ONWARD, CHEESELINGS

Now that the carrot has met it's fate, let the Cheesepedition proceed!

Types of Cheese
There is no one universal classification system for classifying cheese. There are too many different cheeses from too many different countries full of too many different people with too many different opinions. But most people would be somewhat familiar with the following:

Hard cheeses (cheddar, parmesan, Romano...)
Soft cheeses (Brie, camembert...)
Semi-hard/soft cheeses (edam, haloumi, Jarlsberg...)
Unripened cheeses (cream cheese, cottage cheese, marscarpone, mozzarella, ricotta...)
Blue cheeses (Gorgonzola, Blue Castello...)
Goat's cheeses (chevre...)


Cheese Facts
The guidebook gives a bunch of technical whatnot and then moves onto some "Cheese Facts":

• A 10-year old toasted cheese sandwich said to bear the face of the Virgin Mary sold for US$28, 000 on eBay. How the sandwich lasted for 10 years, I do not know.

• A Memphis woman was charged with four counts of attempted murder when she mistook a block cheese for a lump of cocaine and planned to murder four people in order to steal it.

• In France, Epoisses cheese is banned from buses and trains because of its overpowering aroma. Note: tropical fruit the durian is banned in many hotels and airlines in South-East Asia. Apparently it smells like a cross between mouldy socks and vomit. And apparently people eat it.

• A 'Cheese Roll' is held annually at Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, England. This event, celebrated for centuries and heralding the return of Spring, entails competitors chasing a giant cheese wheel down a steep hill. The winner takes home a 9 pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. I saw footage of this on the news once on a slow news day. It looks painful.

• In the UK the Stilton Cheesemaker's Association has launched a perfume which recreates the signature smell of Stilton blue cheese. The Association claims the perfume "recreates the earthy and fruity aroma" of the cheese. Mmmm, seductive...