Cheese (2005–2008)

[Dave Hatfield]

Dave - you know your accessibility to great cheese always makes me jealous!

Not familiar with Mont Salvey or Preferance - fill us in.

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Some of us are just lucky.

Montsalvy (to get the spelling right) is a cow's milk cheese made by Fromageries Occitanes a cooperative. Its very brie like in texture, but is made in thicker rounds of about 6" in diameter. The taste is mild, again not dissimilar to a brie. I suspect that its a 'modern' cheese made to serve today's market for cheeses that keep well & taste good straight from the fridge.Still, it has a nice mellow flavour.

Preferance is another relatively modern cheese invented if memory serves in the Auverne about 50-60 years ago. It comes in a large round about 12" in diameter & 1' thick. It is cow's milk, very creamy with blue pockets throughout. It is one of the nicest very mild blues I know of. Definitely a blue, but very easy on the palate. A great cheese to start somebody who doesn't think that like blue cheese off on. It doesn't seem to be very widely distributed & I can only find it at one Fromagerie.

I'd take pictures, but neither of these is very exciting to look at.

[GTO]

Wow, if you Google "Monsalvy cheese", this post is the very first link. That's what I call attention to detail.

My latest acquisitions are a 'Smoked Ribblesdale Goat' - A magnificently smooth, silky cheese, with a very subtle smokieness.

The other, is a 'Gouda with Cumin seeds' - A medium Gouda, semi-firm texture that tastes incredibly strongly of Cumin, with those clean, rounded Gouda flavours afterwards.

[LindsayAnn]

Got some new gems (as in cheese gems...haha) today.

Fow and Obel food store (one of the best cheese counters in chicago):

-Doleman Mazl Dome Pasterized Goat's Milk - France. (I get this one quite often...good edible rind with a creamy layer right beneth the rind and a center that is both creamy, crumbly,tangy and fresh tasting...mmm)

- Bayley Hazen Blue (Jasper Hill) Raw Milk Vermont....this is a new winner on my list. Heavy blue veining and so yummy....crumbly yet creamy at the same time....mmmm

Whole Foods:

Tournevent Goat Medallions (2 of them) - good fresh goats

- And, Laguiole Raw Milk French Cows.....I was told by a woman behind the rather largish (compared to some whole foods cheese sections, this is in the gold coast and a large large cheese counter) cheese counter that this is a wonderful cheese that tastes strangly like scrambled eggs...in a good way. I was perplexed...and bought on the whim without even asking to taste...I ahve to admit its damn good pretty flavourful (very pleasant flavor at that) but nothing like scrabled eggs! What was SHE talking about? I do love it and I will add this to my rotating list of cheeses for sure.

I love finding new favorites....all cheeses are good but its rare to add another to the list of all stars...let alone TWO new one in one trip (two diff shops but one cheese outing b.c I went to the stores back to back....okay okay you get my point.

Have a cheese-delishous (sp?) weekend - all.

[GTO]

I'd be kind of glad that the Laguiole didn't taste of eggs, Lindsay-Ann.

Eggs, good.

cheese, good.

But the only thing that should taste of eggs, is eggs.

[Dave Hatfield]

Got some new gems (as in cheese gems...haha) today.

- And, Laguiole Raw Milk French Cows..... What was SHE talking about? I do love it and I will add this to my rotating list of cheeses for sure.

I love finding new favorites....all cheeses are good but its rare to add another to the list of all stars...let alone TWO new one in one trip (two diff shops but one cheese outing b.c I went to the stores back to back....okay okay you get my point.

Have a cheese-delishous (sp?) weekend - all.

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LindsayAnn - A little background for you. Laguiole is one of a trio of cheeses from the Massif Central in France. The other two are Cantal & Salers. They're all cows milk from cows that graze on the higher mountain slopes. All are from the same bacterium, but each is made from the milk from a different breed of cow. All three have been made in this area since at least Roman times.

See if you can get a one year old Laguiole; very nice. The name. by the way comes from the little town famous for making knives. (or maybe they named the town after the cheese? Who knows.)

Also, try to find a Salers which is one of my favourites.

[Dana]

I found something different this week- Iberico 3 milk cheese. It's made from all 3 animal milks and has a firm, creamy texture and slight tanginess. It was just super for eating plain. I googled it, and found that it's not good for cooking, tho. Oh well, I'll just have to eat it plain, if I can keep my husband out of it!

Edited March 24, 2007 by Dana (log)

[Dave Hatfield]

Time for some pictures. Not my best, but think they'll do.

Anyway, we have friends coming to a birthday dinner this evening. Its Tom's 37th. Tom is the son of our very good local friends and is the owner/ chef of a very good hotel restaurant in Scotland. A great chef & should soon get his 1st Michelin star. He's a great guy & I love cooking for him. (tonight's menu is: Avocado with garlic butter wrapped in smoked ham & baked. Served on a bed of salad. Crisp fried sprats over endive with a red aioli. Daube of beef & roe deer served over mashed potatoes with roasted root vegetables. Salad. CHEESE. Lemon brulee with strawberries.)

So, I wanted some extra good cheeses. I went to the really specialist shop in Villefranche de Rouergue; this guy is very knowledgeable, has a great selection, all kept perfectly. After a good deal of discussion & sampling. (Rupert, my avatar got samples as well) we decided upon these three.

One each of cow, goat & sheep. Look at the neat little labels he filled out for me.

As you can see we have:

Col Del Fach, a goats cheese from the Ariege. Made near Foix. Tomme like, but far tastier.

St Felicien, a cow's milk cheese from the Rhone- Alps. Very high MG at 60%.

Goustal, a sheep's milk from the Aveyron. This one is pretty rare and is very local.

Really looking forward to eating these.

[gariotin]

Hey everyone - who's up for crashing Dave's for dinner??? The menu sounds great and those cheesey beauties will be the icing on the cake, so to speak. Tell more about the avocado appetizer - sounds so interesting. Halved, sliced....where do y put the garlic butter...wrap the whole thing like a little packet...bake for how long? I am imagining something really yummy, with the warm avocado turning soft and melty.

Thanks also for the good info on Laguiole and related cheeses. Laguiole is not easy to find here, and I applaud WF for featuringing this nationally two years in a row. We can find nice Cantal and Cantalet, but I have never seen Salers for sale here. It is a French cheese I have never tasted and would very much like to.

I know what she is saying about the eggy taste - sometimes I think a traditional British cheddar has that note...like Lincolnshire Poacher.

I have finally set my Italian tasting agenda - tried to balance things that weren't too obvious by doing side-by-side comparison.The group is very mixed in terms of their culinary sophistication.

Mozz di buf vs crappy supermarket mozz

La Tur - beautiful, creamy, lactic smallish cheese from Lombardy

Medium aged Asiago

Traditional Fontina Val d'Aosta vs Danish fontina

Pecorino Toscano - maybe a young soft one which is great this time of year w/

fresh favas & salumi

Reggiano Parm vs icky domestic version

Taleggio

Mountain gorg - a little more interesting than the dolce that most people know.

I figured I would also bring Mostarda and Italian chestnut honey to drizzle on the gorg and just have sliced baguette for people who have to have bread or cracker to eat cheese. Everyone is supposed to bring a bottle of Italian wine to share, so it should be interesting. I'll keep y'all posted.

[Dave Hatfield]

Hey everyone - who's up for crashing Dave's for dinner???  The menu sounds great and those cheesey beauties will be the icing on the cake, so to speak.  Tell more about the avocado appetizer - sounds so interesting.  Halved, sliced....where do y put the garlic butter...wrap the whole thing like a little packet...bake for how long?  I am imagining something really yummy, with the warm avocado turning soft and melty.

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Where was everybody? Nobody crashed the dinner & there I was expecting a crowd.

The cheeses were great. They made a nice combination of flavours. Just enough left of them for my lunch today.

For the avocado thing you halve an avocado carefully so it stays intact. Place a good dollop of garlic butter into the cavity where the seed was, then wrap the whole thing in a slice of lightly smoked ham. (use a tooth pick or two to secure the ham. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or so; just until the ham starts to crisp up a bit.

Serve (best to let it rest & serve warm or at room temperature. This also makes the timing easy.) over a bed of green leaves. I like to use mache (lamb's lettuce), but rocket or watercress will do as well. Dress this with a light creamy vinaigrette. My preference is one made with white balsamic vinegar.

Half an avocado per person is about right as an entrée. A whole one with more salad makes a nice easy lunch.

Can't wait to hear about the Italian caper. Ciao!

[gariotin]

Yum - I want to make the avocados soon - good excuse to invite folks over!

[Dave Hatfield]

Couldn't believe that none of us picked up on this website. Cheddar aging.

A live webcam showing a full size cheddar cheese ripening. Amazing. Pretty exciting stuff.

Sort of akin to watching grass grow, but with (hopefully) a better taste at the finish.

[GTO]

I don't know why I'm watching it, expecting to see something...It aint gonna do anything!

Good find though.

[gariotin]

LOL - I love it!

[GTO]

Some cheese porn! I've been busy today...

We have - 'Little Lincoln Imp' - Made right here in Lincoln, practically on my doorstep.

Along with; 'Blackstick Blue', 'Y-Fenni', 'Taleggio' & 'Old Amsterdam'. Enjoy...

[Dana]

How did you like the Blackstick Blue? I got some of it for our Christmas Plate, and we liked it a lot. I saw something else from Butler's Blacksick in my market last week, but I was already getting 5 other cheeses, so I passed. I can't remember what it was. I'll look for it this week.

[GTO]

The Blackstick is fantastic. It lured me in with it's insane colour, lol. Coloured with Annatto I believe, the same thing they use to colour Shropshire Blue.

The flavour I love too, a really full & tangy flavour, which definitely matches the smell.

[andiesenji]

I placed another order at IGourmet yesterday.

I received an email that they once again had the Yak cheese on sale.

My daughter tried it a few weeks ago and and called me about it. However, when I clicked on it at the IGourmet site, it was sold out!

Drat. Well, I placed an order anyway, for some of my standard favorites, which were, as usual, delivered in excellent condition, still chilled and carefully packaged.

Now, with this new batch available, I will finally be able to taste it.

Another cheese that is one of my daughter's favorites, is Cone de Port Aubry, and I have had no luck in finding an online source.

Some Whole Foods markets carry it but none anywhere near me.

I like other crottin-type cheeses and believe I would like this one, if I were able to purchase it.

Does anyone have a suggestion of where to find it?

I have tried all the usual suspects:

[gariotin]

No help w/the chevre, Andi, but I did used to sell the yak cheese and when it is in good shape, it is wonderful.

It has a very unique flavor - full of grass and herbs, but there is a different tang that is not quite like anything else. Problem is that it is quite inconsistent in quality, but I'm sure this is somewhat due to the transport method and time coming from Tibet. Keep trying - it is very interesting and serves a good service - supporting family farmers in Tibet with a value-added product that they can export.

Love the Blacksticks Blue as well. It is a little lurid in its orangeness, but very yummy.

GTO - tell us about Little Lincoln Imp (love that name!) and Y-Fenni - what were they like?

[GTO]

I have to say, in all honesty, the Lincoln Imp is not one of my favourites. It's a strong cheddar but to me, tasted kinda "farmy" - It tasted kind of like a farm smells...

Y-Fenni (pronounced "er-venny") is a Welsh Cow's milk cheese, named after 'Abergervenny' in Wales. It's firm but soft and is flavoured with sweet mustard seeds and brown ale.

Y-Fenni

[gariotin]

Interesting...here in the states there is an imported Welsh cheese called Red Dragon with the mustard seed & ale. It is made by the Abergavenney cheese company. Must be a regional traditional cheese?

They also make some other ones called Tintern, Harlech, Black Mountatin - all flavored with things like horseradish, chive, etc. Not very sophisticated cheeses, but likable and straight forward and great for entertaining as they go well with beer.

[GTO]

Gariotin - Red Dragon is the exact same cheese. I remember reading that Y-Fenni is also known by this other name. So yeah, exactly the same.

I wasn't aware that they did other flavoured ones. So they're somewhat of a novelty kind of thing? Not that that's bad, it's damn good cheese!

[gariotin]

They all fall into a category that I call "Cheese with Stuff in it."

All those stiltons w/dried fruit and cheddars w/chives & garlic. They are not my faves, but people seem to like them and they sell a lot.

[Dave Hatfield]

They all fall into a category that I call "Cheese with Stuff in it."

All those stiltons w/dried fruit and cheddars w/chives & garlic.  They are not my faves, but people seem to like them and they sell a lot.

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I'm with you. Not my favourites either.

The sticking stuff in seems to be primarily an Anglo-Saxon fetish as you rarely see the French or the Italians or the Spanish do it. There is Gouda with cumin, that's a bit of an exception in the Netherlands's.

The fetish seems to have really picked up speed in the British Isles over the past ten years or so. It used to be pretty much only Cotswold & chives, but now there seem to be ten's if not hundred's of variations. Maybe we could start something called 'The Campaign for Real Cheese'; sort of echoing the CAMERA thing for ale a few years back.

[GTO]

I re-tried the Lincoln Imp again today and it's a million % better. I think it just needed time to mellow, after breaking the wax rind. It's now more like a strong Wensleydale.

Don't talk to me bout flavoured cheeses, I've seen the ultimate in God-awful, what the fuck are you doing flavours.

Around Christmas time last year, my local Supermarket brought out a range of semi-soft generic "blue style" cheeses in the following varities:

Sticky Toffee - Looked like a block of skid marks

Cheese and chocolate - Plausable. I've heard of this combination many a time and have tried a very reputable Cheddar with chocolate but this looked like Ganache filling with murky bits of cheese.

Perhaps the most baffling horrendous of all;

Peppermint chip cheese - A lurid green colour with the most acrid mint oil smell.

[gariotin]

Oh my God, those are just unimaginably horrible!

What were they thinking?????? That makes Wensleydale with cranberry or Stilton with Mango & Ginger sound pretty normal, in comparison.

So...this could be our new motto..."Never eat cheese with obvious skid marks"?????