RAVE - Cheese School of San Francisco

Ignoring a certain wag (that's you Gareth) who suggested I was already cheesy enough, we spent Saturday afternoon with friends Jen and Sue learning how to appreciate cheese and wine by sampling tons of both.

There are very definitely worse ways to spend a cold Saturday afternoon.

When I first heard it was a Sheep Showdown: Italy, Spain and Portugal, I wondered where I could get a wolf at such short notice.

You'd think that having spent (so many) years avoiding and then eating cheese, I'd know perhaps not everything about cheese, but at least all I'd need to know about the subject. This class quickly disavowed me of that idea.

Here are some interesting tidbits we learned:

• Wrap hard cheeses in foil before wrapping that in plastic, and it'll stay fresher longer.
• Don't go into a cheese store in Italy and ask for some pecorino or manchego, as both terms are generic, and what you're actually asking for is a small, round cheese, rather than a specific brand or type of cheese.
• If your refrigerated cheese never gets mouldy, that's the time to worry, because it can only mean it's over-loaded with nasty preservatives.

The over-riding impression I got from the afternoon was that cheese-making is even more complex than wine-making, but rarely gets credit for that.

And, having tasted 9 cheeses including MitiCrema, MitiCana de Oveja, Rustico Limone, Malvarosa, Azeitao D.O.P, and MitiBleu, my top 3 were:

• Romao Queso al Romero, 8/10 - the outer layer of Rosemary encrusted in Pork Lard infused this cheese with a gorgeous aroma and taste.
• Sfizio Pecorino Crotonese, 9/10 - aged in wicker, and wonderfully dry and salty.
• Fulvi Pecorino Romano, 10/10 - saltier than sweat off a seal, but much better for you.

Our informal comparison reminded me that more than wine, cheese reveals the extremes in what our taste buds are attracted to, or repelled by.  For example, blue cheese may as well have been concocted in Hell as far as I'm concerned, while my top 3 reveal my predilection for salt.

[insert lip-smacking emoticon here]