Saturday 6 April 2013

F for FROMOLOGY


Real cheese and his friend 
dry-cured sausage.
Where's my glass of red wine you ask?
I drank it--pour me another. (:
Savory Sunday post for more.
Fromology is the study of cheese. Not to be confused with Fromophagia which is the act of consuming cheese, a word I may have definitely just made up. In any event, I'm grateful to the cheese gods that I'm not lactose intolerant because, I've been  having a love affair with cheese for years. *hangs head in shame* But not just with any kind of cheese. With real cheese. The individually wrapped, palstic-flavored roofing tile you buy at the supermarket, is not cheese. Not by a long shot. Not even at the molecular level. Real cheese gives me a foodgasm in three seconds. (Think: When Harry Met Sally). 

Cheesy Tidbits:
  • The French word for cheese is fromage.
  • There are 350-400 different kinds of cheeses produced in France (wikipĂ©dia). Though some sources claim the number is much higher. 
  • Cheese consumption predates recorded history.
  • The United States is the top cheese producer in the world.
  • France is the top exporter of cheese in the world. (Source)
  • Hilary Melton-Butcher at Positive Letters . . . inspirational stories did a wonderful  C post on cheese. She gives some  interesting fact about English cheese that you should check out if you haven't already. 

WARNING 
THE FOLLOWING IS NSFB: NOT SUITABLE FOR BREAKFAST 
or even lunch or dinner . . .



  • Casu marzu is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese that is also called Maggot Cheese. Why is it call that? Because it contains live fly larvae, Piophila casei.  The fly larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese to produce a higher level of fermentation. The texture becomes very soft and somewhat leaky. That's because it's a rotting cheese corpse! Some people brush away the larvae before snacking on a slice of  Casu marzu, while other do not. Ok, so that's pretty gross even by my standards, but still pretty interesting. Right? 


Cheesy Quotes:



“How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?” 

―Charles de Gaulle

“Give me a good sharp knife and a good sharp cheese and I’m a happy man.” 
―George R.R. Martin

“Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” 
―G.K. Chesterton, Alarms and Discursions



Other fabulous F_ology words:



Futurology: The study of postulating possible, probable, and preferable futures. Also called Futures studies (Wikipedia). Futurology uses systematic and pattern-based knowledge of past and present events, futurologists attempt to determine the likelihood of future events, what is likely to continue, and what could plausibly change in our future. If you have time, check out Symphony of Science: The Case for Mars. "The future is out there."

Foliology: The study of autumn leaf color changes.



Fermentology: The science that studies fermentation and ferments, especially those that deal with the production of alcoholic beverages. For example, the study of beer brewing.

"Ummm, it's not what you think offiffer. I'm a feermentologisst. I'm not drinking in public. I'm concocting important research."  *hiccup*

****

Enjoy your weekend everyone.
See ya Monday for more ologies! 
(;

43 comments:

  1. Show me the platter with the cheese and crackers at any party and that's where I'd be. I found a recipe to make homemade cheese for this Indian dish, and while I'm giddy to have found it, I'm also worried about messing it up. Bad cheese can ruin any meal.

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  2. I know about Casu marzu. I saw a documentary on cheese a few years ago and watched people eat that maggotty thing. It was gross but interesting. This was a good post with all the cheese info. I really like cheese. If you didn't suspect that already.

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  3. Funny, loved the word you made up at the beginning. And I was a bit grossed out by Casu marzu.

    Thanks for visiting my AtoZ. I am a new follower.
    Rhonda @Laugh-Quotes.com
    AtoZ #42

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  4. i like dairylea triangles. The french would love me.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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  5. Oh, I love cheese! Anything from plain cheddar to something old and smelly. Not cheese strings though - they are just wrong.
    Have a great weekend. :-)

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  6. Cheese is a staple in my diet - good old cheddar cheese - you can' beat it, as a ploughmans, as a sauce, as a Rarebit, on its own nibbled with a glass of red wine whilst waiting for the Sunday roast to finish cooking .......

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  7. Mmm, I love me some good cheese too. Though I bet it's more expensive over here than in France. I don't go in for the smelly stuff but but we try what we can.

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  8. I love that George RR Martin quote. I'll second that!

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  9. Rotting cheese corpse... Scratching that off my list right now.

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  10. I do miss that French supermarket thing where there are all these fab cheeses and you don't have to pay $8 for a small slab of something none plastic - so drawing the line at maggot cheese, tho.

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  11. Cheese in Italian is Formaggio, so the -ology kind of makes sense to me. :)

    Damyanti @Daily(w)rite
    Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013

    Twitter: @AprilA2Z
    #atozchallenge

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  12. Favorite cheese : Gouda of course.

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  13. “Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”
    ―G.K. Chesterton, Alarms and Discursions

    I love this quote! Interesting tid-bits about cheese. Didn't know the US is the top producer!

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  14. Wow never knew there were so many kinds of cheese, to cheese lovers studying that must please.

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  15. There isn't a single meal I can think of that couldn't be improved by a sprinkling of shredded cheese!! I am under its spell!! :)

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  16. I love most kinds of cheese. Ah, those were the days I could eat cheese.

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  17. How sad is it that I only know the French word for 'cheese' from an episode of "Dexter's Lab"? lol

    I love -real- cheese, but I don't think even I could stomach 'maggot' cheese. Doesn't sound appetizing, at all.

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  18. Thanks for stopping in everyone, and on a Saturday too! You guys rock. I'm making my rounds as well and agree with you guys, the maggot cheese is not for me. Yuck. :D

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  19. Foodgasm? Harry Met Sally!? The mind boggles, really it does ;)

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  20. I love cheese...the smellier, the better. I want to move to France strictly for easy access to all their wonderful frommage

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  21. Oui, j'adore le fromage! J'aime le Camembert :)

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  22. I used to be quite picky with cheese, avoiding anything with blue veins etc, but I'll try anything now. Though maybe not the rotten fly larvae one.

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  23. Great lesson on cheese! I would try the maggot cheese but I think I'd brush out the maggots first.

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  24. I would not have known there was a word for studying cheese!

    I am hoping that you do phrenology for "P" so I can learn more about the study of lumps on the head (I've more than a few)...

    LC

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  25. I love the yellow cheeses, they are creamy and melty. I always include some in my 3 cheese macaroni.
    Katie atBankerchick Scratchings

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  26. I adore cheese! Bread and cheese are a staple of my diet (and, yes, I'm too fat!). My favorites are cheddar and processed cheddar with bits of peppers or nuts inside. I also love brie, gouda and cream cheese. Viva le fromage! :-)

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  27. Hi Elise,

    I know you've been um anxiously awaiting another one of my award winning comments. Maybe next time :) Cheese and thank you. I read and commented on Hilary's posting. In fact, my comment might be similar to this one I'm going to continue with. Be prepared for another rambling, nonsensical, bordering on ridiculous continuation of this comment...And yes, shredded cheese is 'grate' :)

    A blog about cheese? You Gouda been joking. I've never recovered from the fact that cottage cheese is apparently not made out of a cottage. Okay, let's get that old cheese joke out of the way. What cheese is 'made' backwards? 'Edam'.

    I love cheese, the stronger, the stinkier, the better. If I open the pack and get an aroma that burns out my nostril hairs, that's a result. If I open up the pack and I am greeted with a pungent stench, reminiscent of socks that have been inside a pair of trainers, used in a frantic game of basketball, well that sends me to cheesy heaven.

    Mild cheese? Forget it. To me, mild cheese is like eating glorified wax. No, I'd rather enjoy an exotic cheese. Heck, I have this urge for some Gorgonzola, which is an Italian blue cheese (and not, as I used to think, some female Greek mythical creature with sharp fangs, whose appearance, would turn anyone who looked at her, to turn to stone).

    So just what have I learnt about cheese? Well, eating Stilton cheese will not make me seem taller. That eating blue cheese will not make me sad. That it's not the law in Philadelphia that you must eat Philadelphia cream cheese. I've got this urge to 'gorge' myself on some extra strong cheddar. Cheese please, anything but mild. Some cheese you must handle 'Caerphilly', because it crumbles so easily.

    Futurology, I wonder if you could of predicted the likelihood of a comment like this from me, yes me, shy and humble me.

    Great, informative posting and I do appreciate your theme in the amazing alphabet challenge :)

    Gary




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    Replies
    1. You are the master at cheesy comments
      A day without your words is mental torment
      And yet I feel ill at ease
      Knowing this snack is nacho cheese

      Forgive me, I know I curd do better . . . maybe after a good wine.

      Delete
  28. I would like to study cheese as I consume it while watching the fall leaves and discussing possible futures.

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  29. these study of posts are so fun to read! i like d day best so far. but fermentology is also interesting me!

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  30. too cheesy to comment on! ;) j/k

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  31. i like studying the cheese on a pizza, then concluding my studies that it looks delicious by eating it. yummmmy

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  32. Ah, thank you for all the cheesy goodness. Cheese really is one of the most astonishingly versatile food products around, isn't it? I mean, 350-400 different types of cheese in France alone? Remarkable. I'd hate to see them all on display in one store; I'd NEVER be able to make up my mind which to purchase!

    And as for the cash marzu, I'm think I won't be trying that one for, oh, I don't know, *ever*. It was an interesting tidbit of fromagial information, though. :)

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  33. I had no idea there was study of cheese. Interesting facts.

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  34. New knowledge. Seems like there's a study for everything. Great post. :)

    - A fellow Blogger from A to Z!

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  35. I love stopping by your blog because I learn new things every time! :)

    ~Jackie@ Bouquet of Books

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  36. Cheese...oh lovely cheese. I could give up chocolate before I could stop eating cheese.

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  37. I've been having the same love affair, most of my life. Too bad , it's so fattening .

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  38. Casu Marzu... live fly larvae? Sounds yucky!
    So glad week 1 is over!

    Writer In Transit

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  39. Neat, I'm glad I stopped by and learned something new.

    Melissa

    My Creatively Random Life

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  40. Hi Elise .. thanks for the shout out - I got behind .. and am only catching up now - delighted you 'sent' off a few over to see my Cheesy post!

    Fromology .. I should add a note in - I'll do that anon today - I was surprised that we apparently have more cheeses than you do ...

    I like ripe cheese - but the Sardinian fly corpse cheese sounds a little much even for me!

    I see Gary did one of his special cheesy comments for you as well - fun isn't it!

    Cheers Hilary

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  41. I love cheese, and I would love to try "better" ones like you describe. Loving your 'ologies!

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  42. We have a French restaurant here in Salt Lake City that has a fromage that's absolutely delightful.

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