Britain is famous for its blue cheeses, most notably Stilton, which is now required to be made with pasteurized milk. Stichelton is a "new" classic blue cheese made from unpasteurized milk using traditional methods. Stichelton was the 11th century name of Stilton village.
Produced by cheesemakers Joe Schneider and Randolph Hodgson of Neal’s Yard Dairy, Stichelton is an unpressed, delicately curded, full-flavored cheese with a buttery texture. The cheese is made in Nottinghamshire using very small doses of rennet and starter bacteria. The cheesemakers hand-ladle curds into a trough to mature overnight. It is salted in the morning and left for five days before being smoothed with a kitchen knife.
Feta cheese is the most famous Greek invention since democracy. Traditionally made from sheep's (or goat's) milk, commercial producers now also use cow's milk to make the bright white, rindless cheese. Feta is cured and stored in a salty whey brine and has a distinct tangy taste and crumbly texture.
Feta is made by draining curdled milk in molds or cloth bags. It is then cut into slices, salted, and these days, packed in whey brine-filled barrels or plastic tubs, although the best feta is salted and aged rather than drowned in brine. The flavor and level of moisture in the cheese depends on the cheesemaker.
Feta-like cheese is now made in many parts of the world. In Europe the cheese is produced from Bulgaria to Denmark and France. But authentic Greek feta is now protected in Europe with an AOC designation of origin label, like Champagne or Bordeaux. Real feta must contain at least 70 percent sheep's milk and be made using traditional methods and in just seven regions of Greece. Feta cheese sold in the U.S. does not have to comply with these rules.
Often called the poor man's caviar, bottarga (or botargo) is the Italian word for a dense cured fish roe made from tuna, gray mullet or swordfish.
To make bottarga, the roe pouch of the fish is massaged until its air pockets disappear. It is then dried and cured in sea salt, hardening into a dense tablet after a few weeks. The bottarga is then cut into logs and coated in beeswax, resembling a petrified sausage, a technique which has been traced back to the Phoenicians.
Bottarga has a highly salty taste that can be compared to dried anchovies, but with a silkier texture. It keeps well stored in the refrigerator and a little goes a long way. Often grated sparingly in the manner of truffles over an omelette or pasta, bottarga can also be cut into very small wedges, sprinkled with lemon juice and served as an appetizer.
Popular in Sicily and Sardinia, bottarga can be found throughout the Mediterranean, under the name of poutargue or boutargue in France or botarga in Spain. In Greece, avgotaraho is slightly smoked and made in summer to be preserved for Lent.
Cotija cheese (sometimes referred to as cojito) is a Mexican cheese named after its place of origin in Cotija, Michoacán.
An aged cow-milk cheese, cotija is a firm, dry, salty and crumbly cheese that is sold in blocks or grated like parmesan. It is also available in a more moist, less salty variation that tastes a bit like feta.
Cotija is crumbled over salads, beans, tacos, salads and other dishes and has a sharp flavor. When heated, it softens but does not melt.
what you should know
For too long, pecorino has been Italy's other hard cheese.
Unlike Parmigiano-Reggiano, a cow's milk cheese made in northern Italy, pecorino cheeses are made with sheep's milk (pecora means "sheep") and they usually come from southern Italy and Sardinia, terrain too dry for mooing.
Most are grana: hard, aged, granular cheeses. But beyond that, "pecorino" can apply to any number of cheese styles. (Tasting notes at the blog.)
grate it yourself, sloth Most pecorino imported to the U.S. is sharp, "grating" cheese. In the time it has taken you to read this far, you could have grated 1/4 cup of pecorino. Unless you have to, don't buy grated pecorino. Seriously.
keep it under wraps When hard cheese is left out uncovered, the exposed surfaces oxidize and dry out. So unless you buy your pecorino by the wheel, it's best to store it in the crisper of the refrigerator. Pecorino is durable enough to tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Change the wrap every other day or so to let the cheese air out, but always rewrap it tightly. And for fullest flavor, let the cheese come to room temperature before using it.
try the rind Some pecorinos are brushed with olive oil. Others are rubbed with tomato paste. Others are wrapped in walnut leaves. And so on. Taste the rinds to get closer to the cheese. You may not like it, but at least you'll have tried.
what you need
The pungent graininess of Pecorino Romano and other hard grating pecs can be a lot to handle on its own. Try some shavings with a dollop of a spicy-sweet mostarda, the popular Italian fruit and mustard condiment.
I have one essential cheese tool: a Microplane grater. I use it almost daily. The Microplane's been so touted that it's almost not worth mentioning here. Almost.
If you don't live in New York, you should visit Murray's the next time you're there. In the meantime, get affineur Rob Kaufelt's new book, Murray's Cheese Handbook: A Guide to 300 of the World's Best Cheeses.
Rather buy American-made? Some of the best hard cheeses in the world are being produced in the U.S. My favorite monger, Boston's South End Formaggio, sells several pecorino-esque cheeses from Vermont: Woodcock Farm's Weston Wheel and Peaked Mountain Farm's Vermont Dandy.
what you do
Pecorino is classic for grating over pasta. It elevates already classic fusilli with sausage and broccoli raab.
Cold winter weather doesn't necessarily demand a comforting, warm dish. This fennel, orange and pecorino salad tastes bright and fresh -- just the thing when you've got the winter blues but don't feel like cooking.
Tangy Pecorino Toscano makes a perfect crown for a mild hors d'oeuvre of lentil bruschetta with basil.
