Cheese

[rousseau]

I haven't seen a thread on cheese pop up in this section, and given that it's.. well, cheese, I think it deserves one.

I didn't get into the stuff from one of our locals until we bought a car and I could get out to our farmer's market. Back then I tried a bunch of varieties, but these days I pretty much stick to plain, old cheddar, with the occasional block of caramelized onion or habanero mixed in. The cheddar treads that line between flavour/cost nicely. I don't buy much, just enough for some cheese/crackers throughout the week.

Anyway, what do you like?

 

[Morgan]

I also like cheddar cheese. My favourite is Ditcheat cheddar.
I am actually living very near to Cheddar and Ditcheat; we are spoiled for choice on the cheddar variations(mild, strong, mature extra mature etc).
I also enjoy Dutch cheese.

 

[IanSYK]

When I have cheese mainly eat

Cheddar
Brie
Blue Cheese (mainly Stilton)

Pub I went in yesterday had some cheese out.

 

[bilby]

Stilton is the food of the Gods.

Fortunately, as there are no Gods, I get to eat it instead.

On our last summertime trip to England, I insisted on staying a night at the Bell Inn, in Stilton. They had a platter with seven different Stilton cheeses on it. It was fantastic.

And there's nowt wrong with a bit of Wensleydale, either.

A nice soft cheese is good too - but these days the bacteriophobes have a stranglehold on decent soft cheese. Brie should be eaten at least four weeks after the 'best before' date as imposed by Australian authorities. The same goes double for rind-washed cheeses.

Not that there's anything wrong with hard cheeses. Samuel Pepys buried a wheel of Parmesan in his garden when the great fire of London threatened his home, and dug it up and consumed it after the fire. I consider it a tragedy that he did so before spaghetti bolognese became a common dish in England.

I can't be having with this so-called 'mild cheddar' the supermarkets stock though. It tastes worse than the plastic it's wrapped in.

 

[fromderinside]

Brands. I'm partial to particular brands Tillamook, Dubliner, yeah, cheddar. So different so titillating, so savory, so bright, so sharp. Git the red wine ma. Then there's swiss, munster, any kind of Jarlsberg, goat, herb, pungent, sooooft. Should we mill the parmesan or would you rather shave, perhaps use Romano instead ..... this is getting serious. How about with dills, or on burgers, or with mac, or to dip the cracker or bread?

I can't decide,

Hurry up with that wine.

Bottom lines. If it's cheese I'm in, especially if there's wine.

 

[ronburgundy]

I just bought a Camembert at a Farmer's Market (Is that white privilege?). It was so ripe that as soon as I unwrapped it, it began oozing out over the cutting board. It was excellent on a crusty sourdough baguette, with aromas of barnyard funk.

Other cheeses I love are Stilton, goat-milk Gorgonzola, soft funky washed-rind cheeses, cheddar (the sharper the bettter), and Bugarian/Hungarian feta. Most feta you see is domestic or French, and usually dry, crumbly, and salty. Bulgarian/Hungarian is sheep and goat milk based and is much more moist and creamy, but also usually cheaper.

But I'm no snob. Give me a bowl of melted Velveeta with Rotel (canned diced tomatoes with green chilies) and a bag of corn chips and I'm a happy camper. You can take the white boy outta the trash, but you can't take the white trash outta the boy.

 

[rousseau]

But I'm no snob. Give me a bowl of melted Velveeta with Rotel (canned diced tomatoes with green chilies) and a bag of corn chips and I'm a happy camper. You can take the white boy outta the trash, but you can't take the white trash outta the boy.

Same, I keep a bottle of Cheeze Whiz on hand most of the time for toast and sesame seed bagels. I don't know that I actually put it in the same category as block cheese, but I like it.

 

[Treedbear]

On a low cholestrol diet so I'll eat cheese when it's served, but I can't keep it at home. When I did I liked a glass of merlot along with Havarte with caraway seeds. Grated parmesian over steamed broccoli is like dessert.

 

[TV and credit cards]

When I was a young'un and we had a toaster oven, I used to melt a some muenster and a bit of butter on a slice of crusty Italian bread mom bought every Sunday. That and some of dad's Mogan David, okay, maybe Koolaid, but still excellent.

 

[Worldtraveller]

I've rarely met a cheese I didn't like. That shit called American though, isn't a proper cheese by any stretch.

I really like soft cheeses, and will often just spread them on a toasted sourdough. Roast beef (home made) with brie on sourdough is the best!

I may make a road trip to Seattle for the Cheese Festival this year. It's only about a 12 hour drive from where I am now.

 

[Politesse]

For the most part I am a cheese patriot, eating the various cheddars and jacks that my region is best known for, with the occasional derisive comment on the clearly inferior nature of Wisconsin produce. Also very fond of gouda, and the associated cheese curds.

I love a good wine and cheese spread, though.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Crackers and cheese, Tillimook cheddars are nice... but only because I went there. Their sharp cheddars maintain a creaminess to them. Okay, maybe it is just because I was there.

For mac and cheese, double creme gouda. Found this at a high end grocer in our area that a Whole Foods store managed to evaporate. Samples of cheese were out and this one spoke to me. Perfect mix of tang, nuttiness, and cream for a great adult mac and cheese. Goudas seem to have flavors that range from tasteless to creamy to smoky. This one hits all of the right spots.

For lasagna, Parrano. I was guessing in a local grocer and picked this up. Turned out to be perfect and try not to make serious lasagnas with anything but. It provides the perfect blend of flavor for lasagnas or other baked pastas.

For grilled cheese, you need a slice of cheddar, swiss, and Havarti.

I tried Wensleydale once. [Joe Piscapo]Once![/Joe Piscapo]

 

[ideologyhunter]

Huntsman!!
That's a full-bodied experience of layered cheese: Double Gloucester + Blue Stilton. Have some good wheat crackers on hand and you're in biz.
Proving that, despite some odd duck desserts (trifle...) and soda pop (Crikey, it's Lucozade!), the Brits got something right. In fact they got it perfect.

 

[4321lynx]

1. Gorgonzola

2. Stilton

3. Roquefort

4. Pont l'Eveque

5. Bleu de Bresse for when you cannot find or afford the others which of course should be from the country and region of original manufacture and not copies made in Canada, the US, the UK. Germany, Japan , China, Vietnam. Bangladesh etc etc..


P.S. I eat a lot of Cracker Barrel and Double Diamond === cannot find Bleu de Bresse.

Oh yes/ Your favourite red wine with any of these; and a not very expensive Tawny Port with the Stilton is better.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

I could learn to hate all of you people, for I cannot have cheese any more.

For old times sake.

Cambanzolo, (which can't be had in Aus. any more because of the bacteriaphobes aforementioned). Or any creamy blue cheese, let's not be too picky.

Haloumi.

Any nice sharp cheddar, melted.

Camembert or Brie with Tawny port and backgammon (the game, not the meat)


(Goes and slashes wrists, crying)

 

[IanSYK]

Though blue cheese on bread and dripping* is not the greatest of tastes.









* Not a deliberate pairing.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Cheddar - white and sharp. If you can serve it as curds all the better. Gouda is a very close second.

Honestly, I never met a cheese I didn't like, save for those that have extra ingredients mixed into the cheese. This just ruins the cheese.

Some of the local shops have these giant cheese things hanging from the ceiling. They're huge, not your tidy little wheels we're used to seeing, they look like hams that weigh a couple hundred pounds. Pure heaven.

 

[steve_bank]

A good sharp cheddar, tortilla chips, salsa, and beer used to be a favorite meal, emphasis on used to be.

I eat cheese once in a while. I by a small bar at the begging of the month.

Here in the region for me Tillamook cheese is the only cheese I eat.

Grilled cheese, cheese on roast beef sandwich, tuna sandwich, and added to salad'
s.

 

[gmbteach]

I, much to my husbands disgust, do not like Brie, Camembert or blue cheese.

I do like a nice crisp sharp cheddar, or Edam, Swiss, Gouda or Jarlesberg. I also like a nice cream cheese, and will often use this instead of butter in my sandwich. I love Parmesan, but not that dried stuff that you get in the grocery aisle.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I, much to my husbands disgust, do not like Brie, Camembert or blue cheese.

I do like a nice crisp sharp cheddar, or Edam, Swiss, Gouda or Jarlesberg. I also like a nice cream cheese, and will often use this instead of butter in my sandwich. I love Parmesan, but not that dried stuff that you get in the grocery aisle.

Here's the real deal.

Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Much more than a fancy way to say “parmesan”, Parmigiano-Reggiano is a cheese that can only be made with extremely precise ingredients, in an extraordinarily particular process, in a 10,000-sq-km geographical area of Italy so carefully defined that you can make Parmigiano on one side of the small city of Bologna but not the other.