Cheese (2005–2008)

[Fugu]

No one here yet (I think) has mentioned one of my favorite, favorite cheeses: Tête de Moine.

←

I like Tête de Moine, looks like little carnations when used with the special shaver/cutter.

[gariotin]

Gfron - yes, that is the company I thought it might be. They make beautiful cheeses from the Langa region. Your pix is great - but tell us...how did it taste?

Sandy - you do my heart good - my company represents the Roaring 40s nationally. I also think it is a great cheese - even people who are not blue lovers like it. I probably wrote about this pages back, but the name refers to the geographical location of King Island, which is in a strait between Australia and Tasmania. It sits at the 40th parallel and the winds that whip off the ocean are called the Roaring 40s. The island has a long dairying tradition and supposedly has more cows than people.

I attended the American Cheese Society annual conference in Burlington, Vt last weekend. There were 1200+ entries into the competition - officially made it the largest cheese competition in the US. The winner was a dark horse...and very delicious. It was an aged raclette from a small dairy in Northern Michigan called the Leelanau Cheese Company. Second was the Flagship cheddar from Beecher's in Seattle - a very interesting cheddar. The 4 day event featured panels on selling, merchanising, promoting American artisinal cheeses and had wonderful speakers from across the country - actually from around the world, now that I think of it. General sessions were held discussing the raw milk question, sustainability of small American dairy farms, affinage, etc. The Festival of Cheeses the final night is always the culmination of a great event and this one was no exception. Each of the 1200+ cheeses was plated and attractively displayed, grouped together by class. A professional carver had formed cheddar blocks into beautiful displays. Next year it will be in Chicago and we are celebrating the 25th anniversay of the group, so it is sure to be great!

[gfron1]

Gfron - yes, that is the company I thought it might be.  They make beautiful cheeses from the Langa region.  Your pix is great - but tell us...how did it taste?

←

My recipe called for 32 oz of cream cheese, and I had 10 oz of the alta, so there was still 22 oz of cream cheese to hide the taste, but it still came through as a strong, but not offensively strong cheese, and well paired with the nectarine. I would like to have a cake made exclusively from the alta, but I don't think I could pull it off because it is so runny.

[Dante]

Hey that's what the quote in my signature refers to!

yes yes yes!!!

and, oddly enough, I believe I just replied to another of your posts elsewhere...

I love cheese, and as I've realized with beer, the more I focus on "rating" or taking notes, the more I pay attention to all the little details and complexities.

interesting. I can see that.

If you're in the area and haven't been to the public market, you're nuts!

I'll have to make a note of that if I find myself in the vicinity

Yesterday, I had some cypress midnight moon (goat) at Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg; very tasty! They always have cheese and meat that you can munch on with your beer, and they're all dee-lish.

Other cheeses outside of the usual suspects I've really enjoyed include (but are not limited to):

- aged goudas - I think I favor Prima Donna, but maybe it's Rembrandt

I must confess that I've never explored goudas all that thoroughly. The local food co-op stocks a good selection of them.

- sage derby - some are better than others

in my experience, so tend towards a certain...mealiness?

- bel chimay with beer - made by Belgian Trappist monks, they wash the rind of the cheese with their own beer; the beer is also tasty, btw

Hm...never trieed that one...

- manchego

I admit I use this one more for cooking them by itself, tho I did recently sample a pretty decent one.

- mimollette

irish vintage cheddar

both lovely.

when I was last in New Orleans (November), I found a sheep's-milk Cashel Blue. most excellent.

- brillat savarin - it's like buttah! i used to like st. andre's when it was first introduced in this area (and when it was the first triple-creme cheese I had eaten), but I've found that it's never ripe when it's in the store now except sometimes in the mini-wheels, and those mini-wheels are bad news (at least for soft cheese).. so i stopped buying it. however... who can beat a cheese named after a french gastronome?

indeed.

That one, with Monte Enebro, Le Chevre Noir, Forme d' Ambert and a Vermont cheese simply called Abbey make up the regular offerings on the cheese board at the Canoe Club in Hanover, New Hampshire (with Red Hen Bakery bread, a pices of honey comb and fig-almond tart). i can go there, just order that and feel perfectly happy.

pretty much any decent soft goat cheese

you must seek out Lazy Lady cheeses, then, if you haven't already had the experience. Blue Ledge Farm of Leicester, Vermont, too.

and there's a not-half-bad local Camembert by Blythdale Farm too.

Mmmmmm... cheese! ::sighs::

right there with ya!

Sincerely,

Dante

[gariotin]

Dante,

Speaking of cheese & beer together, that was one of the most popular panels at the recent ACS conference. (Gee, I wonder why???)

Here is a link to a good article about it in the Boston Globe last week:

http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/200...rs_competition/

(If the link doesn't work, go to Boston.com and click on food - scroll down for the article.)

The guy who ran the panel thinks that beers are much more cheese-friendly than wine.

You also mention "any decent soft goat cheese". For fresh goat logs, I think most are not too interesting, but the one made by Tournevent (they also make the Chevre Noir) is called Biquet and is the best I've ever tasted. They won the blind taste test in Cooks Illustrated for imported goat log - beat out every French one! Hard to find, but some Whole Foods carry it around New England.

[Dante]

Dante,

yes?

[speaking of cheese & beer together]

and i was just thinking that when composing my last post...

[ that was one of the most popular panels at the recent ACS conference. (Gee, I wonder why???) Here is a link to a good article about it in the Boston Globe last week:]

excellent! Thank you for sharing this! I was just talking with the guy who runs the cheese section of the co-op about the ACS conference. I picked up the Vermond Shepherd Cheese that won an award,

[The guy who ran the panel thinks that beers are much more cheese-friendly than wine]

and interewting idea, and one I've really not thought consciously of, tho I've naturally served the two together in the past- I don't limit myself to jsut the classic cheese/wine pairing model.

And let us not forget Burlington's home to Magic Hat Brewery (which is also a fun place to visit, I might add, and they carry some special brews there that you can't get elsewhere).

(we have so many good microbrews up here, and brew-pubs too)

hmm...yeah- the Bonne Bouche was a recent discovery of mine (first encountered it at flavours of the Valley in May), it completely impressed me. Yeah- anything by Cobb Hill's quite lovely too.The Bayley Hazen Blue and Brother Lauren I'll confess to not being extremely familiar with.

I'll have to work more consciously on beer/cheese pairings on my own...

[You also mention "any decent soft goat cheese"]

actually, I did not personally, I was quoting from the lady I was replying to, but, anyway...

[For fresh goat logs, I think most are not too interesting, but the one made by Tournevent (they also make the Chevre Noir) is called Biquet and is the best I've ever tasted]

That one I've not sampled. The co-op gets Chevre Noir, so if they don't stock the Tournevent I can get them to special order it.

Sincerely,

Dante

[feedmec00kies]

You also mention "any decent soft goat cheese"...

←

That was me, actually Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try looking for it at Whole Foods down here around NYC.

And I've certainly heard that beer pairs better than wine with cheese before. I haven't had much wine - I actually prefer (decent) beer to wine usually - but I could imagine that it's actually true. They seem to be making those kinds of points about beer more and more often, lately, probably since the market share for craft beer has been growing and it's getting more attention as of late.

[avant-garde]

I've been eating some very good cheese this week. Although all are pretty common, they are some of my favorites nonetheless.

From Left to Right:

Name: Buttermilk Blue Cheese

Type: Cow's Milk

Consistency: Semi-soft

Country: USA (Wisconsin)

Flavors: Slightly Pungent, Smooth

Pairing: Pears, Apples, Peaches, Reisling, Champagne, Light Reds

Score: 8

Name: Murcia al Vino (Drunken Goat)

Type: Goat's Milk

Consistency: Semi-hard

Country: Spain (Murcia)

Flavors: Cross between regular goat cheese and a mild parmesan

Pairing: Rioja, Olives

Score: 8

Name: St. Andre

Type: Cow's Milk

Consistency: Soft, Creamy, Buttery

Country: France (Pyrenees)

Flavors: Contains a very nice nutty and buttery flavor. Very similar to brie

Pairing: Pinot Noir, Sparkling Wine, and Pears

Score: 9

Name: Morbier

Type: Cow's Milk

Consistency: Semi-soft

Country: France (Franche-Comté)

Flavors: Rich, Creamy, Slightly Bitter (like a very mild bleu cheese)

Pairing: Burgandy, Pinot Noir, Port

Score: 8

[Dante]

Name: Murcia al Vino (Drunken Goat)

splendid! one of my faves.

Name: St. Andre

this one I can't recall having had before...must seek out.

Name: Morbier

and Morbier is one of my all-time faves. I tend to default towards it, which has led me to intentionally avoid it of late in order to keep from cofusing too heavily on it. When I do cheese boards I don't want to repeat myself too often, you see.

Sincerely,

Dante

[Dave Hatfield]

Very quiet here, I can't believe that nobody is eating cheese during their vacation.

Anyway, I stumbled upon a new cheese (to me that is) today. Its called Domaine de Bresse. Its a blue and absolutely delicious. I've never seen it before, but the guy who sold it to me is very good & only seems to stock real cheeses.

In fact the cheese tastes like I remember a good Blue de Bresse tasting before they went mass production and spoiled it. A successor? Or maybe a throwback?

Does anybody know anything about this?

Also picked up a raw milk fresh cow's cheese with fine herbs. Sort of Boursin on steroids.

And 4 little hard cow's milk rounds (except that one was heart shaped). They're very sharp and very good.

USA vs. England this Saturday in World Cup Rugby. Cheers them on!

[jgm]

I can't tell you how thrilled to report that after the remodeling of a local grocery store, I can now purchase a very wide variety of cheeses.

When my lunch hour rolled around today, I was really hungry but couldn't decide what to eat; I ended up at the store, looking over the wares at the cheese counter. Simply because I was purchasing enough for lunch only, I bought a small round of St. Marcellin, which I enjoyed with water crackers and grapes. I liked it, but I can't help but think that had I paired some other things with it, I would have liked it more. I haven't yet had an opportunity to peruse the rest of this thread, so if it hasn't been discussed before, does anybody have any recommendations about other things that can be paired with this cheese? At $3.99 for an 80g round, it's a nice lunch option.

[gariotin]

I think you are on the right track with the St. Marcellin - pairing with fruit would bring out the tart, lactic qualities in the cheese. With all the great summer fruits around right now, you could do a lot of experimenting.

Dave, I wish I was eating cheese while I was on vacation - been trying to drop some pounds this summer and cheese is my downfall. I've been restricting my cheese, but sure am missing it!

[Dave Hatfield]

Dave, I wish I was eating cheese while I was on vacation - been trying to drop some pounds this summer and cheese is my downfall.  I've been restricting my cheese, but sure am missing it!

←

I am a firm believer that it isn't the cheese that makes you put on weight. I think its the bread/crackers/ ?? and wine that one eats/drinks with it.

So, cut out the bread, etc. Eat the cheese. And, yes, drink the wine. (Life has to continue to be worth living; doesn't it?)

[gariotin]

I think you are definitely right about the wine - I am trying to restrict that as well for awhile!

It's funny, I don't miss the bread or crackers, but that luscious, fatty cheese and the wonderful wine are my downfall. I'd rather eat a piece of cheese than a piece of chocolate any day of the week.

We are still getting wonderful fresh tomatoes here in New England - they are perfect with a little piece of cheese. I am eating bits of Clochette and Roquefort, as well as a lovely quarter of La Tur with tomato slices - heaven! A little goes a long way and the tart acid of the tomato is so good with the soft rich cheese.

[Dave Hatfield]

I think you are definitely right about the wine - I am trying to restrict that as well for awhile!

It's funny, I don't miss the bread or crackers, but that luscious, fatty cheese and the wonderful wine are my downfall.  I'd rather eat a piece of cheese than a piece of chocolate any day of the week.

We are still getting wonderful fresh tomatoes here in New England - they are perfect with a little piece of cheese.  I am eating bits of Clochette and Roquefort, as well as a lovely quarter of La Tur with tomato slices - heaven!  A little goes a long way and the tart acid of the tomato is so good with the soft rich cheese.

←

Ah yes! Tomato's & cheese a combination made in heaven. We too are getting really good local ripe big tomato's currently.

I guess they are what you would call 'heritage'; they're huge and so good. I'm also a great fan of cucumbers with cheese and, of course, those are at their peak just now.

No a great lover of fruits , jams and other sweet thing with cheese, but that's just a personal thing. The exception is very young fresh chevre with really good fruit compote.

I think of wine as keeping me young. Mostly likely a false belief, but one I enjoy.

As a snack dinner tonight it was sliced in half baguette with a smear of dijon, a think slice of garlic sausage and a topping of cantal entre doux with herbs de province grilled. Yummy!

[KitchenDruid]

Completely forgot to take a picture, but:

While wandering through Whole Foods this past Sunday, I found something I had been keeping an eye out for in local shops for a while:  Roaring Forties Blue.  This was the first time I'd seen the Australian blue in my travels around the city.  Needless to say, I grabbed a small wedge.

Fan-freakin'-tastic!  Not that crumbly -- actually, rather creamy, but with a kick.  I don't think I'd dare waste this in a recipe, but I would top my burger or steak with it.  Best all by itself, though.

←

Please share - which Whole Foods location? Our Wegmans (State College) stopped carrying it, but I do have a sister in center city. Addictively wonderful blue!

[MarketStEl]

Completely forgot to take a picture, but:

While wandering through Whole Foods this past Sunday, I found something I had been keeping an eye out for in local shops for a while:  Roaring Forties Blue.  This was the first time I'd seen the Australian blue in my travels around the city.  Needless to say, I grabbed a small wedge.

Fan-freakin'-tastic!  Not that crumbly -- actually, rather creamy, but with a kick.  I don't think I'd dare waste this in a recipe, but I would top my burger or steak with it.  Best all by itself, though.

←

Please share - which Whole Foods location? Our Wegmans (State College) stopped carrying it, but I do have a sister in center city. Addictively wonderful blue!

←

929 South Street. I picked up another wedge two weeks ago. I just polished off the last of that two days ago; time for another.

[gariotin]

Wegmans did a category review of their blue cheeses last winter and decided they had too many and some had to go. Roaring 40s was one of the casualties.

Most Whole Foods stores carry it and also lots of independent cheese shops - it is a great blue.

[Dave Hatfield]

Here's a follow up on the posts a few months ago about watching a cheddar cheese ripen.

Here's the link.

You gotta love the Internet!

[gfron1]

Today was our downtown's Taste of Silver City event. My store provided Gorganzola Dulce with 25-year Balsamic, followed by Fig Bread. Wow!

I really think gorg dulce is a decent cheese, but it made me really happy today because so many non-cheese fans, or people who don't like blue cheeses, loved it. Its kind of like making a convert

[MarketStEl]

Here's a follow up on the posts a few months ago about watching a cheddar cheese ripen.

Here's the link.

You gotta love the Internet!

←

I added Cheddarvision to my Facebook profile.

Another PGMC party, another cheese platter, for which I am gaining a reputation. (The cheese notes probably help.) And another opportunity to turn folks on to Roaring Forties Blue, which, I suggested to several fellow members, is even better than sex.

One member disagreed strenuously with me, insisting that only Locatelli Romano was better than sex, to which assertion I suggested that he substitute Parmigiano-Reggiano. He did agree with me that Roaring Forties Blue was a mind-blowingly great blue, though.

There was another Aussie cheese on the platter: Seal Bay Triple Cream, a wonderfully runny soft-ripened cheese that is similar to Brie but with a less pronounced bite.

Rounding out the platter were Gruyere cheese from Switzerland and a Tomme from Birchrun Hills Farm, in Birchrunville, Chester County. (Yes, I like to showcase local products where I can. Birchrun Hills Farm makes only a few varieties of cheese; it's gotten some notice for its Birchrun Blue. All are raw cow's milk cheeses.)

And there was a tub of DiBruno's Gorgonzola spread with Buffalo-wing pretzel chips. (Back when DiBruno's was better known as a cheap cheese emporium rather than a fine cheese emporium, its homemade cheese spreads won raves and fans. They're every bit as good now as they were then.)

I promise all of you I will get a photo of the next cheese platter I assemble for a Chorus party.

Edited September 23, 2007 by MarketStEl (log)

[Dave Hatfield]

Here's a follow up on the posts a few months ago about watching a cheddar cheese ripen.

Here's the link.

You gotta love the Internet!

←

I added Cheddarvision to my Facebook profile.

Another PGMC party, another cheese platter, for which I am gaining a reputation. (The cheese notes probably help.) And another opportunity to turn folks on to Roaring Forties Blue, which, I suggested to several fellow members, is even better than sex.

One member disagreed strenuously with me, insisting that only Locatelli Romano was better than sex, to which assertion I suggested that he substitute Parmigiano-Reggiano. He did agree with me that Roaring Forties Blue was a mind-blowingly great blue, though.

←

Whoa there! I may be a complete cheese nut & I may be over 70 years old, BUT

I still know that no cheese is better than sex!

I think we need a better comparator.

[MarketStEl]

Maybe so, but I can think of some intimate encounters that were clearly inferior to a fine cheese!

Of course, we tend to put such encounters out of our minds. Often, we do so by indulging in something more comforting or stimulating. A good cheese can be either, or both.

[Dave Hatfield]

Things have been a bit quiet on this thread lately so let's see if I can liven things up a bit.

Please go here to look at a cheese oriented post I did on the France forum.

I'd like some opinions. The stronger the better.

[SheenaGreena]

since this post has been quiet, and since I haven't been posting a lot lately I'll throw in my 2 cents.

The other day my boyfriend took me to La laiterie in Providence the other week for my birthday dinner and one of the more memorable cheeses was one called "Timberdoodle" Despite the hilarious name, it was in fact a very very yummy cheese. I believe it was a washed rind sheep or cows milk cheese (I forget). I looked around for it in the boston area, and unfortunately I couldn't find it anywhere. Instead I bought a great washed rind goat's cheese from colorado (forget the name) and a fantastic blue from VT.

eta: I had a pretty bland cheese the other day on a cheese plate at this restaurant here in boston called "the Butcher Shop". I forget where it was from, but it was a cheese rubbed with rice flour. How weird is that? It didn't taste like anything, just milk. However I did have a really good sardinian cheese (forget the name) and another cheese called "hooligan"

Edited October 5, 2007 by SheenaGreena (log)