According to experts, the number of various cheeses exceeds 2,500 thousand types. Rennet, fermented milk and melted, as well as semi-solid and solid are the groups into which this beloved product in the country is usually divided.
Cheese is obtained from cow, sheep, goat, or even more exotic for the middle strip of buffalo, horse and camel milk. "Rossiyskiy", "Poshekhonskiy", "Smetankovy", Maasdam, Gouda, Oltermani - the shelves of shops and hypermarkets are bursting with products that provide a choice for every taste and budget. Sometimes it is difficult to understand this rich variety and get a correct idea of the relationship between the quality and price of cheese, determined by a combination of various factors.
Soft cheeses
One of the most expensive types can rightfully be attributed to the so-called soft cheeses, the presence of mold is possible, but not at all an obligatory element for products of this level common in France and the rest of Europe. Soft cheeses made from classic cow's milk include
- Bree, - the most tender Camembert, - Cambotsolu, endowed with a noble mold with a blue color, - spicy Dorblu, - specific cheese Gorgonzola.
The price can be increased by specific additives such as various mushrooms, peppers and other spices and herbs.
A particularly expensive category of cheeses includes cheeses made from sheep's milk, grown in the French regions and with a bright sweetish taste and aroma, an example of such a cheese is Roquefort, beloved in the country.
Semi-solid
Less expensive, often found in retail, are semi-hard cheeses with a neutral taste and unobtrusive odors. These include the spicy Masdam, the cost of which directly depends on the aging of the product, the Norwegian Jarlsberg, the Swiss Emmental, inexpensive and therefore unpretentious in terms of taste characteristics Tilsiter, the price of which varies from the ripening period, Goudou and Edam.
Cheeses based on the more valuable and scarce goat's milk are more of a little rather than a widely available product category.
Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian products, which sometimes do not differ in exquisite quality and taste and, as a rule, cannot compete with their foreign counterparts, are more likely to be consumer products.
When choosing a good semi-hard cheese, you should pay attention to the specific features of this dairy product, which are not always directly related to the price, such features include a rich creamy or yellowish color, density, the presence of holes, which are an indicator of the aging required for cheese. Hard cheeses with a pleasant taste, dense texture and made from cow goat and sheep milk, such as Chedr and Parmesan, are classified as less affordable and expensive products due to the recipe and aging time.
Pickled and processed cheeses
A special subgroup is made up of brine cheeses, which are distinguished by their pale color and soft texture, their price may vary depending on the manufacturer, be it Greece, Italy or Russia. Sausage and processed cheeses stand apart, which have a rather dubious composition and are endowed with an abundance of various additives and preservatives, their price is usually directly dependent on the recipe used and the composition of the product.
