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| Gremolata Regulars | See Andy's latest article on cheese (and all his previous articles) by clicking here
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| The Skinny on Cheese Fat Of all the things that depart our diets in the new year, after the euphoric indulgences of the holidays, foods containing fat are always first to go. And cheese is usually a prime suspect. That is, of course, near and dear to my heart. I am the first to admit that I am a bit of a food snob so please pardon me while I get on my soap box. I would rather not eat any cheese at all than submit myself to the rubbery indifference of low fat cheese. So for those of you who agree with me… I have some alternatives and some information to see you though the month of January. There is one truly low fat cheese (probably by coincidence) that is exceptional and that is St. John’s goat cheese made by the Portuguese Cheese Company here in Toronto. Portuguese cheeses are not much talked about and this is a great shame for the cheese eating public. I have heard (but not tried) that Portugal has an equal breath of cheeses as Spain and we are only now starting to learn about the amazing and complex cheeses of Spain. I digress. St. John’s is a traditional cheese of Portugal and is enjoyed on an almost daily basis – it can be found in both cow or goat milk versions. PCC’s St John Goat has only 10% fat while the cow has 25% fat. It is traditionally eaten on toast for breakfast but is also delicious served drizzled with olive oil, with fruits, used instead of ricotta, or drizzled with maple syrup or jelly as a dessert. The texture is soft like a custard and it has a delicious very mild milky flavour with just a hint of goaty notes. The cheese naturally weeps, so if you find quite a bit of whey in the container, don’t be dissuaded. If you are in a Portuguese part of town you may find it in your local store or look for it at the IGA at 840 Dupont (at Shaw). Some Fortinos also carry this cheese. An alternate route is to declare war on the type of fat. Tournevent – one of Quebec’s most well know goat cheese producers has recently introduced Omega Cheese. The idea here is that the Monounsaturated fat of the flax seeds counteract the saturated animal fat of the goat cheese. This is a goat type cheddar with added flax seeds and flax oil. The idea may sound a bit extreme, and I am not sure how it works nutritionally, but practically the cheese is quite pretty and delicious. The cheese is a pale creamy colour, flecked with flax seeds and the cheese has a deep nutty flavour. It is really quite addictive. Look for Omega cheese at Cheese Magic at 182 Baldwin St. in the Kensington Market. My last suggestions revolve around how you perceive cheese. Many people think of creamy, oozing cheese as having very high fat content – which is not always true. Creaminess is a function of both fat content and humidity. Let’s take a single cream Brie for example. The fat content is generally around 23-24%. Now, to put that in perspective, cheddar is usually between 32-34%. Suddenly, brie seems like a much better lower fat choice. In fact, most of the creamy oozing cheeses that I know are in the 23-27% fat range, the big exception being Triple cream bries at 37-38%. These softer cheeses all have a higher moisture content which in combination with the fat content yield the creamy texture. So look for creamy cheeses and then investigate the M.F.% on the label. Canadians measure measure milk fat differently than most of the rest of the world. As a result Canadian cheeses look like they have a lower fat content (this is not pulling one over on the public but a function of definitions). For example Du Village Triple Cream Brie, made in Quebec, has a M.F. of 38% and Explorateur, made in France, and also a triple cream brie, has a M.G. of 75%. In reality their fat content is the very similar, the difference in numbers is due to the measuring system. If you want to have a better idea of the fat content of a European cheese- to compare to a Canadian cheese that you know – divide the fat content number by 2 and your will have a rough comparison. So, select your cheeses wisely, eat them in moderation, but most of all, enjoy your cheeses when you eat them. You can always have an extra helping of oatmeal or spinach tomorrow. Here are a few examples to try: Doux Peche 27% – available at the Cheese Boutique Sir Laurier 27% - available at Whole Foods, Cheese Boutique and some Loblaws Mi-Carem 23% - available at Whole Foods Andy Shay: Andy Shay is a food devotee. After graduating from the Cornell Hotel School, Andy managed gourmet food stores in Manhattan and Sydney Australia. He moved to Toronto in 1995 and founded Shay Gourmet with his wife Meredith Johnson. For the past year, Andy has been a cheese consultant helping Quebec and Ontario artisan cheese producers access the market in Ontario. Currently he teaches at Centennial College, is the busy father of Max and Simon and delights customers with monthly cheese boxes from Shay Cheese. |
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