• What is the rind? Can I eat it?
  • The rind, or outer layer, is an integral part of the cheese that protects it from the environment and becomes tougher and brinier with age. All rinds are edible, with the exception of wax rinds.

• Can you freeze cheese?
  • Most cheeses should not be frozen. Ice crystals can damage the structural integrity, and thawing can release moisture and condensation that diminish flavor, texture and appearance.
    
    Exceptions are pasta filata cheeses, like mozzarella. They can be frozen to extend shelf life with minimal effects.

• How can I tell that my cheese is no longer good?
  • In soft cheeses, look for dehydration of the paste, an extreme smell of ammonia, or discoloration. In hard cheeses, look for burrowing cracks in the paste, discoloration or a bitter taste.

• Where and how should I store my cheeses?
  • Cheeses should be stored in an environment rich in humidity. The vegetable crisper in your refrigerator works well. Parchment and wax papers are both ideal for wrapping cheese. Foil paper is also an option, as is the original wrapper, which has usually been chosen by the manufacturer to keep the cheese at its best.

• What's the best temperature to serve cheese?
  • To ensure that the flavor and aroma fully emerge, the ideal serving temperature for most cheese is 65 to 75 degrees, or room temperature.

• When should I take the cheese out of the refrigerator?
  • The larger the piece, the longer it will take to come to room temperature. Usually, 45 minutes to an hour should suffice. Leave the cheese wrapped so exposed surfaces don't dry out.

• Is there a special way to cut cheese?
  • Round cheeses are easy to cut in triangular pieces from the center of the wheel toward the rind. In log-shaped cheeses, coin slices are the easiest. Pyramid-shaped cheeses should be cut alongside the triangle from the center to the bottom of the cheese.

• Are there special knives that go with special cheeses?
  • Butter knives or paring knives work very well with soft cheeses. Chef's knives work very well with semi-soft and hard cheeses. For crumbly, wet blue cheeses, use a cheese wire or a knife with holes in the blade. Whichever knife you use, the key is to have a different one for each cheese on a cheeseboard so the taste of one doesn't mix with another.

• Which cheeses are better for appetizers, and which for desserts?
  • Before a meal, milder cheeses and dry, salty cheeses can get things off to a great start. If cheese is served for dessert, sinfully rich, full-flavored cheeses can put an exclamation point on any meal.

• Are some cheeses better for cooking than others?
  • Cheeses with lower melting points are extremely useful for cooking. Comté, Emmental and Pyrénées cheeses are just a few examples that melt deliciously. Almost all cheeses are versatile enough to be used for cooking in one way or another, however. You simply need the right recipe.

• Why do some cheeses seem to sweat more than others?
  • When cheese ages or comes to room temperature, butterfat naturally oozes out of the paste. It's nothing to be concerned about. Just pat it dry with a damp towel.

• What’s a good number of cheeses to include in my cheese board?
  • If your cheese course comes between dinner and dessert, three to five is a good number. If cheese is the only food you'll serve, five to nine should do the trick.

• Aside from wine, what other beverages do cheese pair well with?
  • Beer, scotch, port and whiskey and even sake will all work. The fermentation process of cheese can provide a harmonious relationship with these beverages.

• How do I persuade friends and family members to try new cheeses?
  • The key is to offer a wide variety of flavors. Mild cheeses should be in the majority, because most people new to specialty cheese find overly strong tastes intimidating. If you want them to go outside their comfort zone, heighten interest by explaining what a cheese is about (the milk it is made of, the taste, the texture, its origin) by placing a little sign next to it so they can learn as they taste. You can download small cards with simple, educational facts about any of our cheeses from this website.

• Do Brie and Camembert cheeses come only from France?
  • Brie and Camembert have become generic names and do not have to be made in France, although they are both historic French cheeses with mentions as early as the 8th century A.D. However, a number of cheeses in France and Europe have been granted special status due to their origin. Appelation d'Origine Controlee (AOC) is used in France, and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is used throughout Europe to denote such status.
    
    Both Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun are AOC cheeses and therefore can only be made in a very limited territory around the towns of Meaux and Melun east of Paris, according to strictly defined cheesemaking processes. They are raw milk Brie cheeses (unpasteurized), and therefore not allowed in the U.S. by law.
    
    Camembert de Normandie is an AOC cheese made only in Normandy, and is also a raw milk cheese not allowed in the U.S.

• Why are some cheeses wrapped in foil or leaves?
  • Blue cheeses are generally wrapped in foil paper because they are extremely moist. Many soft goat's milk cheeses are traditionally wrapped in leaves, which permeate the cheese with their aromas and flavors.

• How often should I buy cheese?
  • It is always better to buy less cheese more often to ensure freshness. It can be difficult to recreate the storage conditions of specialty cheese manufacturers and retailers.