Five cheeses – Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Provolone and Gruyere – are available in four smoked flavour profiles:
• Hickory – the king of smoking woods, this gives a sweet to string smoked flavour
• Cherry – the most popular wood for smoking and often considered to be the best, this gives a sweet, mild flavour that goes with most foods
• Oak – this gives a strong, but not overpowering flavour that tastes good with beef and lamb
• Apple – subtler in flavour, apple wood gives the cheese a sweetness and imparts a fruity smoked flavour
Since the cheese is 100% natural, and not extruded as with some smoked cheese, it is available in a number of formats: grated, shredded and batons, ribbons and shaved, crumbed and diced. The different formats make it suitable for use in any number of product applications from Hickory Smoked Monterey Jack in tex mex and New York deli style food to Smoked Mozzarella in Calzone and pasta and Hickory Smoked Gruyere with red fruits, relishes and potato gratin.
These new all natural cheeses will enable food manufacturers to make ‘clean label’ declarations, since from 2013 all smoke flavouring must be declared, with many retail multiples now restricting the use of liquid smoke in own brand products.
Richard Thorpe, Development Director at The Cheese Warehouse said: “Although originally developed as a way to cure and preserve cheeses, food smoking is a cooking technique which is undergoing a big food revival because of the depth of flavour that can be created. The Cheese Warehouse has always been at the forefront of developing new and innovative food solutions in tune with current consumer tastes and this all natural smoked cheese is an ideal and solution.”
The Cheese Warehouse Smoked Cheeses are available to order with a 6week shelf-life and a minimum order of 200kg.
