What comes to our minds when we think of
cheese? “Tom and Jerry” is the most common answer and the famous cat-mouse
chase over possessing it. Most people also start salivating over the very
thought of cheese. A workshop on cheese conducted by Mr. Udaya Sankar, Faculty-Food and Beverage; shed light on the process of making traditional cheese.
Starting
with the selection of milk to the last step of packaging and storing the
cheese, everything was explained in detail. Many questions were
asked regarding the production process of cheese and whether we would
get to produce cheese on our own. In addition, even their
classification according to their texture and quality was highlighted.
Also, how could we forget wine when we
talk of cheese? Amazingly, we came to know that each cheese has a certain type
of wine which should be paired with it to enhance its natural flavor. In Europe, cheese and wine is considered as a course by itself. From Emental,
Brie, Cheddar, Parmesan to Camembert, all were described in great detail and
also about their countries of origin. It was like a virtual tour of Europe
while sitting in our classroom.
We also had a cheese
tasting session were we got to taste Feta, Emental, Cheddar, Gouda and Mascarpone.
To cleanse our palates, we had delicious grapes and crackers, a plethora of flavors bursting in our mouths. There were many different
types of reactions to some of the more extreme flavors which we are not used
to. However, by the end of it, we realized why cheese is considered as a meal
by itself; we all felt so full!
