Brick cheese
{{Short description|American medium-soft cheese}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
Brick cheese is a cheese originating in Wisconsin, United States,{{cite book | author=Wisconsin Cheese Makers' Association | title=Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers' Association: Report | publisher=Democrat Printing Company, State Printer | year=1912 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6G0nAQAAIAAJ | access-date=May 27, 2020 | page=xix}} made in brick-shaped form due to (originally) using actual bricks to form the shape.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisconsincheese.com/about-cheese/brick-cheese|title=Brick Cheese | Wisconsin Cheese}} The color ranges from pale yellow to white with an orange rind. When unaged, this cheese has a sweet, mild flavor and is suitable for melting; after aging it has a stronger smell and a nuttier taste.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-brick-cheese-5185809|title=What Is Brick Cheese?|website=The Spruce Eats}}
Origins
Brick cheese was originally produced in Wisconsin beginning in 1877.{{cite web | url=https://www.widmerscheese.com/the-story-of-wisconsin-brick-cheese/ | title=Story of Brick Cheese | Widmer's Cheese Cellar | (888) 878-1107 }} 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 texture.
= Culturing =
Brevibacterium linens grows on the surface of brick cheese, making it surface-ripened. Brevibacterium linens is also the bacterium responsible for the aging of Limburger cheese and many French cheese varieties. Cheesemakers often refer to the growth of the bacteria as a smear and this process is known as smear-ripening. This is reflected in the Brevibacterium's species name linens which is Latin for 'besmearing'.
The cheese is placed on wooden shelves, then gets washed with a whey and water mixture and turned. It can stay in cold storage up to five months, and is considered ready for consumption after two weeks have passed.
Regulations
The US Code of Federal Regulations defines what the fat and moisture content of brick cheese must be. This standard of identity does not take into account that brick cheese should be surface-ripened with B. linens.{{Cite web|url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=133.108|title=CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21|website=www.accessdata.fda.gov}}
Applications
Brick cheese is the traditional cheese for Detroit-style pizza.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eater.com/2019/4/9/18300994/square-pizza-detroit-style-trend-buddys-emmy-squared-expansion|title=Detroit-Style Pizza Is Having a Moment. But Are Its Originators Getting Left Behind?|last=Houck|first=Brenna|date=April 9, 2019|website=Eater|language=en|access-date=April 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214145419/https://www.eater.com/2019/4/9/18300994/square-pizza-detroit-style-trend-buddys-emmy-squared-expansion|archive-date=December 14, 2019|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Detroit-Style Pizza Is the Best Thing You're Gonna Make This Year {{!}} The Food Lab|url=https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/02/how-to-make-detroit-style-pizza.html|last=López-Alt|first=J. Kenji|date=February 28, 2017|website=Serious Eats|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414185018/https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/02/how-to-make-detroit-style-pizza.html|archive-date=April 14, 2020|access-date=April 22, 2020}}
See also
{{Portal|Food|Wisconsin}}
References
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External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101006003238/http://www.widmerscheese.com/pages/The-Story-of-Wisconsin-Brick-Cheese.html The Story of Wisconsin Brick Cheese]
{{American cheeses}}
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