Good Afternoon Cheesy1’s,

A short & sweet post today about warming your cheese, because there is logic behind the madness which comes in the form of what happens to fats when they warm up. You may or may not have heard that if you let ice cream stand for 10-15 mins before serving this brings out the flavour and gives it a smoother & deeper creamier edge. The same will happen with a cheese but it shouldn’t turn into a puddle if left out (unless it’s a particularly good soft cheese)! The reason being is that when fat warms up it becomes more receptive & moves around more freely so releases more flavour. That’s why when we Judge cheeses at shows we take the cheese and roll it in the palm of our hands to use body temperature to warm the fats, thus when we try the cheese its at its fullest flavour. When you serve cheese on a board at home the suggestion of leaving it out for 30-60mins before serving ensures that its at peak flavour. You wouldn’t want to do this with all your foods but it works especially well with dairy products such as butter, cheese, ice cream & cream. The best ideas for warming/ storing room temperature cheese is to store it in a garage, airing cupboard or cheese dome. A bizarre but very effective way was I accidently left some cheese on a plate on top of the tumble dryer, and when I returned it was delicious which is probably because of its surrounding higher ambient temperature. I hope that this gives you a reason to warm your cheeses and next time look out to see if you have been served the perfect temperature ice cream & cheese.

The Cheesy1