Many a cheesemonger has convinced uninformed customers that the ammonia scent of a surface-ripened cheese such as camembert indicates that it has reached its peak of maturity and that French gourmets love eating their cheese in this condition. Not so. Once you can smell more than a trace of ammonia, the cheese is over the hill because it is a sensory confirmation that certain enzymes are attacking countless amino acids, a process that spoils the cheese.
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Asian Recipes **
