Say cheese: An all-new platter

It’s dinner time. And at a late evening event in Canada, a table is laid with 10 to 12 varieties of cheese, crackers, fruits, breads and some cold cuts. An invitee from Chandigarh takes a bite or two and starts searching for the dinner table. After a few minutes of pacing across the hall, realisation dawns. That table was ‘The Dinner’ — starters, main course, everything included. This was her first introduction to cheese as a meal, and the many varieties. That was a decade back in a different land.

Today, the dairy product has firmly placed itself on our menu list, not just as an accompaniment with tikkas and kebabs, but even as a standalone food item. Gouda, Camembert, parmesan, mozzarella, brie, feta, goat cheese, burrata, emmental, smoked or blue cheese are available in many department stores in the region.

The ubiquitous presence of cheese is hard to miss, be it a housewarming party, a wedding event, a friendly dinner, or simply a major meal. It’s everywhere: salads, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, finger foods like cheese pops, dumplings, desserts like cheesecakes and fondue, or even as a platter, with classic and artisanal varieties adorning the table. The versatile repast, as food expert Pushpesh Pant puts it, is the new aloo.

“A cheese platter is a must-have at all my parties. None of my friends like to have fried stuff. Table cheese goes well with everything, be it wines or fruits. Besides, one doesn’t even require it to be served. You can simply put a cheese platter at a prominent place, along with accompaniments like olives, grapes, crackers, etc. Besides adding to the style, a whole range of flavours available offer healthy snacking and is not time-consuming,” says 40-year-old Chandigarh-based Payal Gupta.

Naresh Mahant started his artisan cheese unit Himalayan Dairy in Jagatsukh, 5 km from Manali, in 1995, to cater to mostly European tourists coming to the hill station. “There was hardly any demand for mature or aged cheese by Indians back then. From barely 1 per cent Indians buying this cheese, the number has gone up to 80 per cent.” Indian customers, however, are not very fond of aged cheese, he says, adding that they prefer milder cheese or the ones with additives like chilli, mixed herbs or smoked.

The imported cheese coming to the market is also slightly flavoured for the Indian palate, says Pant. “Cheese for long has been synonymous with paneer or cottage cheese. Unlike earlier, when we were geared to like only processed cheddar cheese, Indians have started having varieties like Gouda, Edam, blue cheese, etc. Availability and affordability have been responsible for the appreciation of this expensive delicacy.”

The 1970s and 1980s saw the entry of imported cheese via the breakfast platters at five-star hotels or Indians travelling abroad and hand-carrying these, say from a store like Harrods in London which had an entire floor dedicated to the delicacy. It was, however, Amul that introduced most Indians to the world of cheese. Brands like Go Cheese, DairyCraft, etc, jumped on to the cheese bandwagon and brought in gourmet cheese to our kitchen shelf. The rising demand saw an exponential growth of artisan cheesemakers, who brought in flavours like paprika, garlic, pepper, herbs, cumin and even saffron cheese.

“While there are references to split milk or chenna dating back to the Mahabharata, we do not have much of a tradition of making fermented cheese in our country. Except for varieties like kalari of Jammu and Kashmir, chhurpi of Ladakh, the Kalimpong cheese made by the Swiss missionaries or the Bandel cheese of the Portuguese in Bengal, documentation of cheese hasn’t really been a part of the mainstream,” says chef Sabyasachi Gorai, popularly known as Chef Saby. “While Amul got Indians hooked to this delicacy, much of the credit for bringing imported gourmet cheese into the mainstream goes to the European Union, especially the French and Italians, which saw a huge market potential in India.”

“The French cheese development community has been organising workshops, sessions and dinner programmes, besides encouraging chefs to cook with their cheese. The hampers for bloggers and YouTubers to promote the cheese and highlighting the benefits of dairy have added to this,” he says.

Gurvin Oberoi of Jagat Singh and Sons, Chandigarh, who was among the earliest ones to bring imported cheese to the region, says while mozzarella, cheddar and feta are among the most popular varieties besides parmesan, people are now exploring different varieties. “Gourmet cheese like brie and Camembert have been gaining popularity lately. It is, however, cheese which does not have a strong flavour that is more in demand, compared to say a Danish blue cheese.”

People are exploring all kinds of varieties, be it crumbly, hard or soft cheese, says Smriti Arora of Modern Bazaar, a supermarket chain from Delhi, which recently opened its store in Chandigarh. “Cheese sticks for children are among our bestsellers,” she says. “Feta is popular for salads and cheddar for sandwiches while soft cheeses are being used as spreads and ricotta for desserts.”

Jyotika Malik, brand chef at Olive Café and Bar, Chandigarh, finds cheeseboards fast becoming a norm, especially before other snacks are served. “While those in the 30-45 age group are most likely to order a cheeseboard, many in their 60s, who have a taste for cheese, demand very specific varieties. The pairing is being done not just with wine but also gin and whiskey.”

While imported cheese has a growing market, a range of artisan cheese, too, has been making inroads into this hitherto unexplored market. Artisan cheesemakers like Acres Wild in Coonoor, Flanders Dairy Products in Delhi, Darima Farms in Mukteshwar, Himalayan Products in Pahalgam, La Ferme Cheese in Puducherry, Himalayan Dairy in Manali, Meraki in Kolkata and Spotted Cow Fromagerie and Eleftheria Cheese in Mumbai are some of the names which have dedicated customers. More than 50 per cent of the cheese being served is locally sourced.

“Though Indian cheesemakers are using imported technology and methods to make their cheese varieties, the very fact that we are using Indian milk makes it our very own,” says Mausam Narang, head cheesemaker at Eleftheria cheese, whose artisan cheese, clothbound cheddar and brunost brown cheese made from whey, won a gold and silver, respectively, at the World Cheese Awards for 2022-23 held in Spain. “It is an interesting time to be a cheesemaker because people are excited about trying newer varieties and are experimenting with pairings,” says Mausam. “The brunost brown cheese I made is basically an Indian peda. We are using our indigenous cooking knowledge and western methods to make cheese. And, people are loving it.”

Except for a variety like parmesan, which requires several geographical indicators to be right, excellent cheese is being produced locally, says chef Davinder Kumar, vice president (F&B) of Le Meridien, Delhi. “This is good news for cheese lovers since the imported varieties are expensive and often considered a rich man’s food, unlike the West, where cheese is part of the family’s ration,” he says.

Different varieties of cheese available in the market can go upwards of Rs 1,000/kg, with some imported varieties costing more than Rs 5,000/kg.

“An understanding of cheese has come to be an indicator of your social standing,” says Pushpesh Pant. “While there may be many who genuinely appreciate cheese, which is an acquired taste, many are trying it out of its snob value.”

While paneer is part of our food culture, we are basically not cheese-eating people but disposable incomes and exposure to different foods have led to an interest in cheese, says food critic Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu. “If earlier 25 per cent knew and relished cheese, the number has gone up to 45 per cent. Cheese has a large presence in urban centres like Chandigarh, besides cities like Amritsar and Jalandhar, which get a lot of international visitors but the concept will take a while to actually take off.”

Even as cheese recipes and pairings flood the social media, and food shows bring an added interest to understanding the cheese etiquette, it will be a while before we make cheese fully our own. Till that time, you can simply relish a shami kebab with a cheese stuffing, beetroot tikki with goat cheese, a spinach mozzarella roll, or simply a cheddar parantha.

Tips for your platter

• Select four to six cheese varieties for your cheeseboard. Go for hard, semi-firm, soft, crumbly and blue varieties. Build your board half an hour before guests arrive. Keep a knife for each cheese variety.
• Pairing helps to enhance the flavours of cheese. Goat cheese goes very well with fig and honey, while cheddar pairs well with orange marmalade, mustard, sweet and savoury tomato chutney. A burrata will go well with basil pesto and tomato pesto while brunost or brown cheese go well with a berry jam.
• Make a simple caprese salad by adding sliced tomatoes to fresh mozzarella. Add a few basil leaves, along with some extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

Store cheese properly

• It is important to store cheese properly, else it’ll go bad, says veteran chef Davinder Kumar. Cheese will melt if exposed to warm temperature. It should not be stored chilled in a deep freezer, nor should the temperature be too warm.
• Ideally, it should be stored at an ambient temperature between 5ºC and 10ºC mentioned in the counter in the refrigerator for storing cheese.
• Traditionally, blocks of cheese are served and only the amount of cheese required is cut. Keep the cheese covered. Even when kept in a refrigerator, it should be wrapped in a cling foil so that it doesn’t absorb moisture.