Smoked cheese is a type of cheese that is prepared by smoking cheese (most commonly Emmental or Cheddar) to render a different flavor. It is essential for every self respecting cheese lover to know the different ways of eating smoked cheese. In fact, relishing a piece of perfectly smoked cheese is considered as one of the most sublime epicurean pleasures by most cheese connoisseurs.

If you are still a newbie in the world of smoked cheese here are a few details that will guide to into becoming a pro. Most smoked cheeses are processed and are given the shapes of traditional sausages. There are three ways of smoking cheese - hot smoking, cold smoking, and curing. Various ingredients from the simple caraway seeds to a texture vegetable protein having a ham-like taste can be used to render flavor to the cheese.

Tips To Eating Smoked Cheese

Smoked cheese come in various different forms. Some popular varieties include Rauchkäse, Smoked Applewood, Gruyere, Smoked Gouda, Scamorza and Smoked Cheddar. Cheese lovers know that each of the cheese should be eaten in a different way. Here is a sneak peek at the different ways of eating smoked cheese: 

Eat As Appetizer

Smoke cheese with seasonings of your choice and eat as an appetizer. Rich and creamy, these can be helpful to have a lighter meal later on.

Pair With Wine

Wine and cheese pairings are very well known. You can eat smoked Gouda cheese with a full bodied, complex red wine like Merlot. Smoked Gouda is good when eaten with Chardonnay. In general, you can use fruit wine while eating smoked cheese.

Serve With Crackers

The combination of crackers and smoked cheeses is really marvelous. You can include a fruit wine to give an elegant touch. It is preferable to sue cracker wheat or sesame crackers when you serve smoked cheeses like Cheddar.

Eat With Tortillas or French Baguette

Try eating smoked cheese with French baguette slices or tortillas. You may even choose to eat the cheeses smoked with crudite.

Use In Salad

Smoke the cheese and serve with fresh, raw carrots, cucumber, celery sticks and red peppers in the form of a salad.

Prepare Dip

You prepare a dip of your choice by using these cheeses and season with mustard, pepper powder and salt and few drops of lemon juice and serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

Include In A Veggie Casserole

You can prepare veggie casseroles by combining fresh baby potatoes, broccoli, green peas or zucchini with cheeses smoked.

Make A Smoked Cheddar Omelet

It is a delicious combination. Instead of using butter or margarine, use smoked cheddar while preparing omelet. Use freshly ground pepper powder, cumin powder, cilantro leaves and salt as seasoning.

These are some of the classic ways of eating smoked cheese. My personal favorite among these is a combo of cheese smoked, oat crackers and Merlot. Give it a try and enjoy eating cheese!

Image Credit: vegandinners.blogspot.com