Charlotte is now the home of one of the country’s 29 Certified Cheese Sensory Evaluators. Rachel Klebaur, owner of Orrman’s Cheese Shop in 7th Street Public Market, passed the inaugural exam. The three-hour test, given at the annual American Cheese Society conference, requires candidates to taste cheeses and identify aromas. It’s kindof like a sommelier of cheese; you have to know which attributes are expected in a cheese, and which are troublesome.

“You might have a bloomy rind cheese that has some orange spots on it,” Klebaur explains. “Orange color on a washed rind cheese is perfectly acceptable, but it’s not on a bloomy rind. So (the test requires) being able to identify which characteristics and attributes are preferred in a certain style of cheese and which ones are flaws.”

Klebaur had to evaluate a dozen cheeses, and rate them based on her knowledge of desired and problem attributes. Her evaluations were compared to those of 12 judges. She was also tasked with smelling 10 glasses of milk with added cheese aromas and had to determine the aroma, something that her experience running Orrman’s for the last 15 years helped her do.

“I’ve seen a lot of cheese over that course of that 15 years, so I know what I’m looking for,” she says. “I know what is a flaw in a cheese. But I did study as well. There are certain attributes in the vocabulary you use that’s different than in tasting wine or beer, but specifically for cheese.”

For example, “cabbage” is a flaw you find in Swiss cheese.

Want to learn some of these cheese skills yourself? Klebaur is often behind the counter of the Orrman’s, helping guide customers through a cheese plate. Of course, now she is Rachel Klebaur, CCSE. We’re thrilled to have her as a resource for all of our cheesy questions.

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