There is a saying that goes “age doesn’t matter, unless you’re cheese.” Beyond its attempt to be funny, there is actually a certain truth behind such saying. . Actually, aging in cheese (or ripening) is the most important part of making cheese.

Cheese are laid to rest in particularly controlled situations where they are allowed to develop the look, the texture, the flavor, as well as the aroma properties that make them unique. With aging, the bloom blossoms on Camembert, the holes magically turns into Swiss, and the veins burst through Gorgonzola.

As a cheese ripens, microbes and enzymes develop inside, breaking down the proteins and the milk fat into several complex combinations of amino acids, amines and fatty acids. Thus creating a cheese with a rich texture and an intense flavor.

In order to have their own unique characteristics, most cheeses are aged between the periods of two weeks to two or more years. Therefore, the longer the cheese is aged, the firmer, sharper and more distinctive its texture becomes.

The Stravecchio Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for instance is aged for a year to three years, that is why it has a nutty-fruity taste and a hard, gritty texture.The mildest cheeses such as ricotta, and cream and cottage, are eaten fresh right away and are not ripened at all.

However, there are some cheeses that are ripened halfway through these cheeses are called semi-aged cheese for only about 5 to 10 weeks only. And one of the greatest tasting semi aged in the market today is the Bucheron Soignon cheese.

Bucheron is made from pure goat’s milk and is a native delicacy of Loire Valley in France. is a very favorite ingredient for salads and sandwiches because of its rich taste and is widely available as well. It has a soft, creamy center almost the same in texture to a typical chevre (goat’s cheese), but typical this cheese is not.

One unique feature of the Bucheron cheese is its packaging it is made in short logs and aged before it is cut into smaller rounds. Around its creamy center is a ring of a harder and tangier cheese that will tickle you taste buds with a unique sharpness and complexity, absent in typical chevre.

Its interesting characteristic the layer of gooey cheese around the large chalky core and a thin bloomy layer of mold similar to brie cheese is due to its youth. This is because softly ripened cheeses are aged from the outside in, thus the interesting center of the Bucheron.

With Bucheron cheese, you can enjoy two cheeses in one block: a creamy, mushroomy center plus a dry and clay-like tangy fresh goat milk cheese around it. It tastes perfectly with Bordeaux’s or any other dry. Try the Bucheron cheese toady and sink slowly into heaven!

Learn more about Bucheron Cheese.

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