Cheese aging on shelves. Fouque Michael / Getty Images via Canva Pro.
Affinage is a French word meaning the ripening or maturing period, usually used in reference to cheeses.
An “affineur” is a cheese ager — someone who purchases young cheeses, and then matures then in certain conditions to achieve desired tastes. Some cheeses, such as Brie de Meaux, are often sold with the name of the affineur on them, instead of that of the actual producer.
Related entries
- Casein
- Cooked-Curd Cheeses
- Creamery
- Double-Cream Cheese
- Fat Content of Cheeses
- Longhorn Cheese
- Pate (of a Cheese)
- Pressed-Curd Cheeses
- Raw Curd Cheeses
- Rennet
- Semi-Cooked Curd Cheeses
- Skim-Milk Cheeses
- Smear-Ripened Cheeses
- Stretched Curd Cheeses
- Sweet Curd Cheeses
- Triple-Cream Cheese
- Truckle
- Turophile
- Washed-Curd Cheeses