In a casual conversation with friends at dinner, I wondered about the aging process that turns mozzarella into provolone. Everyone looked at me with a quizzical look of somewhat disbelief. It turned out that no one realized that the stretched curd process that creates mozzarella is the first step in creating the various types of provolone.
I’m not a cheese maker but certainly am a cheese lover. The folks that live in Philly are lucky to have several legendary cheese shops that have great selections. Two of those shops are only a block apart in the Italian Market on 9th street. Di Bruno’s and Claudio’s have much to offer but the edge in customer satisfaction goes to Di Bruno Bros hands down. Di Bruno’s has opened a very impressive second store in center city Philadelphia which rivals any in the country for the cheese, olives, olive oil and cured meats regularly stocked.
They have a great web site and ship everywhere.
When I lived in Philadelphia I went to Di Bruno Bros on 9th St. twice a month, every month, to stock up on not only the Italian Cheeses but to try the wide range of cheese(about 400 varieties) they carry from all over the world. They always had the time to describe the cheese being purchased and were quick with a “try a piece” suggestion. My interest and much of my knowledge about the various cheeses started at the DiBruno Bros store in the Italian market.
I learned that Assiago Pressato(fresh) is a cheese with a sweet flavor while Assiago Allevo is slowly matured and produces a sharper flavor.
Pecorino Romano which has been made since Roman days is an alternative for grating on your pasta for a change from Parmigiano. Jarlsberg, Sapsaogo, the French Cheeses using edible ash and the variety of Cheddars slowly came to my attention through the years.
In Colorado where I now live there are several producers of excellent goat cheeses and the Willow River Natural Cheese Co. is producing some decent cheeses. There are excellent prospects that some unique variations are becoming available from local producers
I do miss the opportunity to buy cheese that is cut from the wheel to order. The best cheese retailer I have found in Colorado is The Cheese Importers Warehouse in Longmont and they do a decent job. The Parmigiano Reggiano and other cheeses are wrapped in cyropac which takes some of the fun out of the purchase and the taste seems to be affected. They must package the cheese this way since there just isn’t enough business to be cutting the cheese from a wheel and maintain quality.
Di Bruno’s helped prepare me for eating dinner in Europe which often ends with a cheese tray. I held my own when the cheese discussion took place in a restaurant ordering or when being entertained in a home. I almost always recognized the cheese served and could come up with an appropriate compliment concerning the choices on the tray.
If you are going to do some serious traveling in Europe it doesn’t hurt to know your cheeses. You need to remember that the blue veined cheese in England is Stilton and in Italy it’s Gorganzola. When in France do not mistake the Roquefort for any other blue cheese. As a matter of fact make no comparison of French Cheese to any other, whether blue, white rind or semi soft. The French really don’t seem to completely recognize that others know how to make great cheese. Stilton was always my favorite among the blue cheeses but since pasteurization became a British requirement in 1990 Gorgonzola has taken a slim preference lead. The English have some strange traditions and one was “digging the Stilton”. Fortunately that practice is not one likely to be often required. I’ve only personally run into a digging event once and only after the Port was banged around the table several times.
If you have an interest in expanding your knowledge of cheese check out Juliet Harbutt’s book “Cheese” It covers 300 cheeses concisely with a lot of good information on buying and serving cheese.
