Cheese

[SteveShaw]

My cheese thread's an hour old now and I haven't had a single good cheddar recommendation. Guess I'll have to wait till the Brits wake up in the morning...

Steve

[Jack]

Well I can tell you what NOT to eat: soy cheese.

It tastes like credit cards.

[perrins57]

I am sick to the back teeth of going to cheese counters, thinking "Oh - I'll be adventurous today and buy a cheddar I've never tried before,"
Steve

Remarkable, I'm sure I haven't heard the words "Cheddar" and "adventurous" in the same sentence before - and there in lies your problem - buy some dolcelatte (or however you spell it) or Y-Fenni of something else not made of reconstituted polymerised epoxy milk products.

[rebl_rn]

I live in Wisconsin, America's Dairyland, and home to some great award-winning cheese (you didn't say anything about Wisconsinites bragging, so I will). In fact, we are known to the rest of the country as "cheddarheads" or "cheeseheads" because, well, we like cheese.

I don't know what brand or type or farm of cheese that's the best - I guess I'm not that much of a cheese gourmet - but I never have any problem finding good cheese, mostly from area farms.

[Jack]

Now that I think about it, every Amish cheese I've ever eaten has been superbly delicious, but I really doubt one could find it in the UK.

(Do Amish people live in the UK?)

[SteveShaw]

I am sick to the back teeth of going to cheese counters, thinking "Oh - I'll be adventurous today and buy a cheddar I've never tried before,"
Steve

Remarkable, I'm sure I haven't heard the words "Cheddar" and "adventurous" in the same sentence before - and there in lies your problem - buy some dolcelatte (or however you spell it) or Y-Fenni of something else not made of reconstituted polymerised epoxy milk products.

Had 'em, mate, and love 'em. In the fridge at the moment I have a Bleu d'Auverne, a full-fat Normandy Camembert and a hunk of Wensleydale as well as my cheddars. A superb Irish cheese that I bought in Barnstaple pannier market is Cashel Blue. I love a good, tangy, crumbly Lancashire on a butty with tomatoes or good piccalilli. I relish a good, flowing Brie too, but it mustn't have that nasty, chalky layer in the middle. It's just that I love cheddar especially but felt frustrated about the crap that usually passes for it. You haven't used the words "adventurous" and "cheddar" in the same sentence because you've had your senses dulled by the rubbish that generally goes by the name of cheddar. But there is good stuff around!

Steve

[chas]

What I want from cheddar cheese is very simple. Firm texture but not too dry. A bit moist even. Salty and very tangy, but very clean-flavoured and free of off-tastes. The saints preserve me from "mild cheddar." Proper cheddar should make your gums ache. It should, of course, never be served straight from the fridge. Proper cheddar cannot come from a rectangular block - that is factory trash.

I prefer a drier cheddar; if you have a big enough block, it should even crumble a little if you cut it with a knife. And I'd characterize the sensation not as "make your gums ache," but as "make your mouth itch."

Other than that, we're in complete agreement. Cheddar is really the king of cheeses. There really are good American cheddars, from Vermont and New York (I have yet to find a good Wisconsin cheddar, but, as you pointed out, they prob'ly keep that for themselves). My all-time favorite was a grocery-store brand (Stop 'n' Shop) "real sharp." My mouth would itch for 15 minutes after a couple of pieces of that, and it was dirt cheap. And it made the BEST cheese potatoes and cheese sauce for broccoli.

[emmline]

Well Steve...thanks so much for this announcement. I'll just pull Chitty Chitty Bang Bang out of the garage and head on over to Devon.
On second thought, I won't. I actually haven't eaten more than a couple cheese shavings since 1985 when I discovered that the casein gives me a 3 day migraine.

Well I can tell you what NOT to eat: soy cheese.

It tastes like credit cards.

And furthermore, the only meltable kind melts because of added CASEIN!

It is much preferable to stick with tofu.

[aderyn_du]

Now that I think about it, every Amish cheese I've ever eaten has been superbly delicious, but I really doubt one could find it in the UK.

What a coincidence! Just today I bought, for the first time, some Amish Havarti... it is *wonderful*!! I'm going to try the cheddar next time I go to Publix (a grocery here in Atlanta).

Speaking of crackers... has anyone tried Carr's Rosemary Crackers? I discovered them a couple weeks ago. Yum!!!!!!

(Steve, I wish I had some good cheddar recommendations, but never having been to your part of the world, I've no idea what is available there... sorry!)

~Ad

[djm]

I have a friend who likes really foul stuff like you, Steve. I can never tell if the approaching odour is his breath or feet. I'm afraid I can't stand anything tougher than well-salted curds. And while you're bashing everything on the supermarket shelves, kindly leave the Breton crackers for me. We luvs 'em, precious, cheese or no.

And really, Steve, for a self-diagnosed cheese fiend I am a bit surprised that you have failed to mention Red Leicester, Tilsit, Caerphilly, Bel Paese, Red Windsor, Stilton, Emmental, Gruyère, Norwegian Jarlsberger, Liptauer, Lancashire, White Stilton, Danish Blue, Cheshire, Dorset Blue Vinney, Roquefort, Pont-l'Évêque, Port Salut, Savoyard, Saint-Paulin, Carre-de-L'Est, Bresse-Bleu, Boursin, Camembert, Gouda, Edam, Caithness, Smoked Austrian, Japanese Sage Darby, Greek Feta, Parmesan, Mozzarella, Pippo Crème, Danish Fimboe, Czech sheep's milk, Venezuelan Beaver Cheese, Ilchester, SHUT THAT BLOODY BOUZOUKI UP! Limburger ...



djm

[Doug_Tipple]

What about Kraft Velvetta. I do prefer natural cheese from Vermont (sorry Wisconsin), but Velvetta is often on sale in my supermarket, and I like bargains.

[Denny]

What about Kraft Velvetta. I do prefer natural cheese from Vermont (sorry Wisconsin), but Velvetta is often on sale in my supermarket, and I like bargains.

I think ya missed the 1st page...
sorry about the Velvetta...

[The Weekenders]

I really think Steve is one of the Monty Pythons and is pullin' our leg. I swear, his descriptions of cheese are right out of the Travel Agent skit. I can hear Eric Idle saying all his lines about cheese!

Pursuing cheese is sorta like remembering wine labels. I never can remember when I have had a good one, or the next time it doesn't taste as good, etc...

[Martin Milner]

A couple of weekends ago my brother, bless him, gave me a bag with a couple of his favourite cheeses in, and a jar of pickled walnuts. A tentative sniff suggested that someone might have been sick in the bag, but not recently.

As soon as I was out of sight, the bag went straight in a litter bin, walnuts and all.

I think the first division in cheese appreciation has to be smell. If you don't want everything in your fridge to leap out onto the floor in desparation, you can't put something that smells like a dead foot in there.

I'm probably not adventurous enough when it comes to cheese - I favour full flavoured stuff like Cathedral City, when I have a cheese hankering.

I amazed and amused my colleagues with some cans of Easy-Cheese from the States earlier in the year. Now that's class.

[avanutria]

Two other vile confections we have here (or used to, at least in the days of my youth) are "Kraft Cheese Slices" and "Dairylea."

Are you kidding?? The discovery of Kraft Cheese slices was partially responsible for my surviving last winter! How else am I supposed to make proper tuna melts and grilled cheese sandwiches?

Granted, Martin describes it as "plastic cheese" so maybe it's a cultural thing.

As for other varieties, I greatly enjoy the Red Leicester cheese but I'm not sure if that meets your criteria. I'm even less adventurous than Martin.