How can cheese can transform texture, flavour and the dining experience

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Cheese’s combination of fat, protein and moisture makes it an ideal ingredient in creating dishes that deliver multisensory impact:

  • Flavour carriers: The fat in cheese traps and intensifies aromatic compounds, making it an ideal base for infusions and pairings.

  • Textural manipulation: Proteins like casein allow for textures ranging from creamy to brittle, making cheese adaptable to multiple culinary applications.

  • Umami powerhouse: Aging enhances glutamates, giving cheeses like Parmesan their depth of flavour.

When paired with unexpected ingredients, cheese can be used to create harmonious yet surprising flavour combinations. Here are two examples:

  • Blue Cheese + Dark Chocolate + Smoked Salt: The pungency of blue cheese complements the bitterness of dark chocolate, with smoked salt adding an umami bridge. Use this in a mousse or as a garnish for a spiced tart.

  • Gruyère + Green Apple + Wasabi: Gruyère’s nutty sweetness pairs with tart apple and the nasal heat of wasabi, ideal for a modern amuse-bouche.

“Cheese’s inherent tang and umami make it a game-changing ingredient in desserts, balancing sweetness and adding complexity”

Adam Moore

Innovative Techniques for Savoury Cheese Applications

1. Cheese Distillation: Capturing Pure Essence

Tools like a rotary evaporator can be used to distill cheese and extract its volatile flavour compounds, resulting in a concentrated essence. This can be used in cheese-infused cocktails or delicate mist garnishes for salads or roasted vegetables.

2. Cheese Ash for Umami Bombs

Cold-smoke and dehydrate cheese to create an earthy, smoky powder. This ash can be sprinkled over roasted meats or even desserts for a flavour and textural contrast.

3. Liquid Cheese Spheres

Use spherification techniques to turn liquid cheese into caviar-like pearls. Examples include goat cheese spheres served with beetroot jam on a Sydney rock oyster, or aged cheddar pearls garnishing a hearty soup.

4. Crispy Cheese Innovations

Thin layers of grated cheese baked into edible lattices, baskets or spirals can serve as vessels for soups, salads, or even desserts. A Parmesan basket cradling a poached pear, parmesan rind crusts used as an alternative to pork crackling for a tasty bar snack, or gorgonzola crisps paired with honey-roasted nuts adds visual appeal and crunch.

Cheese in Desserts

Cheese’s inherent tang and umami make it a game-changing ingredient in desserts, balancing sweetness and adding complexity.

1. Cheese Caramel: A Sweet-Savoury Revelation

Combine the nutty depth of aged Parmesan or Gruyère with the toasty sweetness of caramel for a distinctive dessert sauce. Drizzle over baked apples, fold into semifreddo or pair with dark chocolate tarts for a bold flavour experience.

2. Reinvented Cheesecakes

Move beyond cream cheese to explore innovative bases:

  • Blue Cheese + Fig: Aged blue cheese brings tang to a fig-studded cheesecake, finished with a spiced port reduction.

  • Goat Cheese + Citrus: Chèvre’s earthy tang pairs beautifully with lemon zest and a lavender glaze.

3. Cheese Ice Cream: Frozen Elegance

Cheese ice cream is a bold way to reimagine frozen desserts:

  • Mascarpone + Lemon Curd: Light and creamy, with bright citrus notes.

  • Aged Cheddar + Spiced Apple: A twist on comforting, nostalgic flavours.

  • Blue Cheese + Burnt Honey: A sophisticated, savoury-sweet experience.

4. Cheese Meringues and Macarons

Cheese can enhance classic desserts like meringues and macarons:

  • Parmesan-infused meringues offer crunch with a savoury undertone.

  • Macaron fillings like mascarpone with white chocolate or blue cheese with fig jam challenge conventions.

Plating Cheese as Performance

Cheese’s versatility makes it ideal for memorable dining experiences:

  • Tableside Cheese Candle: Rendered cheese fat shaped into a candle that melts into a savoury dip for crusty bread, engaging multiple senses.

  • Cheese Snowfall: Frozen cheese grated over hot dishes melts instantly, creating a sensory contrast.

  • Interactive Cheese Skin: Thin sheets of melted cheese set into crisp layers which diners crack themselves over dishes adds texture and aroma.