Cheese, warm or cold (was: [Sca-cooks] Re: Sca-cooks Digest, Vol 6, Issue 61)

[Alex Clark]

At 11:32 AM 11/26/2003 -0500, Magdalena wrote:
>Here's one that I really don't like:  Cheese.  I try really really hard to 
>like cheese.  I honestly do.  I found that I do like goat cheese.
>But, 99% of cheese tastes like mold to me.  Seriously, earthy moldy.
>It's not bad when it's melted - cheeses that I can't stand cold are just 
>fine on pizza or nachos.  But, I can't figure out what people find 
>appealing about eating chunks of cold cheese.

You're certainly not the only one who dislikes cold cheese. According to 
_Professional Cooking_ by Wayne Gisslen (John Wiley & Sons, 1999), nobody 
is expected to like it:

"*Serve* *cheese* *at* *room* *temperature*. This is the single most 
important rule of cheese service. Only at room temperature will the full 
flavors develop. (This does not apply to unripened cheese like cottage cheese.)
         Cut cheese just before service, to prevent drying. Better yet, set 
out whole cheese and large pieces when possible, so that portions can be 
cut to order by the customer or the service personnel." (p. 605)

Alex Clark/Henry of Maldon