Brick cheese
Encyclopedia
Brick cheese is a cheese
from Wisconsin
, USA, made in brick-shaped form. The color ranges from pale yellow to white, and the cheese has a sweet and mild flavor when young, and matures into a strong ripe cheese with age. It is medium-soft, crumbles easily and is somewhat sticky to the knife. Brick cheese is well-suited to slicing for sandwiches
, specifically grilled cheese sandwiches, or appetizers and also melts well. Served with corn polenta
in the Midwest, where the brick cheese is thinly sliced and caused to melt underneath the polenta and tomato
sauce topping .
are pressed with clay-fired bricks. Cheese producers in Theresa, Wisconsin
, use red clay brick in order to produce the consistent texture and even temperament that has made brick cheese popular across the Mid-west and the Northeastern United States.
. The cheese is placed on wooden shelves, then gets washed with a whey and water mixture and turned. After several days the cheese is then packaged.
does not take into account that brick cheese should be surface ripened with B. linens.
Brick is an American cheese, made in rectangular loaves, that was first produced in Wisconsin in 1877 by John Jossi, a cheese maker of Swiss descent. The loaf-shaped cheese displays numerous fine holes when it is sliced. When young, it is sweet and mild; after aging, it tastes somewhat like a mild Limburger or cheddar, and has been compared to a Danish Tilsit.
Corynebacterium and Arthrobacter are the necessary bacterial genera for smear cheese ripening. B. linens, while present in many smear cultures, is not typical. All cheeses, regardless of variety, should be well wrapped and kept in the warmest section of the refrigerator. (The refrigerator door is often one of the warmest spots).
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
from Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, USA, made in brick-shaped form. The color ranges from pale yellow to white, and the cheese has a sweet and mild flavor when young, and matures into a strong ripe cheese with age. It is medium-soft, crumbles easily and is somewhat sticky to the knife. Brick cheese is well-suited to slicing for sandwiches
Sandwiches
"Sandwiches" is a song by American electronic band Detroit Grand Pubahs. It reached number 29 in the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.- Track listing :...
, specifically grilled cheese sandwiches, or appetizers and also melts well. Served with corn polenta
Polenta
Polenta is a dish made from boiled cornmeal. The word "polenta" is borrowed from Italian.-Description:Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal , which can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired.As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier...
in the Midwest, where the brick cheese is thinly sliced and caused to melt underneath the polenta and tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
sauce topping .
Origins
Brick cheese was originally produced in Wisconsin. The cheese making process was derived from white American Cheddar that is cultured at a slightly higher temperature which results in a marginally higher fat content and a slightly altered protein structure. The resultant "brick cheese" has a slightly softer taste and a distinctly sharper finish.Production process
Brick cheese is made in the form of a large rectangular or brick shape, but may also be named "brick" because the cheese curdsCheese curds
Cheese curds in cuisine, or cooking, are the solid parts of soured milk either eaten alone or used in various regional dishes, mostly in Canada and the northeastern and midwestern United States...
are pressed with clay-fired bricks. Cheese producers in Theresa, Wisconsin
Theresa, Wisconsin
Theresa is a village in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,252 at the 2000 census. The village is within the Town of Theresa.-Geography:Theresa is located at ....
, use red clay brick in order to produce the consistent texture and even temperament that has made brick cheese popular across the Mid-west and the Northeastern United States.
Culturing
Brevibacterium linens grows on the surface of brick cheese and is surface-ripened. Brevibacterium linens is also the bacteria responsible for the aging of Limburger cheese and many French cheese varieties. Cheesemakers often refer to the growth of the bacteria as a schmearSchmear
"Schmear" is a word of Yiddish origin, which is the historic name of cream cheese spread upon a bagel.Originally, the usage of the word schmear, or shmear, referred to a spread of cream cheese on a bagel. In modern usage it has extended to anything that can be spread, and in some cases refers to...
. The cheese is placed on wooden shelves, then gets washed with a whey and water mixture and turned. After several days the cheese is then packaged.
Regulations & FDA Codes
The US Code of Food Regulations defines what the fat and moisture content of brick cheese must be. This Standard of IdentityStandard of identity
Standard of identity for food are the mandatory, federally-set requirements that determine what a food product must contain to be marketed under a certain name in interstate commerce...
does not take into account that brick cheese should be surface ripened with B. linens.
Brick is an American cheese, made in rectangular loaves, that was first produced in Wisconsin in 1877 by John Jossi, a cheese maker of Swiss descent. The loaf-shaped cheese displays numerous fine holes when it is sliced. When young, it is sweet and mild; after aging, it tastes somewhat like a mild Limburger or cheddar, and has been compared to a Danish Tilsit.
Corynebacterium and Arthrobacter are the necessary bacterial genera for smear cheese ripening. B. linens, while present in many smear cultures, is not typical. All cheeses, regardless of variety, should be well wrapped and kept in the warmest section of the refrigerator. (The refrigerator door is often one of the warmest spots).