food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington
food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington
food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington
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280<br />
Chapter 12 Wine <strong>and</strong> Cheese: A Natural Affinity?<br />
SUMMARY<br />
This chapter provides a detailed description of the categories<br />
within the exciting world of cheeses <strong>and</strong> <strong>wine</strong>s that<br />
match them. As you might imagine, an entire book could<br />
easily be written on the variety of cheeses around the<br />
world. This chapter focused on the most prominent<br />
cheese types <strong>and</strong> the <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>food</strong> <strong>pairing</strong> principles that<br />
tie them together. This format provides you with tools<br />
that can be used in making <strong>pairing</strong> decisions in the future.<br />
Wine <strong>and</strong> cheese have two main things in common<br />
that help to create a natural match: both are created by a<br />
fermentation process, <strong>and</strong> both are living things that<br />
change substantially during the process of aging. As with<br />
other <strong>food</strong>s, there are no hard-<strong>and</strong>-fast rules to <strong>pairing</strong><br />
<strong>wine</strong> with cheese; much is based on personal preferences.<br />
Cheeses can be categorized by a number of characteristics<br />
that impact its elements, such as country of origin, type<br />
of milk used, aging or ripening procedure used, fat content,<br />
<strong>and</strong> texture. Cheeses are classified here into six main<br />
categories: fresh, semisoft, soft ripened, firm, hard, or<br />
blue-veined. This classification scheme is consistent with<br />
the various components (saltiness, sweetness, acidity, <strong>and</strong><br />
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS<br />
1. What are the six categories of cheese?<br />
2. Describe the typical <strong>wine</strong> styles that are appropriate<br />
for each cheese category.<br />
For this exercise, you may select cheeses<br />
or <strong>wine</strong>s from the list in Table 12.8 or<br />
you can make additional selections to suit<br />
your interests if you wish to exp<strong>and</strong> the<br />
exercise. Use the Food Sensory Anchor<br />
Scale (Figure B.1) <strong>and</strong> Wine Sensory<br />
Anchor Scale (Figure B.2) to create basic<br />
reference points for the components,<br />
texture, <strong>and</strong> flavor when using the Wine<br />
<strong>and</strong> Food Pairing Instrument.<br />
EXERCISE 12.1<br />
WINE AND CHEESE MATCHING<br />
OBJECTIVES<br />
To distinguish <strong>and</strong> rank differing levels of<br />
elements in each cheese <strong>and</strong> <strong>wine</strong> sample;<br />
to compare <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong> cheese profiles<br />
to predict match level, <strong>and</strong> then do a<br />
mixed tasting to determine the perceived<br />
level of match.<br />
bitterness), texture (fattiness <strong>and</strong> body/power), <strong>and</strong> flavor<br />
(intensity, persistence, <strong>and</strong> types), <strong>and</strong> provides guidelines<br />
for satisfying <strong>food</strong>-<strong>and</strong>-<strong>wine</strong> <strong>pairing</strong> decisions.<br />
The adage that red <strong>wine</strong>s go with hard cheeses <strong>and</strong><br />
white <strong>wine</strong>s with soft cheeses has a number of exceptions.<br />
Some additional guidelines for <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong> cheese <strong>pairing</strong><br />
include <strong>pairing</strong> light white <strong>wine</strong>s with light cheeses, <strong>pairing</strong><br />
high-acid white <strong>wine</strong>s with high-acid cheeses, <strong>pairing</strong><br />
low-acid <strong>wine</strong>s with lower-acid cheeses, <strong>pairing</strong> strong<br />
<strong>wine</strong>s with strong cheeses, <strong>pairing</strong> dessert <strong>wine</strong>s with<br />
strong salty cheeses, <strong>and</strong> <strong>pairing</strong> <strong>wine</strong>s <strong>and</strong> cheeses from<br />
the same region. However, constant changes in cheeses<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>wine</strong>s due to aging, vintage, <strong>and</strong> processing techniques<br />
will affect the quality of each match. Therefore, these rules<br />
provide a good starting point for determining good<br />
matches, but your own judgment should also help guide<br />
you. Basically, the common thread in all of these guidelines<br />
is to create balance <strong>and</strong> harmony between the cheese<br />
<strong>and</strong> the <strong>wine</strong>: similar intensity levels, matching using interesting<br />
contrasts, <strong>and</strong> similarity relationships such as<br />
simple-to-simple or complex-to-complex.<br />
3. What types of cheeses are easiest to pair with <strong>wine</strong>?<br />
4. What cheese elements limit <strong>wine</strong> choices?<br />
Mise en Place: Things to Do Before<br />
the Exercise Review Figures<br />
11.2a-c <strong>and</strong> Figure 11.4. Ensure that the<br />
cheese <strong>and</strong> <strong>wine</strong>s are served at the optimal<br />
tasting temperatures.