A thimble of cheese

Cougar Gold

Karen Groves — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:22:05 +0000

Sorry.. no photo right now. At a party and tried this one .. A cheddar like cheese in texture, not overly crumbly or pasty with a sharp salty flavor, small casein crystals and a hint of onion.

Flesh is a buttery yellow in color with no rind. More later when I get a chance to research.

If you like cheddar style this is a great choice.

$25.99/lb at Zupans

Toscano with black pepper

Karen Groves — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:48:41 +0000

This cheese is awesome! Sharp, salty firm cheese from Trader Joe’s .. no idea who makes the cheese or where TJs gets it from but it’s lovely. The flavour reminds me of parmesan in terms of it’s saltiness but it’s creamier and not as hard as parmesan. Afew casein crystals sprinkled here and there ..always enjoyable and then a peppery coating to add a little spice.

Couldn’t stop eating it.

And it’s cheap! $8/lb. Get thyself to TJs cheese lovers!

Quick facts:
Pasteurized cows milk
Natural enzymes

All about rennet

Karen Groves — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 02:00:25 +0000

If you want to learn about the differences between types of rennet, I can do no better than to send you directly to this wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet

Stilton

Karen Groves — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:50:20 +0000

You just can’t go wrong with British Stilton. Growing up in England this was naturally the first blue I experienced. I’ve been a stalwart fan ever since. I like its comparative dryness next to other blues. The stronger the Stilton, the better as far as I’m concerned. I sort of lose interest when there’s only the white flesh left that sits inside the thick rind.

Quick facts:

$10.99/lb

Pasteurized cows milk

Microbial rennet

Morbier

Karen Groves — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 03:45:33 +0000

Isn’t this pretty? That’s vegetable ash in the center of this French semi soft cheese. I think Morbier is already on my blog but I’m having fun with my new mobile WordPress app. This reminds me of the Chaumes I sampled yesterday .. but perhaps a little saltier than the Chaumes… there’s a hint of lemon in the Morbier and it’s beautifully gooey as you chew.. very nice. Flesh is pale yellow to ivory and the edible rind is soft with a mild crunch from the ash on the outside.

For me that ribbon of vegetable ash gets it on the board.

LATER:

Oooh, interesting. Morbier has been on my board before and the first time I tried it, I did not like it at all! It was really strong, overly pungent and just not enjoyable.At the time, I received a comment from a reader who said that Morbier was heavenly and not strong at all.. and yes, she’s right. This time the Mobier was heavenly.

So, why the difference? It’s hard to say. There are many factors when you are dealing with cheese. When you buy it, you don’t always know how long it has been aging and more importantly, how it has been stored. I’m going to guess that the Morbier I had before was well-aged.

Like wines, cheeses undergo constant transformation as they age. With wine, I think the flavour is improved with more subtly, and complex flavors mingling as you sip. As cheeses age, they can become soft and gooey, or dry and flaky but I’m going to say that in all cases, the flavor becomes more intense. So, if a stinky Morbier is your heaven-on-earth, get it well-aged. Me? I’m going to go with the younger varieties.

Quick facts
$12.99/lb
Pasteurized cows milk
Possibly vegetarian (checking )