Culinary Causerie - February 2012
Calling all Turophiles……….
Are you one of those criminals who buy cheese in the supermarket and bungs it in the fridge straightaway? Do you eat it while it is still cold? Is your Camembert chalky, your Dolcelatte dull and your cheddar hard and tasteless? This article is aimed at you and at all those who want to get the full flavour out of good, fresh cheese.
The art of affinage, is a technical term that describes the traditional method of aging cheeses and coddling them along to perfection, washing them, turning them, and brushing them as they mature, a process which could take from a month to a year, depending on the type of cheese being made. The cheeses are thus made ready to be sold to the wholesaler /retailer
Phil Chaplin who runs Chaplin’s deli in the Killay precinct is well briefed on the care of his cheeses by the suppliers – the better to offer his range of fresh continental cheeses in peak condition to satisfy the most discerning turophile.
A new comer to the Swansea deli world is Andy Rees at Chai Delicatessen in Newton Rd Mumbles. He is a self taught turophile who personally selects his cheeses.
Both Phil and Andy enjoy sharing their knowledge –to improve the quality of your cheeseboard.
Because good cheese is live, you arrest its development when you refrigerate it. In order to present a cheeseboard at a precise stage of perfect ripeness every time, you need to store your purchase correctly and remove it from the fridge at least two hours before serving. It’s not rocket science. Just follow these tips to do justice to the quality cheeses you purchase:
Affinage chez vous –Top tips for a perfect cheese board
DON’T
× Serve cheese straight from the fridge
× Store cheese wrapped in cling film
× Take out more cheese than you expect to use
× Store with strong smelling foods—cheese absorbs smells easily
DO
✓ After purchase, remove cling-film wrapping
✓ Refrigerate cheese (individually) in Tupperware boxes or wrapped in greaseproof paper.
✓ Remove from fridge at least 2 hours before serving
✓ After use, refrigerate leftovers as soon as possible
New kids on the block
The upper part of Newton Road in Mumbles is increasingly becoming a foodie destination and not just for its restaurants. One newcomer is Chai, a mix of tea room, coffee shop and deli. This combination is new to Swansea but has proved to be a winner in other parts of the country and the USA.
Dropping in for lunch I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a hearty bowl of spicy Thai cauliflower soup, served with delicious lightly toasted slices of walnut or sourdough bread was on the menu for a very affordable £2.50.
The menu offers a good range of open sandwiches with toppings that are certainly not run of the mill such as Brie with sloe and apple jelly or cured smoked beef and horseradish cream and tasty tartlets with equally unusual fillings all freshly made on the premises by chef Luke Rees.
There is plenty of choice when it comes to tea – chai being a generic word for tea in many European and Asian languages. Chai has over 40 varieties to choose from - a tea-lovers heaven.
But it doesn’t stop there. The deli counter will delight those who love air dried hams, chorizo and cheese from Britain and Europe. There are plenty of cook’s ingredients: saffron, caper berries and balsamic vinegar caught my eye – it’s good to be able to pick up foodie favourites normally only available in larger outlets.
A little further down the road on the opposite side at No 48 is The Little Bake Shop selling cup cakes, muffins and meringues plus the intriguingly named temptation cake – made to a secret recipe and quite scrummy. Owner and baker Aeneas draws on his Brazilian background to use the finest coffee and chocolate from his homeland. The coffee beans are imported raw and then roasted in South Wales to create a special blend that is certainly smooth and quite delicious.
Aeneas plans to expand his range to include artisan breads which will complement the deli selection at Chai. I look forward to dropping in to pick up goodies for a beach picnic as soon as the weather permits.
Tycoch Tapas
After a hard week slouched over a computer, the thought of cooking on a Friday night does not hold much appeal. Having The Bistro in Tycoch Square within walking distance of TheBAY headquarters is just too convenient. So instead of ordering a take-away we wandered up the hill and sampled the new tapas menu.
Succulent chicken, home-made nachos, spicy aubergines, potatoes bravas and chorizo in red wine were all delicious but the star of the night for me was the crispy fried squid. Little nuggets of squiddly loveliness – heaven on a plate!