Art, flavor and history of cheese in one event
Mose Roenberg of UC Davis will dissect cheese making’s more than 9,000-year evolution to become a unique and complex technology enabling more than 2,000 different cheeses.
The event is Aug. 11, with a 5:30pm no -host bar and the program at 6pm.
Cost is $10, which includes cheese tasting.
It is at the Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, 291 Country Club Drive, Incline Village.
Although cheese making is an ancient art, modern cheese production relies on the application of cutting-edge science and state-of-the-art fermentation technologies. If cheese was developed today, it would be hailed as a triumph of biochemistry.
Modern cheese making depends on the wise application of enzymes and microorganisms, complex fermentation approaches, sophisticated engineering and a dynamic series of biochemical cascades during cheese ripening (aging). A great diversity of cheese is produced from the same raw materials. The attributes of cheese are dramatically influenced by the climatic, geological and agricultural characteristics of the region. Cheese Terroir provides unique cheeses from specific regions.
Taste a broad array of cheeses produced all over the world and discover the (almost) magical way by which milk is transformed into a rich spectrum of cheeses differing in their flavor, aroma, texture and appearance.
Rosenberg is a professor and dairy specialist.For additional details, contact Leanne Burns, (775) 881.7562, ext. 7474 or lkburns@ucdavis.edu.
Whoops: Cheese is not, typically, “fermented”–you’re thinking of alcoholic beverages, a common mistake. Rather, traditionally, cheese is created by curdling milk with rennet, which are enzymes found in the stomachs of mammals (I know, gross, huh? Fortunately, vegetarian and man-made alternatives to natural rennet are available today.) The curds are separated from the whey (the liquid part), and then if it’s a hard cheese, it’s aged (or “ripened”) for a long time, often after being heavily salted (i.e. Romano, Parmesian cheese.) Sometimes, a “friendly” bacteria is introduced (sounds kind of gross, but this step is called “innoculation.”) The result is a cheese like blue cheeses (Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola) or a soft, ripe cheese like Camembert or Brie.
Want to learn more? Check out the Wikipedia article on cheese:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese
Enjoy (the cheese)!
Wang Chu
Cupertino, CA