Hello Steemians.
Today we will talk about the crust of the cheese.
Credits : pixabay
The crust, the outer part of the cheese that allows cheese to develop its delicious tastes, is a very important part of every cheese and, if it is not from non-edible material (usually candle or plastic), it is edible.
The fact that it is edible certainly does not necessarily mean it is delicious. Depending on the sensitivity of each "uraniscus", some will find that a small piece of crust together with the cheese will show it's taste better. Some others will find it hard, they will say that the taste is very strong for their tastes, bitter, with moldy or ammonia smells, or that its texture is not pleasant to the tong.
Credits : pixabay
Credits : pixabay
Only by testing can someone make a safe conclusion about how much he likes or not the crust of a particular cheese. And as tasters know very well, you can not end up if you do not try it a lot of times.
The rule that we generally follow is this: when the crust is of natural origin and is part of the cheese and the result of its maturation, as for example in most of the gruyeres, in brie and camembert, but also in parmesan cheese, it is edible. Hard or not, with mold, with intense flavor or not, however it is safe for consumption (or at least for testing). However, when some casing has been added, e.g. candle, plastic, cloth, crust of trees or leaves, then the crust is not edible. In the second case, there is the kasseri cheese, which is dipped in a paraffin, but edam or gouda as well, that are covered by red or yellow wax. But the crust that you find under the wax is also edible.
Credits : pixabay
And a secret about the parmesan crust that even if it is edible, is too hard to eat. Keep it and add it to the broth when you make a soup. It adds to the sour the so called Umami, the famous fifth flavor - after the sweet, the bitter, the salty, and the sour - that is difficult to described but is associated with maximum enjoyment and flavor.
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