To conclude our three days of studying how fermented cheese can have anti-inflammatory effects on microglial cells, our class went on a cheese tasting outing! The tasting took place in the cellar of a small little fromagerie on the bustling street of Rue de Bretagne. There our group of 22 squeezed down the steep stone steps that led to the basement where all of the cheeses were stored.
I walked back farther with half of the group into the cheese cooler where we learned the cheeses were stored there until aged properly. The walls of the small room were stocked with different sized cheeses with all types of bacteria growing on them. The smells coming from the cheeses were particularly overpowering; it was like walking into a giant cheese cloud! We were then introduced to the 6 cheeses we were going to be tasting. Before trying the different cheeses we had an introduction to them which included what type of animal they came from, where in France they were produced, and which type of juice was best paired with them.
I thought the pairing of the cheeses and juices was the most intriguing as I had never thought of the complementary flavors before – especially not the combination of banana juice and blue cheese! What surprised me the most was how it seemed the flavors of the cheese changed once I had drunk some of the juice. The most dramatic effect for me was the first cheese we ate, the sainte-maure de touraine and the strawberry juice. When I had the combination I personally thought it made the flavor worse by making it more acidic. This led me to start thinking about the pairing and why people typically eat cheese and drink wine together.
A study was done looking at the impact of wine on cheese perception and liking (Galmarini, et. Al., 2017). Using multi-intake temporal dominance of sensation (TDS), they explored the relationship of the cheese and wine by having the subjects take bites of cheese with and without sips of different wines in between bites. While the perception of epoisses cheese changed the most after wine intake they found overall that wine had no impact on the preference of cheese. This made me think about my own experience with the juices and cheese. I think for me, perhaps the flavors of the cheeses were enhanced by the juice, but I don’t think the presence of the juice made me prefer any cheese more.
Reference
Galmarini M.V., Loiseau A., Debreyer D., Visalli M., Schlich P., (2017) “Use of multi-take temporal dominance of sensation (TDS) to evaluate the influence of wine on cheese perception.” Journal of Food Science, 82: 2669-2678.