Just like wine, cheese is a Living" food,
and so requires special attention when you are buying it.

Now a days supermarkets offer a wide selection of cheese, both domestic and imported. Supermarket cheese is usually prepackaged, which means you'll have to judge the cheese not by taste but by how it looks and feels.

If you are buying cheese for a particular recipe or to serve at a wine and cheese function, a cheese shop is your best bet for several reasons. Here you'll find a wider range of the best and tastiest cheeses available. Cheese proprietors are educated about their products and will share information on each cheese, its maker and its storage requirements. Most will also offer serving suggestions, recommend brands or types, answer questions and keep you abreast of incoming products.

Above all, you can sample cheese at a cheese shop. This helps you determine the quality and character. Every cheese has its own distinctive character that results, in part, from how long it has been ripened. As a cheese ripens it moves through several stages, from mild to strong or from crumbly to soft and sensuous. Do you like a young Brie with a mild mushroom flavour? Or do you prefer a ripened version that offers more depth of flavor?
Buy only as much cheese as you need and eat it within a day or so. Here are a few buying tips to help you in your selection:

Fresh Cheese:
When buying cottage, Quark or ricotta cheeses, check the expiry date and buy as fresh as possible. They should have a sweet aroma, light color and be moist but not sloppy.

Pasta Filata Cheeses:
Fresh pasta filata cheeses (mozzarella) are white and moist with an elastic-like texture. Cheese that is too old has a tough texture. A rancid smell is a sign of spoilage.

Surface-Ripened Soft Cheese:
Brie, Camembert and double-cream and triple-cream Brie have a white, bloomy rind, are soft to the touch and have a mild mushroom aroma. If hard and bland, the cheese may be unripe Ned. In this case, leave it; wrapped, at room temperature for a couple of hours. (A hard texture or discoloration may also mean the cheese was improperly wrapped and has dried out.) If you buy ripened Brie, plan to eat it within a day. An ammonia odour and bitter taste indicate over-ripening.

Rind Cheese:
Besides the bloomy rind cheeses, there are three types of rinds or coatings: the washed rind, the natural rind and waxed. Some cheeses are washed with brine or wine during the ripening process to form a rind. Other cheeses are not washed but are simply brushed to slow the ripening process and allow the cheese to develop a natural rind. Parmesan has a natural rind and is ripened slowly. On these cheeses, cracked or swollen rind could be a sign of improper ripening, bitterness or spoilage. Dried-out Parmesan and Romano may also have a grainy texture, rancid odor or bitter taste. Lastly, waxed cheeses have to be judged according to their interior. (The wax coating may look enticing, even though the rind beneath it is cracked.) So buy wedges of waxed cheese. The interior should be a consistent color throughout.

Firm Cheeses:
Cheddar is only one of the many firm cheeses available. When choosing these varieties, look for a consistency of color. A deepened color near the edges could indicate the cheese has dried out. Cracks and white spots are ~ also signs of improper ripening, bitterness or spoilage.

Hard Cheese:
Romano is judged according to its color. Discoloring or white spots could mean the cheese has a strong or more intense, piquant taste - a flavor you may or may not like.

Blue-Veined Cheeses:
Blue cheeses are in a class of their own, some creamy, others crumbly. All should have a zesty but not sharp smell and be well marbled with blue. A sticky wrapper, rancid color or streaks of black are signs of over-aging or poor quality.

Goat Cheese:
Fresh goat cheese has a fresh aroma and creamy consistency. Bloomy-rind Brie made from goat's milk should be subtle to the touch. A firm interior could mean the cheese is under-ripe. An ammonia odor, yellow color or bitter taste may be a sign of spoilage. Those packed in their whey (such as feta) should be firm enough to cut and have a clear whey. A milky whey and a soft texture probably mean the cheese is of poor quality.

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