An Excuse to Talk about a Couple of Cheeses

I have been asked to think up a part of an appetizer/hors d'oeuvre platter for a friend’s gathering tomorrow.  It will revolve around hot smoked salmon that someone else is providing and so I decided to go for a Scandinavian or at least northern European theme.  It is, as yet, a work in progress and I hope to show and write a bit more about it tomorrow but this evening I would like highlight a couple of cheeses that will be included.  

I am probably working a little bit in the area of the smørbrød or Danish open face sandwich, so I will have some rye and pumpernickel bread, with some of the classic accompaniments like cucumber and dill.  I have chosen some cheeses that range from the very traditional to the not sure it will work, but love the cheese and am willing to give it a try.  On the traditional side I will be serving Danish Blue cheese, Dill Havarti, Caraway Havarti, and a spreadable mix of cream cheese and Danish Blue.  More adventurous will be a spread I will make with creamy goat cheese and herbs and, if I can make it work, rhubarb (more on that tomorrow,) as well as, Sylvan Star Smoked Gouda.

The most traditional is the Danish Blue cheese. It is one of only two cheeses from Denmark that carries the European Union’s PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) designation. To qualify for this, an agricultural product or foodstuff must be, according to the EU website, “closely linked to a geographical area [and] at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation takes place in the area.”  In other words, Danish Blue cheese must be made like it was traditionally made in Denmark and must be a least partially be produced there today.  PGI is thus slightly different from another EU category - PDO (Protected Designation of Origin -) those products must be traditional and wholly produced in a given area.  Some example of PDO products are Parmigiano Reggiano, which must be made in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna, and Jersey Royal potatoes, which must be grown on the Island of Jersey.  For more information see: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/schemes/index_en.htm .

Danish Blue cheese has a tradition going back to 1927, when it was invented as milder version of the French Roquefort.  Manufacturers make the curd from whole homogenized cows’ milk, which is employed relatively rarely in cheese making.  Copper rods are used to insert bacteria into the wheels, which causes the “blue” veins to begin to form.  It is then left from between eight to ten weeks to allow it to age and the strong yet sweet flavour to develop.   

The other cheese that I will spend a few words on is the last one on my list and the one I am not sure is going to work.  It is a smoked cheese, which usual is not put with smoked fish or meats, but Sylvan Star’s Smoked Gouda might be smooth enough and its flavour subtle enough to make it work.  Sylvan Star is a cheese-maker located in the Red Deer area of Alberta, which is quite local to where I am currently living and where I learned most of what I know about cheese.  I worked for a number of years here in Edmonton at the Italian Centre Shop and that is where I first tasted, recommended and sold Sylvan Star Gouda.  Much of the decent gouda we get in Canada is Dutch and while it is very good, it is mass produced there like cheddar is here.  This is especially true of smoked gouda: the Dutch version most commonly found here is processed, so it is fairly one-note, a very good note but not a complex one. The local Sylvan Star products I have tasted have a number of layers of flavour.  If this sounds like a plug, it is, but I am not getting anything from it and it’s eating local, so I feel good about it.  I will let you know how the gouda works in my smørbrød context tomorrow.