The fear of consuming fatty cheese is slowly vanishing among diners, who are now experimenting more with salads and sandwiches out of cheese, note city’s culinary experts.
Chennai:
Chef Payal Rajankar, who runs a gourmet food catering service in the city named The Gourmet Gig, notices a change in Chennaiites’ eating habits. “People are travelling abroad a lot more than earlier and are exposed to different food cultures and they’re no longer afraid of eating cheese as a snack, in salads or along with drinks. Cheese boards are becoming popular again, especially at wine tasting events, where cheese consumption has gone up. Even though Indians aren’t yet experimenting with ingredients like blue cheese (known for its distinct smell and taste profile), cheeses like burrata (made from mozzarella and cream) are popularly seen across menus. After restaurants like Canvas by Sketch have introduced burrata cheese salads, the dish was seen all over social media, bringing it to the mainstream,” she notes. Availability of cheese has also gone up in the city with artisanal cheesemakers, says Payal.
Cheese is one such ingredient which lets one plate up a fancy dish without trying too hard, points out the chef. “By just adding some walnuts, figs and honey along with burrata, one can ready a great dish that can be a salad or a snack. I’m happy to see people experimenting with heroing cheese,” she adds.
The change in consumption of cheese has also to do with awareness, asserts chef Harshita Mirpuri, who runs Dough Dough Deli, a cloud kitchen that plans menus for people. “I think people are more focused on having a balanced meal now. If one looks back to five years ago, people were scared of consuming cheese, butter and fat. With the advancement of nutritional knowledge and trends like keto (wherein one’s allowed to consume a lot of fat), people are experimenting with a lot of cheese. In salads, toasts and pastas, the saltiness and the umami flavour in cheese helps elevate the dish. Quality cheese, even though available in Chennai, remains expensive. But, it’s good to see local cheesemakers bringing out a variety of flavours,” says Harshita, who prefers to buy fresh cheeses like mozzarella locally, and imports only aged cheese like cheddar and parmesan. Her signature lasagne, which uses ricotta, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, remains a much sought-after dish, particularly during festive times.
Nutritionist and health coach Minacshi Pettukola suggests consuming non-processed cheese over the processed variety. “Extra processed cheese is not as nutritional as the kind that is not. Processed cheeses may also tend to contain extra salt. Each cheese comes with a different fatty acid profile. Besides that, cheeses can also be a good source of calcium, protein (in a few kinds), phosphorous and potassium. Fermented foods like cheese tend to have probiotics, which are good for gut health,” she elaborates.
There was a period in time, nearly five years ago, when butter, cheese and oils became almost everyone’s enemies and were kept out of meals out of the fear of high calories they contain. Thanks to more awareness on healthy fats and the diet trends like keto, that good old gooey cheese is back to being popular. It has been popular with the easy availability of quality cheeses and with many restaurants placing cheese salads and sandwiches on their menus, remark city-based chefs.
Chef Payal Rajankar, who runs a gourmet food catering service in the city named The Gourmet Gig, notices a change in Chennaiites’ eating habits. “People are travelling abroad a lot more than earlier and are exposed to different food cultures and they’re no longer afraid of eating cheese as a snack, in salads or along with drinks. Cheese boards are becoming popular again, especially at wine tasting events, where cheese consumption has gone up. Even though Indians aren’t yet experimenting with ingredients like blue cheese (known for its distinct smell and taste profile), cheeses like burrata (made from mozzarella and cream) are popularly seen across menus. After restaurants like Canvas by Sketch have introduced burrata cheese salads, the dish was seen all over social media, bringing it to the mainstream,” she notes. Availability of cheese has also gone up in the city with artisanal cheesemakers, says Payal.
Cheese is one such ingredient which lets one plate up a fancy dish without trying too hard, points out the chef. “By just adding some walnuts, figs and honey along with burrata, one can ready a great dish that can be a salad or a snack. I’m happy to see people experimenting with heroing cheese,” she adds.
The change in consumption of cheese has also to do with awareness, asserts chef Harshita Mirpuri, who runs Dough Dough Deli, a cloud kitchen that plans menus for people. “I think people are more focused on having a balanced meal now. If one looks back to five years ago, people were scared of consuming cheese, butter and fat. With the advancement of nutritional knowledge and trends like keto (wherein one’s allowed to consume a lot of fat), people are experimenting with a lot of cheese. In salads, toasts and pastas, the saltiness and the umami flavour in cheese helps elevate the dish. Quality cheese, even though available in Chennai, remains expensive. But, it’s good to see local cheesemakers bringing out a variety of flavours,” says Harshita, who prefers to buy fresh cheeses like mozzarella locally, and imports only aged cheese like cheddar and parmesan. Her signature lasagne, which uses ricotta, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, remains a much sought-after dish, particularly during festive times.
Nutritionist and health coach Minacshi Pettukola suggests consuming non-processed cheese over the processed variety. “Extra processed cheese is not as nutritional as the kind that is not. Processed cheeses may also tend to contain extra salt. Each cheese comes with a different fatty acid profile. Besides that, cheeses can also be a good source of calcium, protein (in a few kinds), phosphorous and potassium. Fermented foods like cheese tend to have probiotics, which are good for gut health,” she elaborates.