Americans are catching on to one of the best of Europe’s traditions: serving a cheese course after a meal. Providing a variety of tasty cheeses tops off a great roast beef or halibut, or nearly any main course.

Add to its enjoyment by making a visually appealing display, and labeling the choices. Or, provide some mystery and take the opportunity to let your guests try some and ask you about each one in turn. Show off your cheese education! Either way, be sure to offer a few different samples to satisfy every palette.

Be sure to serve at room temperature, to bring out all the flavor of a fine cheese. For milder cheeses, that will require taking it out of the refrigerator about half an hour ahead. For harder cheeses it may take up to an hour.

Don’t put them out too early, though. Cheeses can dry rapidly, and everyone may just want to skip the main course and head straight for the cheese! Leave the cheese wrapped or on a glass serving plate covered by a glass jar while it warms. Seeing the cheese is a great appetite enhancer.

You can provide a slab or wheel or tub of softer cheeses that spread delightfully on a fine cracker or small piece of bread. For harder cheeses, they should be sliced for putting onto bread, or cut into small chunks for individual sampling. Array a set of cheese knives to make things easy for your guests and to keep fingers from straying onto uneaten pieces. Be sure to have some cheese stickers in the center or nearby to make individual selection easy.

You can present the cheese on a nice wooden serving platter, surrounded by small slices of bread or little crackers. Or, you can array them in geometric patterns on the glass serving plate. You’ll want a flat, sturdy surface whether marble, wood or glass as your design dictates. Knives should be sharp, but needn’t be razor sharp. It’s cheese, not tomatoes.

Separating the cheeses may be helpful for certain types. Cheese absorbs odors readily and you don’t want a Limburger or even an extra sharp cheddar to overpower the more subtle ones. Laying them out on a large marble slab will do the trick, or you can arrange them in a wooden holding dish with separate compartments. But you’ll still need to keep those extra aromatic ones a couple of feet away.

A separate knife for each type of cheese is best. That keeps each cheese isolated. If guests want to mix and match, their own palettes are the best place to do that. Not a bad idea, actually! Some cheeses work very well as partners.

A two ounce serving per person is about right. It’s not a question of being stingy. Your guests are worth your best. But cheese can be high in fat and sodium and moderation is best. Besides, you still have that great dessert waiting!

Taste is unquestionably an individual affair. Some will rave over the flavor of a Limburger, while others won’t touch Brie. But no matter your preference in type of cheese, there are certain factors that always should be taken into account.

First, prepare your senses to make a good judgment. Before smelling or sampling a cheese, try to optimize conditions. Make sure your tongue and nose are ready. How? Avoid smoking for at least an hour before testing. Be a little hungry, but not excessively. Avoid heavy meals before choosing a cheese. Of course, your nose and tongue should be at peak capacity, so avoid making judgments when you’re ill.

Second, avoid distractions. No, not the sort caused by noisy traffic, cell phone calls or children running through the store. More subtle ones. Don’t use hair spray or strong cologne shortly before picking out a cheese. Avoid other odors such as those from onions, chili or other foods with pungent aromas.

Third, isolate the cheese. Don’t try to smell or taste an extra sharp cheddar right next to an Emmentaler. Cheeses absorb odors from anything nearby. A fine cheese shop will help you by keeping strong cheeses separate and well wrapped. Shop accordingly.

Fourth, don’t judge all cheeses by the exact same criteria. Certain basic factors should be common. But each cheese type has a distinctive flavor profile, texture and consistency and so on. A semi-soft Muenster won’t behave the same as a semi-hard Feta.

In fact, use the individual characteristics as criteria. Each cheese should follow its own standards. A Brie that has become crumbly, quite unlike its gooey nature when young, is signaling deviation from perfection. A Parmesan that is soft has been altered by external conditions, and generally in a way not to its advantage.

As for general criteria, some are obvious.

Every cheese considered should be fresh, in the ordinary sense. ‘Fresh’ cheese is a category and is one that is aged for a short time and intended to be eaten shortly afterwards. Ricotta is a good example. But even a 12 month old cheddar should not have hard spots or certain molds. In that sense, even a year-old cheese should be fresh.

Some mold, for example in blue-veined cheeses such as a Stilton or Gorgonzola, is deliberately introduced. That’s what gives those cheeses their particular identity. In such cases, the veining is the result of the introduction of a certain species of penicillum spore. But others represent simple spoilage.

Other type-specific qualities apply. A Brie should be moist, while you should expect an Italian Grana to be brittle and hard. If the characteristics have been reversed, you know something has affected the cheese in a negative way.

Let your nose and tongue be your guide. After all, the most important criteria of all in judging a cheese is whether you enjoy it!

Cheese fans all over the world love this food for its taste and texture, appreciating the huge number of varieties from cheddar to Gouda. However, many cheese connoisseurs are unaware of many of the interesting cheese facts that accompany their favorite food. They enjoy the flavor and fullness of this food, without appreciating the cheese’s rich history or the work and time that goes into the production process. One valuable source of information for cheese facts for the various types and brands is the Internet. Company websites for different cheeses often include interesting information and tidbits that they think will interest their customers.

Different companies, while using the same basic techniques, may vary widely in their exact methods of production. The machinery, equipment, and ingredients each company uses affect the quality and consistency of each of the cheeses that is produced. Much of this information is available on the Internet, but an alternate method of research would be to call or write to the company directly to request more information. A brochure for the brand may contain interesting cheese facts designed to entertain and inform the customer.

Some Interesting Info-Bites

Companies have found that informed customers are likely to be more loyal to a particular brand, which explains the need to have informative literature available. Cheese facts included in this informative cheese literature may include the fact that female cows that produce the milk for a particular type of cheese are born with horns. The horns are removed from the female cows to prevent injury. As cows travel and graze in herds, the risk of injury is simply too much of a liability to farmers who depend on them for income though milk and cheese production

Not everyone wants to look that deeply into the production end of cheese, however. Many simply enjoy learning about the cultural history of their favorite dairy product, delving into the past to uncover how cheese was previously used, and how it came into its current popularity. Therefore, for those who prefer a more historical perspective with their cheese facts, there are plenty of informational bits as well. For example, most people don’t know that in sixteenth century Denmark, cheese was often used as currency. In fact, parishioners paid their church taxes with cheese and other foodstuffs. Rather than earn money to buy food, this method is more akin to earning food directly.

Cheese facts can be informative and entertaining, but they can also offer a brief glimpse into the history of many cultures. Do you know where your cheese came from? Take some time to learn more about this dairy staple today!