I love cheese, and I love other dairy products, and I especially enjoy using both in my cooking. For crumbling on things I have always liked blue and feta but have recently added cotija to the arsenal. It is mild, crumbly, and slightly salty. Plus it is inexpensive. For grating, Parmigiana is always in the fridge, but it is almost always blended with a bit of Pecorino Romana to make the flavor more assertive. For melting I have always been a sucker for Gruyere, but I recently discovered Tillamook rustic grated Mexican blend. I have never liked pre-grated cheese, but this is pretty hard to beat in a breakfast taco, omelette, or even on a burger. Balls of real mozzarella are often in use, sliced for salads but also in dishes like eggplant puttanesca, layers of grilled eggplant and (duh) puttanesca.
As for other dairy products, there is always a plate of butter on the counter, but I also use a lot of Mexican table crema and crema agria. Buttermilk is used in loads of baking and when summer fruits come in, panna cotta and clafoutis. A little crema or crema agria in pan sauces or tomato based pasta sauces is pretty wonderful.
The whole list is much longer, but these are the ones I use most in cooking. How about you?
Oh, Iām a dairy girl all the way. Products I have in the fridge/house at all times:
Parmiggiano Reggiano, mostly for grating
crĆØme fraĆ®che
sour cream, sometimes Canadian-style for extra lusciousness
ghee
butter, unsalted
half & half
Dairy products I purchase for specific dishes (quesadillas, pizza, omelets, etc.):
grated Tillamook (cheddar mix or Mexican)
heavy cream
buttermilk
I agree with you that a touch of dairy makes almost everything better. Unless youāre lactose intolerant, of course
4 Likes
BarneyGrubble
(Beethoven and Latina singer fan in Ottawa)
3
Whole milk
Whipping cream
Unsalted butter
Sour cream for when I make my favorite RLB cake
Greek yogurt
Boursin cheese. Goes into multiple egg dishes
Brie with truffle. A house cheese from a store here. Strictly for eating
Oveja con trufa. Manchego with truffle
Tete Ć Papineau. A cheese made about an hourās drive from here
4 Likes
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
4
Always in the fridge are Parmesan and a good mature āmousetrapā cheddar. And we also have semi-skimmed milk
I only buy wedges of Parm-Reg, usually from Wegmans. I then grate my own when I need it.
Sharp cheddar of all kinds - Cabot Seriously Sharp is the best always-able-to-find brand I buy. Right now Iāve got 2 types of cheddar in the fridge - one bought at Aldi, the other bought at Wegmans. Havenāt yet tried either. Maybe this weekend for a Scooby Snack.
Monterey Jack is cut into large cubes and frozen for when I need it. Itās a good melting cheese, so I sometimes use it for Mac & Ham & Cheese along with the cheddar, or some Gruyere if Iāve purchased it. But itās also good sprinkled into quesadillas or enchiladas.
Blocks of Mozzarella are quartered and frozen, especially if Iām going to be grating it for lasagna or baked ziti or for pizza.
Aged Manchego is always in the fridge, served with grapes, quince paste, and Marcona almonds as a Scooby Snack.
Right now I have crumbled Feta in my fridge. I forget why I bought it but I should probably use it up before it becomes Blue cheese. (which I never buy because Iām not a fan of blue cheese.)
For liquid dairy - 1% milk, half and half, heavy cream and buttermilk are the usual suspects.
For other dairy - sour cream is always in the fridge; various salted butters (LOL, Finlandia, Kerrygold, Kateās) are always in the freezer downstairs and brought upstairs as I need it.
Heavy Cream to add a splash to a sauce
Creme Fraiche
Feta, fresh goat cheese and blue cheese to add to salads, the blue may also be melted on to potato wedges
Parmigiano and pecorino for the obvious reasons!
Unsalted Butter
Locally made kind of greek yogurt to eat plain with seasonal fruit, to mash with feta and some other ingredient (lonsa, tapenade) for a dip, for tzatziki or yogart sauces for chicken
Cheddar for everything you need to have cheddar for - always from the cheese monger or a local cheese maker.
Greyere for tarts and quiches.
And whatever looks interesting to just snack on!
Cheese tends to be a rotating roster for me, though I always have an aged cheddar and parm or grana padano on hand, also fresh grated parm-pecorino, and often something in the parrano / aged gouda family or manchego. Soft cheeses like Brie are usually bought only when I want to eat them, ditto āspecialtyā (here) items like cotija if Iām making a dish that calls for them.
I donāt usually buy grated cheese other than parm/pecorino, but I might buy a bag of the same cheddar I like to eat and oaxaca when the grilled cheese and quesadilla-inhaling kids are in town.
On and off, Iāll buy fresh ricotta to eat or cook with, ditto burrata or mozzarella (usually for a salad when tomatoes are at their best). Sometimes Iāll make paneer.
Other dairy:
ā Milk ā whole, for tea and coffee, to make yogurt, bechamel, and to finish soups and sauces in place of cream
ā Butter ā salted for eating, unsalted for baking, brown butter for various
ā Ghee ā for finishing and for tempering
ā Yogurt ā I always have whole milk greek on hand, which I use variously for eating, marinating, in place of sour cream, and so on. I also make my own yogurt on and off, just for eating.
ā Kefir ā to drink (in place of Indian buttermilk), also to bake
I donāt stock cream or sour cream because I never use them up before they go bad, so Iāll substitute whatās on hand unless they are critical to the dish.
Always
Milk, buttermilk, heavy cream, sour cream, butter, sharp cheddar, parm, blue cheese.
At the moment
Cream cheese, extra sharp cheddar, Gruyere, Manchego, pizza blend. I also have a small box of Velveta, does that have any dairy in it?
In the freezer
Cotija, feta.
Buy for specific dishes
Greek yogurt, pepper jack, burrata.
For cooking, sub crema agria for sour cream and table crema for heavy cream in most things. I have had both in the fridge awhile and the crema agria expires in late April and the crema in mid-March. The crema is heavenly on many things and in folded eggs.
Although my initial question was about cheese/dairy for cooking, I am thrilled others volunteered others. I am a fan of Manchego and Gouda for appetizers, but real favorites are Delize, Mt. Tam, and Harbison. If only I were quite wealthy! I pick up store brand (HEB) Brie pretty often and also Humboldt blue, great on seeded rye.
Always; heavy cream, cultured butter (in the freezer, too), parm, feta and either GruyĆØre or blue, probably both. Usually have sour cream and cream cheese. The 3 must haves are cream, butter and parm. I have ghee somewhere. And probably mozzarella (not fresh) on the freezer. I throw out a lot of stuff ā¦ thatās why Iām relying more on my freezer. Good cheese is pretty easy to get as long as Iām shopping and thereās no pandemic.
Always - Unsalted butter, half and half, powdered buttermilk, Cabot sharp cheddar, sour cream, and, since the pandemic, Kraft singles. Parm and/or Pecorino Romano (wedges) are also always in the fridge.
We have a can of Cougar Gold awaiting a specific mac and cheese application in the fridge (a very once in a while purchse. I love it, but it is spendy to have shipped.).
Then other cheese depending on mood or recipes in progress. Gorgonzola is a frequent flyer, as is Gruyere or Jarlsberg. And brie/brie style cheeses. Chevre a little less frequently, but enjoyed. Every now and then, I splurge on āgoodā cheeses for cheeseboard stuff, like a clothbound cheddar or Humboldt Fog.
Heavy cream is once in a while and because a recipe calls for it.
4 Likes
BarneyGrubble
(Beethoven and Latina singer fan in Ottawa)
16
I admire you for adding Kraft Singles. A couple of months ago I bought a Costco box- 96 slices- and it disappeared faster than Iād like to admit. I would buy a small pack and expect to be razzed by my husband, but he said āAre you kidding? I was raised on this stuff.ā Mostly we eat much better cheeses, always have butter, usually some milk, cotija and Oaxaca cheese, mozzarella, Costco cheddar (WTH happened to the mild cheddar? I loved it}, various blue cheeses, especially roquefort and gorgonzola, crema that usually doesnāt get used up, sour cream, milk occasionally, sliced pepperjack, and probably some others. Going dairy free would be very difficult for us.
(which I never buy because Iām not a fan of blue cheese.)
