Cheese-o-pedia: B

  1. Bleu

    The French word for blue.

  2. Bloomy Rind

    The white, sometimes mottled rind that grows on soft-ripened cheeses such as Brie and Camembert.

  3. Blue cheese

    Blue cheese offers flavors ranging from delicate and only slightly tangy to richly earthy and very sharp. Textures can range from crumbly to readily spreadable. This cheese is easily distinguished by the green-gold marbled interiors. The blue streaks are a result of mold from harmless bacteria that is added during manufacturing. Though all blue cheese shares the basic flavor of Penicillium Roquefort, different milks make them individually distinctive.

    Blue cheese can be used to make salad dressing and dips, and works well in pasta dishes, omelets, crepes and soufflés. It can also be served for dessert with fresh fruit. Pair blue cheese with Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Port, Late Harvest Riesling, sweet reds or whites, fruity reds, Amarone or Port.

  4. Brebis

    The French word for cheese made from sheep's milk.

  5. Brick cheese

    Brick cheese is ivory to creamy yellow in color with flavor that ranges from very mild to pungently sharp. The cheese, which originated in Wisconsin, is dotted with small, round openings. When young, brick has a mild and sweet flavor with a touch of nuttiness. It is easy to slice and makes a perfect melting cheese at this stage. The more pungent variety resembles the surface-ripened beer cheese, or beer kase, of Germany with a strong flavor that increases with age.

    Brick cheese is great over casseroles and soups and makes a particularly good sandwich with pumpernickel bread and raw or sautéed onions.

    Pair mild brick cheese with light red wine or beer and aged brick with fruit juices, iced tea or lemonade.

  6. Brie

    Brie is the most popular of all imported French cheeses. This soft-ripened cheese is made with cow's milk and has a white or off-white bloomy rind and a soft and slightly runny interior with a mild glossy paste.

    Brie should be eaten when it is "affine" or fully ripened. The aroma should be reminiscent of fresh mushrooms and always pleasant. A chalky texture is a sure sign that it was cut before its peak. As with most cheese, brie should always be served at room temperature so its full texture and flavor is allowed to develop.

    Brie has its origins in the region of Ile-de-France not far from Paris and can be traced back to the 5th century.

    Serve brie at room temperature with fresh fruits and walnuts or layer with sun-dried tomatoes and bake en croûte for a special treat.

    Pair brie with Bordeaux and Burgundy wines.

  7. Bufala

    The fresh Mozzarella cheese made from the milk of water buffalos in Italy.

  8. Butterfat

    The ratio of protein and fat that remains in a cheese after all the water is removed. Cheese is essentially made up of water, fat and protein. 50% butterfat means that half of the dry matter is fat, and the other half is protein and minerals. Butterfat percentage is very different from the percentage of fat in a cheese.

  9. Buttermilk

    The low-fat liquid that is drained off in making butter.