By Georgie Woskett
CheeseFest is like Christmas for adults. It’s a chance to indulge without harbouring too much guilt. It is a festival, after all. To avoid the risk of being overwhelmed (like a kid with too many presents) when you arrive amongst all the wondrous cheese, allow us to highlight the top five must-knows before you go to CheeseFest 2015.
The basics
CheeseFest is run over three days commencing today (Friday 23 October) and ending Sunday 25 October. Firstly, it’s important to plan when you’ll attend CheeseFest as each glorious day will offer a slightly different timetable with varied marquee events. Ensure your ticket type will grant you access to your desired activity. Of course, you’ll be a happy little cheese camper with a picnic rug and general admission ticket, however, some of you might want to extend the cheese experience by trying something a little different, like the Mozzarella bar, for example. For the complete ticketing guide click here.
Know your cheese genres
Thanks to the professional advice from Udder Delight’s Brand Ambassador Ashley Dent, we will all be walking around Rymil Park with the knowledge of a cheese guru. Ashley helped us differentiate the myriad cheese types into four simple genres so we know a little something about what we are tasting.
White Moulds
Firstly, Ashley says “it’s important to note that mould is undeniably required to produce cheese, despite whether it’s blue or white”. Any cheese that has a hard white outer ‘crust’ is known as a white mould. Think brie and camembert. These cheeses age from the exterior inwards. They are obviously not as pungent as blue moulds, but it’s a great starting point when you’re learning to love blue cheese.
Blue Moulds
Unlike White Moulds “blue cheeses age from the interior. Small holes are pricked throughout the cheese so the oxygen encourages the mould to grow.” The mould ripens inside these tunnels to form the blue vein appearance in all blue cheese.
Hard Cheeses
This category includes “all cheeses which have had their moisture extracted, forming the hard core. “Cheddar, Colby, Parmesan and Pecorino are delicious examples,” says Ashley. They are generally aged longer than soft cheeses and are often accompanied with quince paste providing a sweet, tangy contrast.
Soft Cheeses
A popular mainstream category, because of their diversity, are the soft cheeses, including mozzarella, feta, ricotta, and the ever popular goats cheese. This category is reserved for “the light and fluffy cheeses,” says Ashley. Often they are not matured for long periods of time, and can be used in both cooking or in their original form.
How to cleanse your palette
It’s safe to say there is going to be a lot of cheese consumption over the next three days. And that is fine by us. But what does Ashely suggest to cleanse the palette between tastings to refresh your senses? There really is only one thing for it: “refresh (responsibly) with some wine.” Wine and champagne really bring out the tasting notes of cheese.
VALErie and friends
This year there are nine life-size Vale Brewing CheeseFest girls about town! Each cow represents the number of years CheeseFest has been operating. If you see these girls around Adelaide make sure you take a picture and tag @ValeBrewing or #VALERIEontheMOOVE on Facebook or Instagram to win tickets to CheeseFest.
VALErie and her friends have all been injected with some colour thanks to the artistic skills of local artist Emma Hack. Throughout the festival you can bid on your favourite cow to become her new owner. Part of the proceeds will go to Beyond Blue Foundation.
Embrace CheeseFest
Given the location of CheeseFest and the spring weather, we recommend packing a picnic rug and and gathering some friends to enjoy the day. The atmosphere of CheeseFest is one of relaxation and enthusiasm around a festival dedicated to cheese. If you’re not yet a cheese connoisseur, Ashley Dent recommends you embrace it and give it a try. “If you’re afraid to try, live on the wild side and experiment. That is what food is all about. We do after all live in the food and wine mecca of Australia,” he said.
If you see the Brand South Australia team around make sure you come and say hi, or tag us in your pictures with #InsideSouthAustralia.
Happy CheeseFest!