in Ontario, which are unknown in this country (or were, until Neal's Yard Dairy started making them in Southwark three years ago). But I can hardly call cheese curds 'unusual' when everyone in North America can buy them anywhere.
4. What is your favorite cheese?
Either Morbier, or Brébirousse de l'Argental.
Buy the Brébirousse for the distinctive orange crust from repeated washings in brandy; eat it for the astonishing complexity of flavours in its sharp and creamy centre.
Morbier, because I don't *quite* like blue-veined cheeses; but the single blue vein of a Morbier, seeded on a layer of ash that bisects the cheese, has a lightness, a 'brightness' of flavour that is probably unique. The body of the cheese takes up the aromatic 'blue' and makes of it whatever it will, depending on its distance from the vein. It has a distinctive texture, too: not a 'hard' cheese, but not a softt or creamy one, either; translucent and cutting cleanly, without any hint of oilines or butter, it is the Platonic ideal of 'cheese' to the bite.
Note, however, that any cheese can be the finest cheese on Earth if taken with the right accompaniment: I sort-of-liked Manchego, until I discovered that it is intended to be eaten with white wines - that's unusual, especially for a strongly-flavoured cheese - and it is wonderful with white Rioja.
If it's a bit dry - more like Pecorino - I'll eat it with a slice of 85% dark chocolate. Yes, I am ever such a little bit perverse.
My favourite cooking cheese is Red Leicester: everything Cheddar can do, in heels and dancing backwards; my favourite 'everyday' cheese to put into sandwiches is Jarlsberg.
5. What is your favorite dish made with cheese?
That would be the leftovers from our Boxing Day Cheese party, which my beloved
ewt combines with a fine disregard for safety and propriety, into The World's Cheesiest Macaroni Cheese. Ask her, sometime, how she makes the sauce: it is closer to garnache than the usual white sauce; don't ask Which cheeses? because the answer could take some time from start to finish.
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