The biggest cheese myths debunked

‘I hate to dictate to people. I don’t like too many rules,” says Iain Mellis, a cheese monger of 40 years, with cheese shops bearing his name scattered across Scotland. Mellis has spent his life trying to make artisan cheese more accessible; the last thing he wants is to be so prescriptive that people are put off.

Yet the world of good cheese is already mired in misunderstandings that, at best, detract from its enjoyment and, at worst, result in its ruination. Cheese stored incorrectly is easily marred, while the mistaken beliefs that you need red wine, specialist knives or even a cheeseboard to enjoy it only reinforce cheese’s recherché reputation. As we enter the season of cheese – and the month during which we will buy (and eat) more cheese than in any other – it is worth debunking some of the more commonly held fictions regarding fromage.

Choosing your cheese

You can cook with cheap cheese 

“That is a false economy,” says Mellis. “Our cheese might be double the price [of supermarket varieties], but you’ll only need half the quantity.” If you are using a block of mild cheddar for a macaroni cheese, you will need an awful lot more than you would using, say, Montgomery’s cheddar – and you will probably ruin your sauce in the process. “It’ll make it oily and more likely to split.”

Pre-grated cheese is fine

Grated parmesan, mozzarella or cheddar, for example, are “a terrible addition to your recipes”, says Luca Dusi of the wine and cheese bar Passione Vino in east London. “Once grated, cheese will start oxidising” – meaning it also begins to lose flavour.

The older, the better 

The “most pernicious myth of all”, according to Dominic Coyte of Borough Cheese Company. “All cheeses have a peak period, during which they are their best, and then they decline. The art of the affineur – a person who ages cheese – is to recognise that peak.” A 48-month comté will be far more expensive than a 24-month comté, but less universally liked.

Storing cheeses

Wrap in clingfilm or keep in an airtight container

“Clingfilm is the worst environment for cheese, because it traps the moisture,” says Mellis. The same goes for a plastic container, says Jason Hinds, the director at Neal’s Yard Dairy. “It makes it humid and precipitates the growth of white surface mould.” This mould is edible – but it will taint the taste and the appearance of the cheese, and is easily avoided by using beeswax wraps (a favourite of Mellis), waxed paper or even baking paper. “Anything that allows you to wrap it entirely and snugly; not so tight that the cheese can’t breathe, but not so loose the cheese dries out.”

You can store it in the fridge door (the space often marked “dairy”)

“The fridge is an exceptionally dry environment – and the door is particularly dry,” says Hinds. Ideally, you should avoid the fridge entirely and go for a cellar or larder, says Mellis – but not everyone has that option. If a fridge is your most hygienic choice, Hinds recommends the salad drawer. “It’s cool enough to stop the cheese from moulding up, but it’s separated from the rest of the fridge and is gently humid, so the cheese won’t dry out.”

If it goes mouldy, it’s bad

Cheese – good cheese – is a living product. If given a chance, it will develop mould – but that mould is rarely, if ever, bad for you. “Like the rind, it will penetrate in a tiny way and may change the taste of the cheese very slightly,” says Mellis, “but it’s not dangerous.” Indeed, a streak of blue mould in a hard cheese like a cheddar is considered a good thing, adding complexity and depth. White mould should be cut off, says Hinds, simply because it will taint the flavour. Likewise brown and grey moulds are also best sliced off, but for taste reasons rather than health.

How to serve

The temperature of your room is “room temperature”

“The biggest mistake you can make is eating cheese straight from the fridge,” says Em Brightman, the head chef at Angela Hartnett’s London restaurant Murano – but it is also worth remembering that “room temperature” in cheese terms “means 14C to 18C. If the room is hotter than that, then that’s not desirable, either. You don’t want the cheese to be glistening,” she says. Keep cheese somewhere out of the way of a heat source “until it is lukewarm to the touch and the texture slightly yielding”.

You need specialist cheese knives

“I have a couple of cheese knives, but I don’t put them out,” says Mellis. “I tend to serve cheese with paring knives, which are sharp and small.” The most important thing is that the knife is thin. The wider the blade, the more you’ll break up the cheese. That doesn’t mean splashing out on specialist – and often overpriced – equipment, adds Hinds. “The kind of knives you use for prepping fruit and vegetables are usually thin enough.”

And a cheese board

While lovely to look at, they can leave cheese at the mercy of guests, who might not appreciate the nuances of cutting cheeses or the order in which to eat them. “Be sure to eat your way from the mildest cheese to the strongest in flavour,” advises Brightman. “I prefer to serve individual plates of cheese, with five or six servings of a similar size and with the rind,” says Hinds.

How to eat

Rinds are inedible 

With the obvious exception of rinds that are made of cloth, wax or plastic, most rinds are edible – even on hard cheeses. “It has its own flavour, and sometimes the best flavours, as the result of mould ripening,” says Hinds. “One of the cheeses I love the most is taleggio, a soft, creamy, pungent cheese,” Dusi tells me. “I hate seeing people removing, with difficulty, the crust, which adds to the final taste.”

Red wine is the best pairing 

“The truth is, the tannins in red wine can seriously clash with many cheeses,” says Alan Watson, the head cheesemonger at Funk in London. “I would recommend searching for more sparkling whites and even orange wines.” The natural acidity of white wine is perfect for fresh and crumbly cheese – “even blue cheeses, with their sharp, threaded veins, work well with white wines”, argues Patricia Michaelson, the founder of La Fromagerie, “Chardonnay, with its buttery richness, is perfect with hard cheeses such as gruyère and Lincolnshire Poacher.”