Firm
Most novice cheeseheads have limited their past experiences to firm cheeses—block cheddar and swiss, for example—but there's a whole world of artisan cheese that falls under this category. Aged cheddar, gruyère, emmenthal, manchego, and a ton of others await. In short, firm cheeses have been pressed during production to extract excess liquid. The result is a dry cheese with a dense, but still pliable texture. These guys won't crumble when cut, but they're not for spreading onto a baguette either.
Since so many cheeses fall under this broad style, flavor profiles can run the gamut. Cheesemaking methods and milk type will decide a lot, but grassy and fruity notes will become more and more prominent as a cheese ages. Firm cheeses also tend to have hard rinds that develop naturally when the cheese is left in contact with air during the aging process. These rinds are technically edible, but they're not going to enhance the cheese's flavor—steer clear and get to the good stuff on the inside.
Mike Gingrich of Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, Wisc. only makes one cheese, and it's as good of an example of this category as one would hope to find. The cheese is called Pleasant Ridge Reserve, and it's a big deal in the cheese world. The first year it was produced, it won "Best In Show" at the 2001 American Cheese Society—the highest honor for a domestic cheesemaker. Then it won the same award four years later. Gingrich and his wife Carol (they look like a happier version of the couple in "American Gothic") are two of the most popular faces at cheese gatherings.
After sitting around the Gingrich's aging cave for about nine months, Pleasant Ridge Reserve obtains a deep yellow color; firm, smooth texture; and a mixture of sweet, nutty, and grassy flavors. It's highly snackable after nine months, but a wheel aged for more than a year is going to have even more complex, intense flavors. The cheese is made using raw (or unpasteurized) cow's milk from the single herd at Uplands. Those cows have it pretty good. They spend about six months a year munching on 300 acres of wildflowers, prairie grasses, herbs and clovers—all of which ups the vitamin E and omega-3 quotas of Uplands milk. Proof that, yes, great cheese comes from happy cows.
Try it with: Malty ales with nice sweetness (Founders' Dirty Bastard, for example) compliment the caramel nuttiness in the cheese; dry white wines (something like a Semillon or a Gewürztraminer) can introduce some light floral and fruit notes that work well here.
