The American Cheese Council has it right when they advertise, "Cheese makes it taste better." My only complaint with their campaign is, "What 'it' are they referring to?" To me, cheese needs only itself to outdo every other food on the planet. The campaign should simply profess, "Cheese tastes better."

Mind you, I'm talking about the real stuff. Aged cheese, with complex rinds, cut from the wheel, wrapped up in parchment, taken out to ripen an hour before the guests arrive, then slathered over fresh bread, and discussed. These are the cheeses of our lives.

There are thousands of cheeses in this world. Many are made in small European villages such as those in Corsica, France, the home of Brindamour. Or La Mancha, Spain, birthplace of Manchego. Valtellina, Italy makes the wonderful cooking cheese Taleggio. We also have many artisan cheeses made here in the United States. Maytag Blue is made in Newton, Iowa and Maine is the home of many wonderful goat cheeses.

Cheese can be made from any milk-yielding animal-goats, sheep, cows, buffalo, reindeer, camels or yaks. Making cheese is a method of controlled spoilage. The milk from one of the fore-noted animals must first be curdled, then it must be concentrated, and lastly ripened.

In order to curdle cheese, the lactose must be converted into lactic acid, which will then coagulate and form curds, a process activated by varying degrees and times of high temperatures. The byproduct of whey is drained off. Curds must then be separated. Large curds, because they contain more water, will be grouped for soft cheese making (i.e. St. Andre). Medium size curds will be used to make semi-soft cheeses (i.e. Havarti), whereas small concentrated curds produce hard cheeses (i.e. Jarlsburg).

Once the curds are separated, they are concentrated into wheels or loafs. They are then salted for a number of reasons, including quicker drying capability and to help discourage the growth of microorganisms. At this time, some cheeses are seeded. (This is why mold is good.) A fungus is inserted into the wheel. Some funguses are responsible for the bloomy white rinds found on many Brie-type cheeses, while other strains of fungus account for the blue veined cheeses such as Gorgonzola and Stilton.

Lastly, the cheese must be matured. (We all know everything gets better with age, right?) Usually left in a ripening cellar with a temperature between 46 and 60 degrees, the cheese will undergo a breathing of sorts, exchanging the carbon dioxide and ammonia in it with the oxygen in the air allowing the seeding process to work. It can take months or it can take years, but when the cheese maker says it's time, the cheese is sent on its way...to fromageries across the globe.

Of course, not all cheese undergoes such care. Our namesake, American cheese, is actually a cooked cheese (the curdling process sped up ten fold) that has "cheese" flavoring added. A word to the wise here: if it's individually wrapped, it's a bad thing. Cheese should be cut from the wheel to ensure that it has not dried out and lost its flavor. In addition, cheese should have some sort of rind. As mentioned earlier, some rinds are white and fluffy. These may be eaten or scraped off. Other rinds are nubbly and course. These are most inedible.

You can group cheeses in a number of ways, according to the rind, as mentioned above, or you may prefer the country of origin. Following is a brief breakdown of some cheeses based on their texture, with some suggestions. The best way to figure out what you like-try it!

Fresh cheeses: uncooked and unripened, many not drained of the whey. Ex: Ricotta, Cottage Cheese and Italian Mascarpone.

Soft ripened cheeses: semi-soft cheeses that have been sprayed with mold to incur a bloomy rind and ripen from the outside in. Ex: Camembert, Explorateur and Mirabo with walnuts.

Blue-veined cheeses: obvious mold veins of green and blue. Ex: Roquefort, Stilton, and Blue Castello.

Uncooked, pressed cheeses: curd has been heated to very high temperatures, helping to form a hard consistency, then pressed to drain out any and all excess whey. Ex: Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gruyere and Swiss Emmental.

For me, a French proverb sums it up nicely: S'il qui mange du fromage, s'il ne le fait, il enrage. (He who does not eat cheese will go mad.)