As legend has it, the first cheese came about when a shepherd used a goat's stomach to transport milk and when he arrived at his destination, found that the milk had curdled because of some substance in his makeshift container. Cheese is a living thing that reacts in different ways depending on how it has been cured in different climates, the kind of milk it was made with and whether it was curdled with animal or vegetable matter.

The basic formula is milk with rennet from the stomach of a cow, sheep, goat or pig, or vegetable rennet, generally obtained from the pistils of a wild thistle. There is also rennet made from the enzymes of microbe cultures. The variety derived from all this is enormous: from fresh cheese aged just a week and without fermentation to soft cheese, which is 10 to15 days old, or semi-aged at 1.5 to three months, or aged with more than six months and less than a year, and a�ejo, or very aged, with more than a year. They are also distinguished by the kind of paste, soft or hard, and the origin of the milk, or the mix of several kinds of milk in making the cheese.

Like any living thing, cheese has a life-span in which it reaches maturity, then starts drying out and losing qualities. It is important to conserve it at the right temperature. If it is too high, the cheese develops too fast and if it is cold, its evolution is stunted and the structure of the cheese changes. An excess of moisture favours appearance of mould, and dryness causes cheese to dry and crack. Unless your home has a cellar or dark place with the right temperature, it is best not to buy cheese in large quantities. Always keep it in the refrigerator, wrapped in aluminium foil and inside the vegetable drawer. For cheese to develop all its aroma and flavour, leave the cheese at room temperature for an hour before it is to be eaten.

A kind of cheese for every dish
Besides the simplest, sure-fire way to enjoy cheese -with bread and wine- cheese adapts to many recipes. The kind you use depends on the result you want.

Fresh cheese, such as Villal�n, Burgos or cottage cheese,�are very versatile and used to make salads, accompany vegetables and in cream sauces and mousses. They are very fragile, and kept in the refrigerator just a few days in a bowl of water.

Double cream�cheeses such as mascarpone are easy to spread and very fatty, with a taste that recalls cream. They are eaten alone, spread on bread or as part of a stuffing. Sometimes strong and mild ones are mixed.

Soft cheeses enhance sauces, flan and omelettes and combine very well with vegetables. You have to eat them soon after purchase because they dry up easily.� Goat cheeses, which have a strong taste, are also good melted and fried. This group includes mozzarella, a popular Italian cheese made from buffalo milk.

Hard cheeses, such as aged machego or parmesan, are perfect for grating and adding to gratin�e dishes or souffl�s, and when mixed with others that are milde rthey� are essential in cheese sauces.

Cheeses with a creamy texture such el emmenthal, el mah�n, mimolette or roncal, among others, and any mild manchego are great for melting or grating.

Blue cheeses like Cabrales, Roquefort or Gorgonzola have an intense, sharp taste with a creamy texture that tends to crumble. They are perfect in sauces for red meat, with endives and combined with pears, apples or grapes.
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