I'm dashing through the supermarket on a hot summer's day, so it's a relief to hit the chiller section. I pause to catch my breath and admire the beautiful, fresh, soft white cheeses sitting there patiently waiting for me to do something interesting with them.
Soft white cheeses, such as creme fraiche or mascarpone, have a relatively short shelf life and are best eaten a few days after purchasing.
They have a much sharper, sweeter flavour than sour cream and cream cheese, with a rich creamy mouth feel, which means they lend themselves nicely to replacing the good old dollop of whipped cream.
The simplest of these cheeses is Normandy creme fraiche, a soured cream containing 28 per cent milk fat soured with a bacterial culture, but less sour and thicker than sour cream.
It loves to be paired with strawberries dusted with icing sugar.
Next out of the block, is sexy Italian mascarpone which, in fact, isn't really cheese at all, but rather the result of cream skimmed from milk in the production of parmesan.
I adore it in tiramisu or a simple trifle layered with raspberries, raspberry coulis and white chocolate.
If you want a fresh, white cheese you can make at home, try labneh, a Lebanese cheese.
In the refrigerator overnight, hang 950ml of yoghurt in muslin cloth tied with string with a bowl underneath to catch the whey as it separates and drips out.
Discard the whey and inside the muslin you will have a ball of thick yoghurt cheese. It is delicious when blended with a cup of feta.
Quark, however, is a cheese that requires a little more introduction. Originally from Germany it has a mild tangy flavour that pairs well with other foods and is rennet free, so is great for vegetarian and kosher cooking.
In central Europe it is made into almond-laden cheesecake, blended with sundried tomatoes and spread on crusty sourdough bread.
But the star of the soft white fresh cheese family is ricotta. It's low in fat compared to other cheeses - usually between 4 and 10 per cent - and low in salt.
Ricotta is made from the whey drained during the production of mozzarella and provolone, and is often made from sheep milk compacted in rounds and cut with a knife. It does yellow and deteriorate reasonably quickly, but can be frozen.
For a stunning breakfast, try beating 400g of ricotta with two size 5 eggs, fresh herbs and roasted garlic, bake it in a non-stick loaf tin in a water bath; perfect with roasted tomatoes, basil and shredded ham.
This week, I want to introduce two of my favourite cheese recipes. While working in Sydney, I had stumbled across these brilliant little breakfast pancakes called ricotta hotcakes, and a wonderful dessert where I turn the tiramisu into an Italian icecream made at home with ease. Enjoy.
Say cheese (+recipes)
Photo / Ian Jones
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