Affinage Aging Like Fine Cheese

Nothing is quite so wonderful, so luxurious, and so palate-pleasing as a well-aged cheese. As with wine, it takes time and proper care to mature a young cheese into the ultimate epicurean experience — but you don’t have to be a skilled affineur (the French term for a professional cheese ager) or have access to a high-tech aging room or traditional cheese cave to create superior aged cheeses at home!

The French call the process of aging cheese affinage, which at its core is simply the preservation of milk. Our forebears lacked both refrigeration and a year-round supply of fresh milk. Aged cheeses concentrate and preserve the nutrients in milk in a longer-lasting form. Different styles of aged cheeses evolved depending on the natural conditions — weather, microbes, and more — of the place the cheese was being made. We modern cheesemakers have the luxury of recreating the conditions fit to make the types of cheese we most enjoy, no matter what the outside climate is like.

My, How You’ve Changed

Aging changes a cheese. Fresh cheeses retain much of the character of the milk that made