Cream teas are a good way to sample proper tea. They are served in tea rooms up and down the country for as little as 3 or 4 pounds. Very filling too. And I confess to enjoying the odd cream tea when out and about. Though clotted cream is not too good for the old cholesterol levels though :O

Wrong thread!! Mi Scusi LOL

Sheila:

We're fortunate to have a neighbour who imports it in vacuwrap blocks from a chum. So there's usually just about enough in a block for us to eat before the stub gets useful for litle more than poochfodder - though dry parmesan's fine for things like souffles or macaroni cheese.

I know what you mean Sheila, after tasting cheese in London in Neal's Yard, I lost my taste for those cheeses here.

do you know a way to stop parmesan drying out.

Freeze it. It works !

Sheila, I wonder if you could use a vacuum sealer to keep the parmesan fresh longer.

I keep mine wrapped in a damp towel.

I like sex with bread. And a damp towel.

LOl, I like an afternoon delight.
Besides a towel(not terrycloth) you can use a paper towel.

What a pleasure to see so many posts on a subject dear to my heart. I look for restaurants with a cheese course available and would select them over one without.

I don't get a dolce/sweet dessert when I get the cheese course.

Some restaurants list cheeses with the antipasti courses on the menu but will still serve it after the main course.

I've seen them served with a range of sides--nuts, honey, fig preserves, and usually sliced bread on the side. At home we add quince paste. I either finish my wine with it or order a glass of port.

Osteria San Marco and Osteria Antica in Venice both have good cheese courses.

Usually the chef selects. Sometimes you can order one cheese vs. three. Generally there's soft, semi-soft, and hard cheese, or sheep, cow, goat, or double-creme, blue, and pecorino/parmesian.

The best ever was at Lion D'Or in Bayeux, with a bountiful cart from which to select oneself or accept recommendations (of course Camembert!).

As for the US, many restaurants offer them, at least in San Francisco area where I live--though the best cheese course I've had was at Farenheit in Cleveland where the chef put one together even though it wasn't on the menu.

Regarding earlier post, "From what I remember, the only unique cheese in the US is the Monterey or also called Jack. "

Try Humbolt Fog or Point Reyes Blue or Mount Tamalpais double creme (from Cow Girl Cremery). Maybe distant cousins to some European types but from a small artisan company and well done.

<b>Regarding earlier post, &quot;From what I remember, the only unique cheese in the US is the Monterey or also called Jack. &quot;

Try Humbolt Fog or Point Reyes Blue or Mount Tamalpais double creme (from Cow Girl Cremery). Maybe distant cousins to some European types but from a small artisan company and well done.

</b>

There's some AOG or something like this similar to the wines. Official cheeses have this &quot;AOG&quot; (or maybe the letters are slightly different)and this is the only cheese carrying this for the US. I'll have to look through my books and see if I can find this correctly. England has a ten to twenty, Italy had a bunch and certainly France has the most.

Blackduff

If you wrap it in plastic it weeps. I might try the damp towel approach. The words &quot;sad got&quot; spring to mind again:(

Wow! I've been gone all day and came back to find 51 posts about cheese! So many good tips here.

I intend to take this thread with us to Italy in October. I won't be an expert; but I think this will help overcome my fear of feeling foolish. Thanks again to everyone!

The poster who put &quot;Any cheese with a plastic or wax rind should be trimmed. But, cheeses with a flour type of cover can be eaten.&quot; is being a little bit OTT with this comment as I am sure that the OP knows not to eat plastic!!!

Yes, I know not to eat plastic.

But, in fairness to the poster, I did make myself out to be pretttty clueless!

Not IMO, anyway I hope that you enjoy the cheese

How to stop cheese drying out ? The main thing is to buy it in smaller quantities and more frequently.

When I've buy a large amount of Stilton for Christmas, I keep it wrapped in its wax paper from the shop, in a coolbox (no ice, just to guard it from animals &amp; rain) in an unheated room/the garden/on the balcony (depending on where I'm living), as putting it in the fridge definitely impairs the flavour. The ideal would be a cool cellar.

But for normal amounts I must admit I wrap leftovers in clingfilm, which I know you're not supposed to but it just seems to work best. I then store it in a special ventilated plastic container from Lakeland, called a &quot;cheese cave&quot;, but I'm not sure it makes much difference. And keep it in the fridge. But it doesn't hang about long enough to be seriously impaired !

I'd like to keep the usual smaller quantities in the waxed paper it comes in, but I can never work out how to wrap it up again as tightly and neatly as they do in cheese shops.

fall06 : yes, I had chestnut honey in Tuscany too. Must go to Valvona &amp; Crolla to buy some !

One of my favorite resons to travel are all of the onderful cheeses I get to try! Don't be intimidated, just smile and enjoy it!
But in all fairness we do have some really great artisan cheese here in Wisconsin.

I agree – I have always seen bread served with a cheese course, in France and elsewhere. As others have noted, one doesn't normally spread the cheese on the bread. I generally take a bite of the bread, by itself, when I want to clear some of the cheese taste from my palate, and prepare it for the next cheese that I'm going to taste. A bit of something sweet is often served with cheese, also to help provide a foil for the cheese's flavors, and to help clear the palate a bit. For example, figs, raisins, quince paste, or honey might serve this purpose.

In a more formal restaurant, one would typically be served a plate with pieces of something like three to six pieces of fine cheese, arranged in a particular order. Here the idea is to study and savor every nuance of the cheeses carefully, and one would not normally take the cheese and the sweet element in the same mouthful. For example, drizzling honey directly onto a cheese would not normally be done in this situation. It would be sort of like adding a dash of salt or pepper to a glass of fine wine.

However, as some have noted, one can on occasion find what is known as a &quot;composed cheese course.&quot; In such a course, a smaller number of cheeses, usually just one, is paired with a few carefully chosen complimentary items, all of which may be tasted together. This approach is not typically followed at, say, fancy Michelin-starred French restaurants, where the idea is to assemble a large variety of impressive cheeses, made by the finest producers and affineurs, and then to care for them lovingly in a proper cheese cave. However, there are worthy proponents of the composed cheese course, for example Thomas Keller of French Laundry in California, who admitted to himself that the resources of his restaurant were not sufficient to support a full-blown cheese program, and a cart wouldn’t have made it around his dining room easily.

The waiter should serve the cheese with the rind attached. This serves several purposes. For one thing, it’s visually appealing, and enjoying a cheese includes looking at it, as well as smelling it and tasting it. Also, the flavor of the cheese tends to vary as you approach the rind, and the type of rind that a cheese has is one of the main ways of categorizing the cheese, and understanding how it will taste. Types of rind include the following:

(1) No rind (e.g. Ricotta, Feta)

(2) Natural rind (e.g. most blue cheeses, cheddars, Parmiggiano-Reggiano). Sometimes the formation of these rinds is helped along by shaping, or application of cloth covering. Natural rinds are usually a little or a lot harder than the interior of the cheese, and serve to protect the more delicate interior without imparting a very strong taste.

(3) Bloomy rind (e.g. Brie, Camembert). In this case, a solution of mold spores is sprayed onto the cheese, and the mold grows a whitish coating on the cheese’s exterior, imparting a stronger flavor that may be more pronounced near the rind. The mold chosen is usually of the genus Penicillium, and I have heard reports of people who are penicillin-allergic having reactions to these cheeses. The same is true of the mold that forms the blue part of blue cheese.

(4) Washed rind (e.g. Epoisses, Taleggio). These cheeses are washed with some liquid (wine, water, marc, etc.) in order to stimulate the growth of a variety of mold and bacteria that form what it usually quite a stinky rind. These are usually the strongest cheeses, although their taste is often far more pleasant than their smell would seem to imply.

(5) “Other”: These rinds might include simple protective rinds such as the ash coating that is applied to Morbier, or coatings meant to directly infuse flavor, such as the herbs that are applied to Brin d’Amour.

Of course you can’t eat a wax rind. Most other cheese rinds can be eaten, but don’t ever let someone tell you that you’re wimpy or unsophisticated because you trim of the rind and leave it on the plate. I almost never eat cheese rinds, and neither did the noted French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (in case you need a name to drop for your judgemental friends). The rind usually just doesn’t taste very good.

To another poster’s comment I might add that raw milk cheeses (i.e. unpasteurized cheeses) are served not only in Europe, but in America as well. People who are pregnant or immunocompromised are often advised not to eat raw milk cheese.

I wrap my cheese in a damp paper towel also. A trick I learned from a chef.

One more somewhat related question:

In Rome, is it proper to go elsewhere after dinner and order only dessert and coffee or wine? We ran into a particularly unpleasant waiter in Paris one time who obviously frowned on our meager order (it was after 11pm).

Depends where. Small cafes, probably OK; anything more formal, no.

Wine and coffee are readily available at bars until all hours, but whether or not you will find an appealing dessert there is another matter. The best cakes are usually served by pasticcerias, which usually close up by dinnertime. A ristorante, trattoria or oesteria will not serve you dessert only.

Around the tourist hubs (like the Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain) I wouldn't be surprised to find dessert available after 10pm. And certainly you will find gelaterie open.

A late night drink is easier to find.

&quot;In Rome, is it proper to go elsewhere after dinner and order only dessert and coffee or wine?&quot;

I've never heard of this being done anywhere. Do you do it at home ? But yes, some cafes selling coffee and maybe pastries, some ice cream shops and some combinations of the two will still be open. You couldn't do it in a proper restaurant.

&gt;...and neither is improved by the introduction of bread.&lt;

Hmmmmmmm, interesting concept.

&gt;... apart from eating faster, do you know a way to stop parmesan drying out.&lt;

I keep mine in a plastic bag in the cheese/meat drawer in the fridge. Lasts about 2 mos.

&gt;I wrap leftovers in clingfilm, ... I then store it in a special ventilated plastic container ...&lt;

Why bother with a ventilated container if it is wrapped in clingfilm?

&gt;I wrap my cheese in a damp paper towel also.&lt;

For hard cheeses (Parmigiano, Cheddar), try moistening the paper towel with vinegar (wine or apple is very good) to prevent mold from forming.

((I))

caroline,

here in NYC it's always possible to find places serving cakes and desserts long after 9pm. Many places specialize in cheesecakes, for instance, and people go there just to eat them. Likewise, that was my experience in LA and SF, and most large cities (certainly ones with fancy hotels, too). I'm surprised Jeanne had trouble in Paris finding a dessert spot.

True, fine dining establishments aren't going to simply serve you dessert (although some in NYC will if you sit at the bar).

But the most important thing to know about Roma is that dessert is not a big deal, even in restaurants. The dolci are rarely worth the calories.

True, fall06 - Italian desserts aren't usually worth bothering with.

I'm used to restaurants most places being open late (and on holiday, don't normally start dinner until after 9); I've just never heard of going to one just for dessert. I think most places would be annoyed at wasting a table.

Caroline posted:
<i>I'm used to restaurants most places being open late (and on holiday, don't normally start dinner until after 9); I've just never heard of going to one just for dessert. I think most places would be annoyed at wasting a table.</i>

What you said is very true but there's even more about ordering just a coffee and a dessert. Normally a good restaurant has a charge for the &quot;Covert&quot;. They might charge for bread separate too.

I don't know many American restuarants in the high of the servicing for the supper meal and expect a couple ask for a table for &quot;Coffee and Dessert&quot;. It doesn't allow this in the US neither.

You can always find a cafe on one of the terraces to serve coffee and dessert. In fact, it's the better place to spend a few hours with the coffee/dessert.

Blackduff

I think everybody is talking past each other here.

Everybody knows that you can't walk into a white tablecloth restaurant at 10pm and just ask for dessert in most places in the world.

That said, I don't think twice when I am in Paris about skipping dessert at a restaurant with the idea that around midnight I'm going to head up to Le Select or La Coupole for a tarte aux citron or some other lovely sweet, and have a coffee or perhaps a nightcap.

Likewise, here in New York, there's no end of places where you can indulge in something gooey all by itself until the wee hours. And there are some high-end restaurants that will serve you a dessert if you sit at the bar.

That is very hard to do in Roma, largely because Italians just ain't into dessert. It's not how they end an evening. You will find bars open -- but the &quot;sweets&quot; in bars are usually not very good, and are more customarily eaten by Italian in the morning with coffee or in mid-afternoon.

If you want dessert to end your meal in Italy, it's best to try the restaurant &quot;dolci&quot; offering of the evening if its made in house (&quot;fatto in casa&quot;). And even then, you might find yourself eating a rather dry cake with a fruit filling and powdered sugar.

For Rome, it sounds like the better solution is to have dessert stashed away in the apartment fridge for enjoying when we get home.

I certainly would <i>not</i> walk into a proper restaurant and ask only for dessert...whether in Paris, Rome or New York. The Paris incident happened at Leon Bruxelles---the moules-frite place. Approximately 11pm, about half the tables were occupied. We had been walking for an hour after dinner and wanted a &quot;nightcap&quot;. We politely asked the maitre d' if we might have dessert and coffee only. He assured us it was OK and seated us promptly. I guess he forgot to tell the waiter! (but the creme brulee was actually very good.)