Chock-Full Of Cheese With More Varieties Available Than Ever Before, There’s No Excuse Not To Explore

The average French market has 200 varieties of cheese, and the average French shopper knows every one of them.

Yeah? So what? We’re not French shoppers, are we? As long as we know the difference between Velveeta and Cheez Whiz, we should be fine, right?

Au contraire, mon ami. In this era of goat cheese and feta, Americans need to know more about cheese. And if you want to shop at a store like Huckleberry’s Fresh Market or Bountiful Fresh Foods, you need to know a lot more.

Bountiful has 150 or so varieties of cheese at its Spokane store (there’s a smaller selection in Coeur d’Alene). Huckleberry’s has even more.

“We have up to 270 kinds of cheeses,” said Shanda Talbott, in charge of the cheese department at the South Hill Huckleberry’s. “Until recently, we had the most variety in the state.”

Then a yuppie supermarket opened in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, which pushed Huckleberry’s to No. 2. But even at No. 2, the variety is enough to make a French housewife lightheaded.

In fact, the wide world of cheese is on display at a number of local purveyors, including Harry O’s, Italian specialty shops, European-style delicatessens and even in the deli sections of supermarkets. Just as American tastes in wine expanded in the ‘80s, American tastes in cheese have expanded in the ‘90s.

“We have between 200 to 300 cheeses available on a special-order basis,” said Patrick Bleck of Eurobest, a Seattle specialty-food distributor which supplies exotic cheeses to stores throughout the Northwest. “And we’ll see it growing exponentially.”

But the trouble for you and me is: How can we possibly know what to buy when confronted with names like Cambozola, Caerphilly and Morbier? How do we choose between a dozen kinds of Cheddar, and even more kinds of blue (or bleu)?

One way to learn is to pick up a copy of Steven Jenkins’ “Cheese Primer” (Workman Publishing, 1996), a useful guide to the more upscale cheeses of the world.

An even better way is to find a good cheese department and taste some of the exotic cheeses out for sampling.

“A lot of it is education,” said Huckleberry’s Talbott. “For instance, there wasn’t a huge demand for Italian Gorgonzola (a blue-veined cheese) until I started giving samples, and then people found out it was so much creamier than the kind they were used to.”

Another example is the fresh mozzarella, so fresh that it has to be stored in buckets of water. When Huckleberry’s first opened last winter, Talbott went through two buckets a week. Now, if she doesn’t want to sell out, she has to buy 10 buckets a week.

We’ve been dutifully sampling our way around the cheese world, and here’s a guide to some of the cheeses you might want to try out:

Parmigiano reggiano: You know it as “Parmesan” but this is the genuine stuff from Italy. “Compare it to a regular Parmesan and people will be amazed,” said Becky Rebmann, co-owner of Bountiful.

The Parmigiano grana, from a different region, is similar. These craggy chunks are expensive (around $12 to $15 a pound), but even a quarter-pound will go a long way because it so much more flavorful than the Parmesan you’re used to. Highly recommended.

Aged provolone: Sharper than the deli provolone, with a hint of smokiness. Try the Auricchio brand, made in Wisconsin. You’ve never tasted great provolone until you’ve tried this.

Fresh mozzarella: This is entirely different than the mozzarella you’ve had on 1,000 pizzas. This is a fresh cheese, and the baseball-sized spheres are stored in a bucket of water. Scoop one out, take it home, slice it, place a sliver of tomato and a leaf of basil on top and enjoy.

Goat cheese: There are many fine French chevres, including Couturier, which comes plain, peppered or ashed (a traditional embellishment). Or try the excellent Washington goat cheeses by Quillisascut Cheese Co. in nearby Rice, Wash., or Sally Jackson in Oroville, Wash.

“Any of the goat cheeses are good on salads, pizzas and as spreads,” said Rebmann. “And they make easy hors d’oeuvres.”

Cheddars: You can find Cheddars from New Zealand, Ireland and most notably from the birthplace of the Cheddar: Somerset, England. The English Cheddars are pale, not orange or yellow, and more buttery. Of course, the Northwest produces some of the finest Cheddars in the world, including Bandon Cheddar, Tillamook Cheddar and Washington State University’s Cougar Gold.

Emmental, or Emmentaler: This is the classic Swiss cheese with the big holes and the outstanding nutty flavor. Emmental is produced in the region around the Emme River near Bern, Switzerland. Huckleberry’s buys it in traditional 200-pound wheels and cuts it into smaller wrapped chunks. This is one of the cheapest and easiest to find of all European cheeses, selling for around $4 a pound, or even $2.99 on sale. Highly recommended.

Gruyere: This is another classic Swiss cheese, which arrives in 80-pound wheels. More intense than Emmental and even more respected by cheese connoisseurs.

Comte: Also known as Gruyere de Comte, this is the French version of Gruyere, with tiny holes and a slightly nuttier flavor.

Raclette: A Swiss cheese which is used to make a melted-cheese specialty of the same name. Also makes an excellent snack cheese, unmelted.

Jarlsberg: This is a famous cheese from Norway, with Swiss-style holes and Swiss-style taste. Talbott much prefers it to Emmental, and says, “Once you try the Jarlsberg, you’ll never go back.”

Parrano: This is one of Talbott’s newest finds, a nutty, fairly hard cheese from Holland which “thinks it’s Italian,” according to the package. It is delicious eaten sliced, and it can even be grated and used like Parmesan. Highly recommended.

Gouda: A Dutch cheese which comes in many varieties. The most interesting are the aged goudas, including a remarkable brand called Old Amsterdam. It’s flinty-hard and has a delicious flavor which Jenkins describes as a “Scotch whisky type of aroma, both sharp and sweet at the same time, like molten honey or butterscotch.” At $16 a pound, Old Amsterdam is one of the most expensive cheeses at Huckleberry’s. Leilani Nesper, of Huckleberry’s bread and cheese department, says this is her favorite cheese of all 270 varieties in the store. Highly recommended.

Morbier: A legendary French semisoft cheese, with a distinctive layer of ash separating two paste-like layers. This is one of the classic French farmhouse cheeses, although Jenkins warns that much of what is exported is bland and factory-made.

Double Gloucester: An English cheese, similar to Cheddar, with an extra-creamy texture.

Caerphilly: The distinctive Welsh cheese, softer and creamier than most cheeses from the British Isles.

Camembert: The famous soft-ripened cheese from France, virtually identical to Brie. Camembert is now mass-produced all over the world, including in the U.S., but the real stuff is labeled Veritable Camembert de Normandie, VCN.

Cambozola: A German cheese which combines camembert with Gorgonzola, thus the name. Jenkins calls it “the result of successful marketing, not cheesemaking,” but it is very popular.

Brie: The ultra-trendy soft cheese which, authentically, comes from the Brie region around Paris, but is now made all over the world. The best Brie comes from raw milk, and cannot be exported from France. Jenkins claims that most pasteurized Brie from France is tasteless and “phony.”

French Munster: The term “stinky cheese” might have been invented for this soft Alsatian cheese, which may even surpass Limburger. Jenkins compares the smell to “rotting fruits and vegetables and barnyard animals,” and he means that as a compliment. Connoisseurs swear by it and Talbott says she has a number of regular Munster customers. Take care you don’t get an overripe one. It smells even worse.

Roquefort: This famous French blue-veined cheese may be the most intensely flavored cheese of all (although nowhere near the smelliest). The texture is crumbly, with blue-green veins of mold running all the way through it. Highly recommended.

Blue Stilton: The great cheese from England is a crumbly blue-veined cheese which is most commonly eaten after dinner with a glass of port or good red wine. Highly recommended.

Gorgonzola: Italy’s classic blueveined cheese, served with salads, in a sauce, or after dinner with wine. Highly recommended.

Other blue, or bleu, cheeses: Many other blue cheeses are now available, including France’s Bleu d’Auvergne, the Spanish Cabrales (which rivals Roquefort for intense flavor) and the Danish Blues. Great American blues are also available, including Oregon’s Rogue River Valley Blue and Iowa’s well-regarded Maytag Blue.

Most of these cheeses are better for the table than for cooking, but here are a pair of recipes that utilize some of Europe’s fine cheeses.

Traditional Fondue

In Switzerland, fondue is considered an art form. This version from the “Cheese Primer,” by Steven Jenkins (Workman, 1996) is a traditional Swiss recipe, although the mixture of cheeses can vary. Good Swiss Gruyere and Emmental are recommended, but you can skip the Appenzeller (ungodly expensive at $18 a pound) and use more of the other cheeses instead. If you don’t have a fondue pot (the craze faded about 30 years ago in the U.S.) you can improvise with a regular pot.

1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated Gruyere

1-1.2 cups (6 ounces) grated Emmental

1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Appenzeller

2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch or all-purpose flour

1 clove garlic, halved

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Splash of kirsch (cherry liqueur)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pinch of nutmeg

Crusty bread cut into large cubes

In a medium-size bowl, combine the cheeses and toss with the cornstarch.

Rub the inside of a fondue pot with the garlic halves. Add the wine and heat over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Stir in the lemon juice and kirsch.

Add the cheese a handful at a time to the wine mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Wait for each portion of cheese to melt before adding the next. Continue stirring until the cheese is completely melted, bubbling gently, and has the appearance of a light creamy sauce. Season to taste with pepper and nutmeg.

Remove the pot from the heat and place over a portable burner set on the table. Adjust the burner flame so the fondue continues to bubble gently. Swirl the bread cubes in the cheese mixture and pop them into your mouth.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (without bread): 471 calories, 30 grams fat (58 percent fat calories), 29 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrate, 100 milligrams cholesterol, 377 milligrams sodium.

Extraordinary Grilled Cheese

Leave it to the French to come up with a better way of making grilled cheese sandwiches. This recipe from the “French Farmhouse Cookbook,” by Susan Herrmann Loomis (Workman, 1996) comes from the mountains of Jura, near the Swiss border.

2 large eggs

1 cup fruity white wine, such as riesling

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 long slices sourdough bread, cut in half crosswise

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil

2 cups grated Gruyere or Comte cheese

1/2 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves

Whisk together the eggs, wine, a generous amount of salt and a touch of pepper in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish that’s large enough to hold the bread slices in 1 layer. Place the bread slices in the dish and leave them there for several minutes so they become thoroughly soaked with the mixture (without falling apart). Turn the slices over, if necessary, so they evenly soak up the mixture.

Heat the butter and oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 3 slices of the bread. Top each slice with 1/3 of the grated cheese, and then with a slice of the remaining bread.

Cook on one side until the bread is golden and the cheese is half-melted, about 3-1/2 minutes (adjust the heat as needed so the bread turns a lovely golden color). Turn and cook on the other side until the bread is golden and the cheese is fully melted, an additional 3-1/2 minutes.

Meanwhile, mince the parsley.

Remove the sandwiches from the skillet and cut them crosswise into 1-inch wide strips. Arrange them on a warmed platter and sprinkle with minced parsley.

Yield: 4 to 6 appetizer servings.

Nutrition information per each of 4 servings: 442 calories, 27.7 grams fat (56 percent fat calories), 23 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrate, 160 milligrams cholesterol, 376 milligrams sodium.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo