Cheese lovers often end up with bits of the cheeses left over and languishing in the fridge. While we love mac and cheese and nachos, sometimes hard cheeses just don’t melt well or have too much funk to handle the heat. What follows is a collection of traditional no-cook spreads that have helped generations of cheese-eaters to manage their leftovers. These piquant appetizers taste great packed in a crock and served with crackers or bread–we keep one or two on hand at all times to entertain peckish guests.
Europe
Fromage Fort
This French cheese spread means “strong cheese.” It comes together quickly and gives new life to leftover white wine and tired cheese nubbins by reviving the mix with fresh garlic. Simply trim your cheeses of any visible mold and whiz them in the food processor with a one or two cloves of garlic and a good splash of white wine to smooth things out. Some folks add cream cheese or soft butter to temper the stronger cheeses; fresh chives make a lovely garnish. Use hard cider instead of wine for a fruity variation that highlights the cheese flavor. Refrigerate the mix to blend the flavors and serve with toasted baguette slices, crackers or crudites. Fromage fort can also be slathered on bread and baked until it melts.
Obatzter
Typically served in Munich’s beer gardens, especially during Oktoberfest, Obatzter or Obatzda (from the Bavarian dialect “obatzen” which means “to mash”) is a tasty mix of butter, camembert, onion, beer, and paprika. Julianne Schmitt, fifth generation winemaker at Schmitt Söhne on Germany’s Mosel River adds her twist on the traditional Bavarian cheese spread with a big splash of her dry Riesling in place of the beer. Chef Elizabeth Karmel, who adapted Schmitt’s recipe for American palates, says the “nice fruity riesling really balances everything out” and softens the strong cheese flavor. Karmel uses Marin French Camembert and freeze-dried chives for a punchy green onion flavor. Serve with soft pretzels for a fantasy trip to Bavaria.
Almogrote
A traditional cheese pâté from La Gomera, a small volcanic island in the Canaries, made from 100% local ingredients, Almogrote’s distinctive orange hue and spicy flavor turns up as an appetizer throughout the islands. The color comes from native dried chiles, rehydrated to bring back their zip and zing, added to grated local aged goat cheese with fresh garlic and pimentόn. Adjust the heat by choosing a hot or sweet version of the Spanish paprika, or combine the two, and adjust the texture with olive oil. Serve with toasted bread and a glass of Canarian wine.
The US
Pimento Cheese
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You might think you know everything about Pimento Cheese, but did you know it’s origins are from North of the Mason-Dixon line? Regardless of where it’s from, this tasty spread is having a long loving moment. Comprised of shredded cheddar or processed cheese, mayo, perhaps some cream cheese, and those sweet crimson pimento peppers, pimento cheese is as comfortable on white bread on a porch swing with a tall glass of sweet tea as it is smeared on a burger and paired with a rye old-fashioned. It’s possibly most famous as a sandwich filling, served at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National.
Beer Cheese
Born in Kentucky, Beer Cheese combines sharp cheddar cheese, lager, and garlic: piquant additions like horseradish, cayenne, hot sauce, or Worcestershire are common. The recipe can be adapted to any beer and cheese night leftovers to create a Kentucky dip better than the sum of its parts. True fanatics attend the held in Winchester Kentucky in June, where cheese spread makers can compete in both amateur and professional categories for cash prizes.
Pub Cheese
A visit to a Wisconsin tavern should include pull tabs and pub cheese, a mix of the state’s legendary cheddar and sweet port wine packed in crocks for spreading on…anything. Proprietors started combining leftover cheese with wine to make it spreadable in the early 1900’s to give their guests something to snack on, and in the 1930’s cheesemaker Hubert Fassbender started producing it commercially in Kaukauna, WI, one of the first to do so. The mix was originally packed in collectible ceramic crocks; later, creative cooks shaped it into nut-crusted cheese balls and logs. The term cold pack refers to Fassbender’s heat-free method of combining the finely ground cheddar with flavorings that creates a product that’s spreadable at tavern temperature. The now familiar orange and maroon swirled cheese became incredibly popular and soon achieved distribution outside of the Midwest.