The oldest cheese you've ever eaten

[stephenc]

A 5 year-old box of Kraft Mac n Cheese.

[Fat Guy]

I think we have a winner!

[Pumpkin Lover]

Who sells these really long-aged cheddars in New York? I'd love to try one. Does Murray's sell stuff like that?

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Pan, I got my cheese from my BF, who was in Minneapolis in early December. He got it at the Mall of America (I think), and along with the cheese, he also got me a Green Bay Packers Cheesehead. I have to figure out how I can hang it in my kitchen.

[joey madison]

Oh my, I may win this. I knew working in a cheese shop would one day get me somewhere.

When I worked at Atlas Delicatessen we had a 20 year cheddar from a dairy just outside of Tomah, Wisconsin. We only carried it for a year (they ran out). But man, it was really something. They also had a 12 year.

Aside from that, I've had numerous cheeses in the 5-10 year range. The advantages of working somewhere that regularly stocks 300+ cheeses... oh how I miss the place.

[andiesenji]

I think Joey wins.

Back in the 50s, when I lived in Wisconsin for a few years, I did get to try some very old cheeses that were stored at the cheese factory outside of town, (Campbellsport), including some provolone that was hung in 4 foot long forms, (can't call them wheels, but don't know how else to describe them.) Also some gorgonzola and an aged fontina which was the best I have ever tasted - wish I had some now. It was very crumbly and had tiny white specks in it which I associate with very good aged cheddar. The factory manager was a friend and patient of my stepdad and we always had very good cheese.

The factory was on my way home from school so I sometimes was instructed to stop and pick up something my stepdad or mom had ordered.

We used a lot of their products in my mom's bakery, including whey which was used in one of the breads, sort of like a salt-rising bread that had a very "cheesy" taste.

I have bought most of the aged cheeses I have at Bristol Farms markets, here in the L.A. area.

More recently I have bought cheeses from The Ideal Chees shop in NYC and from the

Gourmet store as they sell some cheeses in full wheels.

For Wisconsin cheeses I order from a couple of vendors.

This vendor has some lovely cheeses.

Some cheeses do not have to be aged and I love Brick cheese which is virtually impossible to find outside of Wisconsin. Theirs is particularly good.

[Chef Shogun]

Although not a decade old, a Cantal is just wonderful as it gets up on 2 years.  It takes on a transformation of flavor that you can only describe as multi-dimensional, a lot goes on.  It develops a mellower tone and a creaminess while at the same time blooming on a sharpness as it finishes that is really transporting.  While you're somersaulting out into the meaning of sharpness, at the same time you have that solid volcanic mountain base holding you steady and reassuring you that yes, this is the best Cantal you've ever had.

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Cantal.... It's been a while...

[chromedome]

I know which was the oldest cheese I've ever eaten, but I don't know how old it was.

It was in one of the deepest, darkest recesses of the refrigerator in my rental apartment in New Westminster, which demonstrably had not been cleaned since it was purchased (it was avocado green, which tells you all you need to know). I'd newly moved in, I'd finally finished cleaning the place (remember those IRA hunger strikers who smeared their walls with excrement? I know where they trained), I was hungry, and I was broke.

What can I say? There was no visible mould, it was well saran-wrapped, I was still young enough to consider myself indestructible...I took a chance. It tasted okay, I didn't get sick, and I haven't noticed any lingering effects...<twitch> effects...<twitch>...

[Ling]

5 year cheddar...yum! They also sell 7 year, 8 year, and 12 year old raw milk cheddar at the cheese shop I frequent.

I bought the 7 year old cheddar last week. It's good.

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Have you tasted the 8 or the 12? Tell all.

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Not yet...it's double the price of the 7 year old. But I guess I really have no excuse NOT to try it, considering it's so accessible.

[phaelon56]

Who sells these really long-aged cheddars in New York? I'd love to try one. Does Murray's sell stuff like that?

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I don't know about Murray's but when the Union Square Greenmarket opens in the Spring there should be a vendor there who has 5 year (5X cheddar). There was someone selling it last time I breezed through there in the summer (overheard at that market from a conversation between two younger folks: "oooh... white cheddar cheese - it's not orange like cheddar is supposed to be - I wonder how they make that?").

You might also check locally in Zabar's, Fairway or other stores for either Black Diamond five year cheddar or Cabot's five year product. The former is Canadian and the latter from Vermont. Both are among the better mass market cheddars. IMHO it's important to allow the chunk you're going to sample to reach close to or just a bit below room temp - the subtle but distinct changes in texture and flavor that comes from longer aging in cheddar dont' seem to be nearly as noticeable when it's served cold.

[fatmat]

Question - what counts as age?

The age on the shelf maturing or the age in the fridge festering?

I've eaten some scary stuff from the fridge after beer - do these count?

[slbunge]

When I worked at Atlas Delicatessen we had a 20 year cheddar    from a dairy just outside of Tomah, Wisconsin.  We only carried it for a year (they ran out).  But man, it was really something.  They also had a 12 year.

Aside from that, I've had numerous cheeses in the 5-10 year range.  The advantages of working somewhere that regularly stocks 300+ cheeses...  oh how I miss the place.

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Oh this is like a stab in the heart. I loved Atlas Delicatessen. There cheese selection ranked favorably with cheese shops in much bigger markets. I still have a copy of their sandwich menu and we routienly try to replicate the Kitchen Sink sandwich.

I've had 12 year cheddar from Atlas (I don't remember a 20 year). I'm trying to remember the name of the dairy. If memory serves it was not terribly 'sharp' but the flavors were quite intense. As the moisture evaporates and the cheese dries you are essentially driving that intesification, similar to reduction in sauces.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 1/5/2005 at 1:51 AM, Fat Guy said:

I'm not going to win this one, but it's not about winning. It's about old cheese.

 

I don't think this is a winner, because I'm not sure if anyone actually ate any, but it is definitely old cheese. In fact, it's the oldest cheese ever discovered, according to several sources, but I can't recommend them*, in Xinjiang, China in a cemetery with mummies with the 3,600 year old cheese attached to their necks and chests. The mummies were buried in the dessert under overturned boats with a bunch of long poles around the graves. The mummies and the cheese were amazingly well preserved. I thought it was particularly interesting in that China is not the country that usually comes to mind in association with cheese. *The NY Times has an article with some nice photos (24 blocked ads), and the IBTimes article is interesting too, but both are completely infested with ads, including video and audio that Ad Block couldn't completely defeat. The linked China Daily article is clean. 

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I thought it was particularly interesting in that China is not the country that usually comes to mind in association with cheese.

 

Indeed, but there are a few places which have cheese. All are areas known for their ethnic minorities. Han Chinese, who make up the overwhelming majority do not have a cheese tradition.

The troubled province of Xinjiang is traditionally closer in culture to the 'stans' such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Takikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan which it borders, and most of which have cheeses. It was referred to in the past as Chinese Turkestan.

 

The area also borders Tibet which has a small cheese culture.

 

Yunnan province has the well known cow's milk cheese, Rushan (乳扇 - rǔshān, literally "milk fan") and my favourite, Rubing (Chinese: 乳饼 - rǔbǐng, literally milk cake) a lovely goat's milk cheese made by the BAi ethnic mminority.

Inner Mongolia (the Chinese province) also has cheeses including one very similar to cheddar. 
 

Apart from the last, they tend to be soft cheeses for eating very young. A 3,600 year-old rubing would not make a pleasant lunch.

Edited March 3, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[DantesDishes]

Oldest: 19 y/o cheddar (Wisconsin, almost completely crystallized) eaten in 2010 in Sonoma, CA. Paired with a quite spicy Zin from Dry Creek (Healdsburg, CA)

 

Favorite: "BoPoisse" a sheep & cow's milk blended cheese based off the French Epoisse. Made in Sebastapol, CA at Bohemian Creamery 

If you've never had their cheese, it is a MUST. Unfortunatly they no longer make the "BoPoisse", but they do make "The Bomb" witch is similar but made with SHeep and Goat's milk. check them out at: http://www.bohemiancreamery.com/