When hosting an event, one of the best ways of serving food is by setting up a buffet and letting your guests serve themselves. Instead of hosting a formal sit down event, why not let your guests mingle and make new connections. Finger foods along with refreshments will go a long way and you can put your cheese knowledge to good use as a conversation starter as well! All you need to do is brush up on some of these popular cheese-related terms and jargon and you’ll be impressing the socks off of everyone.
 
Affinage
This term refers to the process or maturing and curing cheeses.
Affine
Related to the term above, this term refers to matured cheese.
Bannette
This is the frame which is placed across the vat to allow large cheeses to drain.
Blancs
Unsalted whole cheeses before affinage.  These are NOT the same as fromage blanc.
Couche
Layer of mould.
Fromage blanc
Fresh cream cheese that is either unsalted or has a low salt content.  The salt content, if any, is so low that this cheese can be enjoyed as a dessert.
Harpe
Used for cutting the curd during the cheesemaking process
Lainures
The cracks found in a cheese.
Maitéres grasses
The degree of fatness or amount of fat in a particular cheese.  This is usually calculated as a percentage in total dry mater and remains constant throughout the life of the cheese.  The percentage of fat itself in the whole cheese increases with ageing as the moisture evaporates.  It therefore cannot be exactly calculated.
Piquant
This term is used to describe a cheese with a sharp taste.
Rennet
This one you might not want to bring up while eating as it may put some people “off” their food.  It is the extracts of the fourth stomach of the calf that are distilled.  They contain enzymes that help break down milk solids into a more digestible form and thereby help coagulation.  Some plants, like thistle, can offer the same effect and are used in cheeses that are specifically rennet-free.
Ultrafiltration
This refers to the process of separating milk solids through a filter with 99.9 % fineness.  These are usually used on an industrial level and not by those who make their own cheese at home or on a small scale.