Cheese (2008– )

[TicTac]

Oh these posts make me green with envy!

 

When any family member goes to France (or Italy, or Spain for that matter); a large tupperware container is always taken in order to haul back as much fantastic cheese as possible.

 

While Canada does some great cheeses (Quebec leading the pack) we still cant touch the amazing cheeses that France produces (don't get me started on how much I miss a good Tomme or some funky unpasteurized goat cheese!).

[Paul Fink]

I need a crumbly goat cheese to use in a duck tortilla.

There's no chilies in the tortilla, Just duck magret, the cheese

and a cherry salsa made from cherries, lime & cilantro.

I need a goat cheese with a wide appeal (in laws are coming).

[FrogPrincesse]

Vintage sheep gouda. I liked the flavor, especially in the center of the piece. Closer to the rind, I found the taste to not be so clean (some mustiness), which makes me wonder how the cheese was stored.

 

 

 

[chromedome]

On 18/01/2017 at 2:07 PM, TicTac said:

Oh these posts make me green with envy!

 

When any family member goes to France (or Italy, or Spain for that matter); a large tupperware container is always taken in order to haul back as much fantastic cheese as possible.

 

While Canada does some great cheeses (Quebec leading the pack) we still cant touch the amazing cheeses that France produces (don't get me started on how much I miss a good Tomme or some funky unpasteurized goat cheese!).

Oddly, though we're a backwater in so many other ways, we have a number of very good cheeses here in southern New Brunswick. Armadale Dairy (a Dutch family) makes raw-milk gouda, edam, havarti, and other items such as butter, quark and yogurt. Au Fond des Bois does goat cheeses; no longer raw-milk (alas!) under the new owners but still very good. La Faim du Loup/Bergerie aux Quatre Vents makes raw-milk cheeses from sheep's milk and cow's milk, and Jolly Farmer does a dozen fairly mainstream (cheddar, mozza) but good raw-milk cheeses. 

 

Bergerie aux Quatre Vents is especially good, and you can find a few of theirs in specialty shops across the country.

[FrogPrincesse]

Fenacho cheese with fenugreek which gives it a slightly sweet and caramelized flavor.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Bleu d'Auvergne purchased at Bristol Farms. It's not bad but I've had better. It's a bit too salty and could be more creamy.

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Manchego anejo (from Trader Joe's) with homemade quince marmalade. This is delicious!

 

 

[rustwood]

Vulto Creamery in New York state is recalling some of its cheeses after an outbreak of listeria caused two deaths.

 

That is a link to a google search for an interesting NYT article.  A couple of years ago I was doubly frustrated by Vulto when I vacationed not far from Walton.  First I learned their creamery isn't open to the public (no store), then I managed to buy some of their cheese, but our puppy got it before I had a chance to try it (a somewhat expensive mistake on my part).  I kind of feel a little better about that now, but of course it almost certainly would have been safe and delicious.

 

There were three things in the article that caught my eye.  First is that "only" 15% of cheese made in France is made from unpasteurized milk.  That is followed by the statement that half of the artisanal cheese made in the US is made from unpasteurized milk.  I don't know how US cheese is classified as artisanal, but I imagine it represents a very small percentage of all cheese production.  Finally, considering that the sale of raw milk restricted in states near me, I was surprised to read that there is only one national standard governing the production of raw milk cheese - that it be aged for 60 days to block E. coli from developing.  I'll be interested to learn whether there are any additional state regulations in my area.

 

I don't know if I will be less likely to purchase local raw milk cheese in the future, but I suspect I will recall this incident the next time I see it.

 

[blbst36]

Rebooting an old topic, cause I just bought a container of cheeses from the grocery store put together by the cheese monger and I have questions.  There's three types of cheese, Marcona almonds, fig spread, and crackers.

 

Questions: what do I do with the fig jam?  Does it go on the cheese or do I eat it alone?  Is pineapple a good accompaniment fruit?  Or should I stick with grapes?  What about dried blueberries?  What kind of meat?  I don't like prosciutto raw (please put down the pitchforks!), but I want something a bit fancier than the summer sausage I usually eat with cheese.  Would salami be good?  Maybe one of those logs you slice yourself?  Would you add any other nuts?  Or are the almonds enough?  What do you drink with it if you can't have wine?  Water and food is not good to me.

 

The cheeses are: Monterey Jack, Gouda, and Herbed Gouda.  I know, I know, not very adventurous, but I wanted the first one to be something I knew I would like.  Next one will be more adventurous because I'll be eating it at home, so if I hate it, I have other food to eat

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, blbst36 said:

Questions: what do I do with the fig jam?  Does it go on the cheese or do I eat it alone?  

You can do whatever you like with the fig jam.  I like to put a bit of cheese on some bread or a cracker and drizzle just a bit of the jam over the top.  If that's too messy, you can certainly spread the jam on the cracker or bread. I also like to have a savory spread in addition to the sweet - so maybe an interesting mustard or tapenade in addition to your fig jam.

 

1 hour ago, blbst36 said:

Is pineapple a good accompaniment fruit?  Or should I stick with grapes?

In my opinion, pineapple is not the best accompaniment.  For fresh fruit, I would prefer any berries, grapes or wedges of ripe pear or apple but you should go with what you love.  I am told some people like pineapple on pizza 

 

1 hour ago, blbst36 said:

What about dried blueberries?

I am not the biggest fan of dried blueberries because they look like shriveled little stones, but again, use what you love.  Dried apricots are good if you have some plump, pretty ones and dates are also nice. 

 

1 hour ago, blbst36 said:

What kind of meat?  I don't like prosciutto raw (please put down the pitchforks!), but I want something a bit fancier than the summer sausage I usually eat with cheese.  Would salami be good?  Maybe one of those logs you slice yourself?

Yes, salami is a good choice.  Sopressata or pepperoni are also nice.  A log you slice yourself is nice, although I recommend pre-slicing it before you arrange it on the platter.  I also recommend pre-slicing at least some of the cheese.  You don't want it to dry out but I've found people are much more likely to pick up a pre-cut piece and less likely to make a mess of the whole wedge if you give them a starting point.

 

1 hour ago, blbst36 said:

Would you add any other nuts?  Or are the almonds enough? 

A small variety of nuts is nice but the Marcona almonds are always a treat and it's fine to go with just one. 

I always like to add some pickle-y things like cornichons, olives, pickled peppers, etc.  

 

1 hour ago, blbst36 said:

What do you drink with it if you can't have wine?  Water and food is not good to me.

I like water and food but if you don't, they you should drink whatever you do enjoy with food.  A cider would be a good alternative to wine.  Or sparkling water with a splash of a fruit vinegar or shrub.  

 

Your cheesemonger selected 3 mild cow's milk cheeses with similar textures.  Sounds like that is what you'd like for this platter so that's perfect.  For your next round with more adventurous cheeses, consider trying some with more variation in texture (soft vs hard), flavor (mild vs sharp) and milk type (cow, sheep, goat).  

 

Edited August 30, 2018 by blue_dolphin (log)

[blbst36]

@blue_dolphin - thanks for all the wonderful information!  I'm definitely pre-slicing the meat, but I may leave the cheese as is for transport.  It looks so pretty!  Oooh, an apple might be a tasty addition.  I'll have to see what's at the store.  I was going to get some bliueberries anyways for baking.  I can take a few and see if I like it.  I like dried berries, but not much of any other dried fruit.  Is there something special about Marcona almonds?  I'd never heard of them until reading the label.  I'm so excited!

 

It is actually just me eating this .   To be honest, it's going to be my lunch on my last day of camping this weekend  

 

There was one package that had some sheep's cheese in it, but it had pepper spread in it and I really wanted to try the fig spread.  There was another that had a little container of what, I assume, was soft cheese.  It's a fun thing to experiment with and I'm glad I saw it.  It's not too expensive (I don't think), so it's definitely something I'll be trying more than once.  I may even leaf through my cheese and cheese cookery cookbook!

Edited August 30, 2018 by blbst36 (log)

[IowaDee]

You have a whole wonderful world of tastes about to open up.  Discovering how varied cheeses were was  one of the best discoveries I ever made.  Have fun on this journey and don't forget to take us along.  There is always another cheese to discover along the way!

 

[blue_dolphin]

@blbst36, I'm laughing at my suggestions now that I know it's a camping lunch!  You can just throw all of that out the window - or save it for later! 

 

When it comes to trying cheeses beyond what's available in the pre-packaged sets, you might try a Whole Foods.  They usually have a basket of small pieces of different cheeses, usually in the $2-3 price range.  It's a good way to sample some new things without committing to an expensive purchase.  I always look through when I stop in there. 

[Auspicious]

3 hours ago, blbst36 said:

Is pineapple a good accompaniment fruit?

 

Not really. Try pears, oranges, peaches, raspberries, or maybe mango.

 

What kind of meat? 

 

Prosciutto is the classic accompaniment. You don't like that. Boiled ham? Your cheeses are very mild so salami would be fine. Summer sausage would be fine. Unless you have a slicer or mandoline pre-slice for presentation. If you're just hanging out a hunting knife and chunks are fine.

 

The cheeses are: Monterey Jack, Gouda, and Herbed Gouda.

 

So really two kinds of cheese. Fine. Remember to let the cheese come up to ambient temperature before feeding it to anyone. The tastes will be better.

 

Fig jam is usually paired with a soft cheese like Brie or Mozzarella, even Boursin. With moderately hard cheeses you might have a better experience with French bread rather than crackers. Is it too late?

[kayb]

As well as the fig jam, honey is a great condiment with hard cheeses. I often make a light meal out of cheese, fruit, and whatever kind of cured meat I have on hand. And one of my very favorites is pears and blue cheese; you might start with a fairly mild blue, and graduate to the sharper ones.

 

I love Gouda cheese. Some over my other favorite hard and semi-hard cheeses are Gruyere and manchego. Monterey Jack is another easy entry-level cheese; some of the cheddars are, and some are sharper and stronger.  In the softer cheeses, I'm fond of all the bries. Rcotta is really easy to make at home, and lends a new dimension to your lasagna, as well as being wonderful in cheesecake and a good sub for cottage cheese. Fresh mozzarella is a revelation. In the in-betweens, I like havarti, fontina, butterkase, either just sliced on a cheese board or in a sandwich. 

 

I am, in fact, just like a big rat when it comes to cheese. Love the stuff.

 

[blbst36]

16 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

@blbst36, I'm laughing at my suggestions now that I know it's a camping lunch!  You can just throw all of that out the window - or save it for later! 

 

When it comes to trying cheeses beyond what's available in the pre-packaged sets, you might try a Whole Foods.  They usually have a basket of small pieces of different cheeses, usually in the $2-3 price range.  It's a good way to sample some new things without committing to an expensive purchase.  I always look through when I stop in there. 

 

Noo! They were great suggestions!  Very helpful.  I can have a nice little platter - even in the woods   I will check it out when I've exhausted the pre-made stuff.  My biggest fear is that they're going to stop making them  

 

15 hours ago, Auspicious said:

 

Not really. Try pears, oranges, peaches, raspberries, or maybe mango.

 

 

Prosciutto is the classic accompaniment. You don't like that. Boiled ham? Your cheeses are very mild so salami would be fine. Summer sausage would be fine. Unless you have a slicer or mandoline pre-slice for presentation. If you're just hanging out a hunting knife and chunks are fine.

 

 

So really two kinds of cheese. Fine. Remember to let the cheese come up to ambient temperature before feeding it to anyone. The tastes will be better.

 

Fig jam is usually paired with a soft cheese like Brie or Mozzarella, even Boursin. With moderately hard cheeses you might have a better experience with French bread rather than crackers. Is it too late?

 

Too late?  To get bread?  Not yet.  I was thinking of that, too, but the bread won't be fresh since I won't be eating it until Monday.  I could run down to the Piggly Wiggly, though.  It's only about a half hour away from where I'll be.  

 

12 hours ago, kayb said:

As well as the fig jam, honey is a great condiment with hard cheeses. I often make a light meal out of cheese, fruit, and whatever kind of cured meat I have on hand. And one of my very favorites is pears and blue cheese; you might start with a fairly mild blue, and graduate to the sharper ones.

 

I love Gouda cheese. Some over my other favorite hard and semi-hard cheeses are Gruyere and manchego. Monterey Jack is another easy entry-level cheese; some of the cheddars are, and some are sharper and stronger.  In the softer cheeses, I'm fond of all the bries. Rcotta is really easy to make at home, and lends a new dimension to your lasagna, as well as being wonderful in cheesecake and a good sub for cottage cheese. Fresh mozzarella is a revelation. In the in-betweens, I like havarti, fontina, butterkase, either just sliced on a cheese board or in a sandwich. 

 

I am, in fact, just like a big rat when it comes to cheese. Love the stuff.

 

 

A plate with cheese, meat, fruit, and something crunchy is one of my favorites!  If I'm feeling froggy, I'll even throw some dip and veggies on there.  Thanks for all the cheese suggestions!  I love gouda, too.  Brie is hit or miss for me.  I haven't experimented with using Ricotta for anything other than baking.  It might be fun to make it.  I had burratta recently and thought I had died and gone to heaven.  I found an Italian shop where the owner hand makes all the cheese.  I was thinking of getting some of that, too, but I am going to wait until I can enjoy it properly.  I've never heard of butterkase, but I've had havarti (don't remember if I liked it) and I love fontina.  I haven't had it alone, though, I don't think.

 

Ugh!  So much information!  I'm going to be full of cheese for a while   Thanks all!  I'll post an update with pics afterwards!

[MelissaH]

On 8/30/2018 at 4:54 PM, blue_dolphin said:

@blbst36, I'm laughing at my suggestions now that I know it's a camping lunch!  You can just throw all of that out the window - or save it for later! 

 

When it comes to trying cheeses beyond what's available in the pre-packaged sets, you might try a Whole Foods.  They usually have a basket of small pieces of different cheeses, usually in the $2-3 price range.  It's a good way to sample some new things without committing to an expensive purchase.  I always look through when I stop in there. 

Trader Joe's is also a great place to look at cheeses, especially since they're known for their policy of sampling everything. (But it's cheese! Whatever it is, it'll likely be good for something.)

[blbst36]

It's really late, but I'm here with an update

 

Here's the whole what I got on the left and the salami I bought on the right

 

All set up!  I bought some local bread to eat with it and some everything flavored chips!

 

Just the cheese and salami

 

Just the bread and sides

 

I had some with salami, some alone, some with fig spread.  They were all really good, but I think the package was mislabeled.  There was no herbed gouda, just the regular gouda (which is good cause I love gouda).  The white cheese was more brittle than expected.  It reminded me of swiss, but didn't taste like it, thankfully.  It was possibly the monterey jack?  I don't know what the other yellow cheese was, but it was tasty, too.  It's something I would definitely buy again.

[suzilightning]

In the drawer this week is a piece of caciocavallo siciliano the folks I was housesitting for got by EWR customs and a Rogue smoky blue.

[blbst36]

I got another mini cheese plate.  This one wasn't as much of a win for me.

 

Here's the package.  The only cheese I knew was cheddar (obviously) and goat cheese.  I was really worried that the crackers were going to be some horrible olive thing.

 

Here's my plate.  The cheese on the top(ish) didn't have any identifying marks.  It was my favorite besides the goat cheese.  So, I'm guessing it was the cheddar even though I wouldn't be able to identify it as that.

 

The cheese on the lower left had this rind.  Honestly, it tasted like swiss.  I do not like swiss.  I'm guessing this is the Grand Ewe

 

The one at the top had two rinds.  I saw M on the label, so I'm guessing it's the Madrigal.  I liked this one, too.  It was still kind of swissy, but not as strong

 

As for the crackers, the ones in the package were wonderful for the goat cheese.  A little sweet from raisins and really crunchy.  Well, as crunchy as it could be after bring store in the fridge.  Also, everything bagel flavor crackers and the crackers from the last package. 

 

Now, I want to go get goat cheese and those crackers.

[blue_dolphin]

Not a lot of cheese chat lately so I'll give a shout out to the Snowdonia Black Bomber Welsh Cheddar.  Elsewhere in our forums, @CantCookStillTry has called it a cheese she can't be without and @Tere has mentioned it in this very thread.  I bought some not long ago when my local import shop was out of the Mull of Kintyre Scottish Cheddar that I usually treat myself to. 

Great sharp Cheddar flavor but I'm calling it out more for the texture, which hits the sweet spot between crumbly and creamy. Surprisingly creamy for an aged Cheddar.   At room temp, it's nicely spreadable.  

Very much worth a try if you see it in your local shops. 

[farcego]

What an amazing post!!!

 

This week I had a cheese I never had before, Saint Andre:

It came well into a cardboard container

 

 

and then, when we see the cheese:

 

 

look at that!

Really nice texture of a triple cream properly "affine",  buttery and a bit "fungi", and the ripe add some pungent. I enjoyed enough to it at once without any help of other food, crackers, etc (it is how i normally eat cheese).

Edited May 23, 2022 by farcego
I made a mess uploading the pictures (log)

[Chimayo Joe]

One of my local Safeway stores sells wedges of Black Bomber.  It's great.

 

[farcego]

I had to go to the doctor a few days ago, and there was an Aldi next to it. Inside I found a blue cheese, named Borgonzola. In an internet search the name came from a mix of Borgo (italian last name, the root of the makers) and gorgonzola. However, the cheese has nothing to do with gorgonzola, rather, with cambozola. It is more complex flavored than cambozola, and quite creamy. I found it in a single-doses wheel, wrapped in blue foil with the name and some information, but I see it can be found in bigger wheels, at cut (like cambozola). Most of the cheese as this one, often called blue brie in Australia, tend to disappoint me, however, I will happily purchase Borgonzola back.

As you can see in the picture, the appearance actually remains cambozola and no gorgonzola, just like the taste does.

 

 

Edited September 5, 2022 by farcego
make it clearer (log)

[heidih]

I am not a cheese head but when you see straight lines of blue like that - is it because of injection?