Chef Anna Tobias shows the River Café cheese room and explains how to look for and serve perfectly ripe Italian cheese.
Featured here are two soft cheese: Scimudin and Brunet.
Scimudin
This cheese is called Scimudin which come from the Lombardia region. It is actually a mix of goat’s milk and cow’s milk cheese.
A good way of seeing if its ripe is whether you can feel if it’s quite springy in the middle (see gif above). Also, if you give it a push at the sides, you can almost see it moving in, and that’s a good indicator that it’s ready to open. Once you open a cheese, that’s it. You’ve made a decision and it won’t continue ripening. If you open a cheese too early, unfortunately there’s no turning back.
When you do open it, you will notice that it’s a really oozy, runny cheese. Much oozier than a brie. And it’s this beautiful white white color. It’s quite a mild cheese and quite unusual. Because it’s a mix of cow and goat, you still have that animal-ness of the goat yet it is still pretty mild. It’s a nice summer spring cheese.
Storing:
It’s best to store cheese not too cold, around 12 to 13 degrees. If you happen to have a larder, that’s great. If not, keep it in the fridge and take a day cloth and run it under some cold water. That will help mimic the hydration that it needs which should help it stay moist.
Before you serve the cheese, let it sit at room temperature for half an hour. That definitely helps to get the best flavor out of the cheese.
Brunet
This smaller, creamier cheese is called Brunet, and it’s from the Piedmonte region.
It’s a younger, fresher goat’s cheese which is also a white mold. And they come in these small round sizes. With this cheese, in terms of how long you want to let them sit, it’s really a matter of personal taste. Some people like them on the chalkier side. Some people like to leave them for about two weeks when they get creamier along the top and edge.
If it’s the first time you’re trying it, perhaps leave it for a week. If you really like that, then play around with how long you leave it for. If you prefer it less creamy, then eat it when you buy it. It is quite strong, but it’s not too overpowering.
Storing
For this small goat’s cheese, it’s really easy to store. Keep it in the fridge. They can stay cold quite happily. In fact, if they get too warm, they start running everywhere.
With both cheese, serve them simply with breadsticks or crackers.
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