Hard Cheese

About

Hard cheese covers varieties like Cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Manchego, Comté, Gruyère and pecorino, with flavor shaped by milk type and quality, recipe, microflora and aging. Most hard cheeses combine sweet, sour and salty notes, developing savory umami crystals with age; their fat content and complexity make them satisfying alone and effective at enhancing other foods. Bitter partners like red wine, raw onion, watercress and walnuts balance the richness, while sweet partners like dried fruit or cooked tomato and onion bring out its savory side. Common tasting notes include creamy, buttery, coconut, caramel, fruity, sulfurous, roasted and nutty.

Pairs well with hard cheese

• EaPotatoCheese transforms potato across a number of classic dishes: French aligot, in which mashed potato is beaten with Laguiole cheese, garlic,…
• CiOrangeCheese pairs readily with many fruits, and though Cheddar with marmalade sounds unusual, a rich, salty, mature Cheddar balances well…
• FrTomatoTomato and cheese together give bread crust or pasta an umami-rich lift, though the quality of both ingredients matters for the effect.
• WoAlmondAged Cheddars such as Keen's and Montgomery carry natural almond notes, and while walnut is the more traditional cheese pairing, almonds…
• FrAppleSharp cheese and apple, together with bread, is the backbone of the traditional ploughman's lunch, the apple's acidity cuts through the…
• EaMushroomMushrooms contain no salt of their own, so they need salty ingredients to bring out their flavor fully.
• MeBeefHard cheese has a savory, "brothy" flavor similar to beef stock, which is part of why many hard cheeses pair well with beef, as in a…
• MaShellfishA pairing that draws less controversy than fish and cheese generally.
• GrAniseMahón, a salty, lemony hard cheese from Menorca made with pasteurized cow's milk, is traditionally served in thin slices with fresh…
• MeChickenFirm, nutty, caramelized cheeses like Comté or Gruyère pair well with roast chicken, as in poulet au Comté, where chicken pieces are…
• BrBaconPig rearing and cheesemaking often work together, Parma ham pigs are partly fed on whey left over from Parmigiano-Reggiano production, and…
• GrChiliItalian pecorino con peperoncino is studded with chopped medium-hot dried red pepper; American jalapeño Jack works similarly and can be…
• SuOnionCheese and onion was the first flavored potato chip sold in the UK and Ireland.
• CrBananaComte, France's most popular cheese, ranges from notes of fresh hazelnut, dried apricot and caramel when young to walnut, chestnut,…
• SuCauliflowerCauliflower cheese works with various hard cheeses; a rich, buttery cheese with citrus and onion notes, like Double Gloucester, makes a…
• FrPineappleCheese and pineapple on sticks is often dismissed as dated party food, but the pairing has a real flavor basis: the pineapple-like…
• WoWalnutFresh "wet" walnuts, harvested before drying, have a milky flavor that complements strong cheeses like Parmesan and pecorino, echoing a…
• BrAnchovyAnchovy and hard cheese pair well in dishes like English "mock crab" sandwiches (grated cheese mixed with anchovy, mustard, and a little…
• GrPeaRisi e bisi, a Venetian rice-and-pea soup traditionally served to the Doge on St.
• SpNutmegNutmeg's crisp, complex flavor, a mix of pine, floral, citrus and peppery notes from a compound called myristicin, suits fatty foods like…
• FrPearA classic pairing celebrated in old French and Italian proverbs, which praise the match of pear and cheese while warning not to waste it…
• CrApricotOn Menorca and Majorca, the unpasteurized cow's-milk cheese Mahón was traditionally eaten with whichever fruit was in season as the cheese…
• SuAsparagusDespite elaborate superstitions about cooking asparagus, simply roasting it and topping with grated Parmesan, whose sulfurous character…
• FrGrapeGrape's generic fruitiness makes it a reliable cheeseboard partner, for instance alongside tangy, lemony Wensleydale and fruitcake.
• SpBasilPistou, the Nicoise cousin of Ligurian pesto, differs from the Italian original mainly by omitting pine nuts and sometimes substituting…
• FfFigThe consortium overseeing Parmigiano-Reggiano recommends dried fig, hazelnuts, walnuts and prunes as accompaniments for Parmesan aged…
• SpCloveFriese Nagelkaas, a Gouda-style cheese from Friesland, takes its name from the clove "nails" crushed and added to it along with a little…
• SpParsnipParsnip's sweetness pairs well with salty foods, especially Parmesan, classically, parboiled parsnip is tossed in flour and grated…
• MaWhite FishA contentious pairing, especially in Italian cooking, though not a new one, a Sicilian recipe combining fish and cheese dates back to…
• BeSageSage Derby, a pressed cow's-milk cheese studded with chopped sage, is milder and more delicate than plain Cheddar.