There is a saying that goes “age doesn’t matter, unless you’re cheese.” .” But besides the humor in it, there is also a certain truth behind the joke. . Actually, aging in cheese (or ripening) is the most important part of making cheese.

Cheese is placed in particularly controlled conditions, letting them develop the look, the texture, the flavor, and even the aroma properties that make them different from other cheeses. With proper ripening, the bloom blossoms on Camembert, the holes magically become into Swiss, and the veins transform into 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. In the end, these processes enrich the texture of the cheese as well as intensify its flavor.

Usually, cheeses are aged between two weeks to two yeas, sometimes for several years more.In principle, the longer the cheese is aged, the firmer, sharper and more distinctive its taste and 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. Some cheeses are eaten fresh right away and not ripened at all, just like the ricotta, cream, and cottage cheeses.

However, some cheeses are ripened mid-range often termed as semi-aged cheese for about 5 to 10 weeks. And one of the greatest tasting semi aged in the market today is the Bucheron Soignon cheese.

Bucheron Cheese is a goat’s milk cheese, a native produce 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. Its soft, creamy center has almost the same texture of ordinary chevre (goat cheese), but Bucheron is far from ordinary.

What makes Bucheron unique aside from its gooey and creamy taste is that it is made in short logs and aged before it is cut into much smaller rounds. Surrounding its creamy center is a ring of a much harder, tangier cheese that tickles your taste buds with a pretty sharpness and complexity that will surely out your typical chevre to shame.

The Bucheron cheese has a very interesting characteristic it has a layer of gooey cheese around the large chalky core, plus a thin bloomy layer of mold like that of brie cheese thanks to its youth. Softly ripened cheeses age from the outside in, that is why they have an interesting center.

Thanks to the natural magic of mold, you get two cheeses in one block: a creamy, mushroomy center with a dry and clay-like and mildly tangy fresh goat milk cheese at the crust. Go ahead and try Bucheron cheese today! Try the Bucheron cheese toady and sink slowly into heaven!

Find out more about Bucheron Cheese.

Tags: cheese, cooking, desserts, dining, food

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