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The obligatory Cheese thread

MissNomer said:
@Scepticalscribe has just reminded me that, in addition to a much needed Wine thread, we do absolutely need one on Cheese.
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That would have been next, but you beat me to it.

Bravo, well done.

Okay: Saturday last, a flying visit to the farmers' market (and French bakery), also included a brief trip to the cheesemonger's.

Purchases: Abondance cheese, (a rare enough find, and one which I love), Roquefort, Bleu des Causses, Munster au cumin, (Munster with caraway seeds), and seductively oozing Camembert Rustique.
 
One of my plans when we go back to England later this year is to revisit Neals Yard in Covent garden.

I was last there one late February in the year of our cheese, 2000 and had some of the most sublime, aged Cheddar my mouth has ever had the delight to taste.

So crumbly that it was all but impossible to slice without coming apart, and so powerful that it was hard to know what was more moist - my mouth from the taste, or my eyes in a blissful combination of enjoying the powerful taste, or my brains comprehending “What the hell have you just done?”

Not once found a Cheese over here that has come close to that, sadly…
 
MissNomer said:
One of my plans when we go back to England later this year is to revisit Neals Yard in Covent garden.

I was last there one late February in the year of our cheese, 2000 and had some of the most sublime, aged Cheddar my mouth has ever had the delight to taste.

So crumbly that it was all but impossible to slice without coming apart, and so powerful that it was hard to know what was more moist - my mouth from the taste, or my eyes in a blissful combination of enjoying the powerful taste, or my brains comprehending “What the hell have you just done?”

Not once found a Cheese over here that has come close to that, sadly…
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The very best cheddar that I have ever had is Montgomery cheddar (yes, the same name as the legendary Field Marshal); again, it can be difficult to find, as it is an artisan cheese, produced to very high standards, and in limited quantities, but Neal's Yard should most certainly stock it..

I first encountered it at the cheese festival, in Bra, Piedmond, northern Italy, in 2005, when the stall with Montgomery Cheddar was one of those "prestige cheeses" which (formally) represented the UK; in addition to the hundreds of "standard" cheese stalls, food authorities in each of the participating countries had designated (or requested) the producers of some of the prized 'prestige" cheeses to act as, well, "cheese ambassadors"; those stalls were known as "presidium" stalls, and, in essence, were designated as that country's (cheese) 'representative'. Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan) represented Italy, and Montgomery Cheddar was in a "presidium" stall for the UK, the first time I had ever heard of that cheese.

Anyway, this was a stunning cheddar, I had never, ever come across something with this rich, savoury explosion of taste, a savoury - slightly sour - stunning sensation which lingered - and was still able to call itself Cheddar.

It transformed my understanding of what Cheddar could be.

@Arkitect will know of the excellent specialist cheese shop in Bath (I've been there on a number of occasions, it is a small shop in a small mall/shopping centre, in Bath city centre - the "Bath Cheese Shop"?) - should your travels take you in that direction.
 
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Another Cheddar fancier here, the more mature the better. (Which goes for all my cheeses. I don't fancy insipid stuff… cream cheese is only for cheesecake.)

Scepticalscribe said:
The very best cheddar that I have ever had is Montgomery cheddar (
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It is an excellent Cheddar. Luckily there is a decent supply at The Fine Cheese Co here.

Scepticalscribe said:
@Arkitect will know of the excellent specialist cheese shop in Bath (I've been there on a number of occasions, it is a small shop in a small mall/shopping centre, in Bath city centre - the "Bath Cheese Shop"?) - should your travels take you in that direction.
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Bath now has two cheese shops! 🤣

The Fine Cheese Co and Paxton & Whitfield.
My birthday gift to myself each year though is a slab of Gorgonzola — to eat all by myself, despite the fact that an unpasteurised Brie is my Beethoven. The one that I would choose above all else.

In related news…
Autumn last year our last central butcher closed down… With Covid and everyone turning to online shopping they just gave up the ghost. They were there for something like 50 odd years. They always had something in cold storage they could bring out and cut to specification. And if you wanted something like caul fat, pigs liver, they wouldn't bat an eye. The queue the day before Christmas was always long and chatty. And then just emptiness. Just a note in the window… Goodbye and thank you.

Anyway! In February they have been replaced by — Green Street Butchers. So I am a happy camper. They don't have the range of the previous one, but the quality of the beef I have bought was excellent. Otherwise my go to is Larkhall Butchers — only 20 minutes walk away.

I have highjacked this cheese thread enough! 🙂
 
Arkitect said:
Another Cheddar fancier here, the more mature the better. (Which goes for all my cheeses. I don't fancy insipid stuff… cream cheese is only for cheesecake.)


It is an excellent Cheddar. Luckily there is a decent supply at The Fine Cheese Co here.


Bath now has two cheese shops! 🤣

The Fine Cheese Co and Paxton & Whitfield.
My birthday gift to myself each year though is a slab of Gorgonzola — to eat all by myself, despite the fact that an unpasteurised Brie is my Beethoven. The one that I would choose above all else.

In related news…
Autumn last year our last central butcher closed down… With Covid and everyone turning to online shopping they just gave up the ghost. They were there for something like 50 odd years. They always had something in cold storage they could bring out and cut to specification. And if you wanted something like caul fat, pigs liver, they wouldn't bat an eye. The queue the day before Christmas was always long and chatty. And then just emptiness. Just a note in the window… Goodbye and thank you.

Anyway! In February they have been replaced by — Green Street Butchers. So I am a happy camper. They don't have the range of the previous one, but the quality of the beef I have bought was excellent. Otherwise my go to is Larkhall Butchers — only 20 minutes walk away.

I have highjacked this cheese thread enough! 🙂
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Agree about the more mature the better re cheese.

Re cream cheese, I think it also goes well as a base for smoked salmon, or gravadlax, topped with pickled ginger (a Japanese delight); or playing host to sundried tomatoes, or something similar (on French bread, or some sort of crackers, or savoury biscuits).

A generous helping of Gorgonzola Cremosa is something that I am more than capable of devouring all by my greedy self. With a spoon, on occasion, though even I will readily grant that it is probably better on fresh French bread.

Sympathies on the demise of a good (usually, family owned) butcher's shop; nothing compares.

But, delighted to learn that Bath now has two cheese shops.

My friends in Bristol brought me to the small one on a number of occasions, and we returned, amply stocked; it must have been The Fine Cheese Company - the name was so bland I had difficulty recalling it.

I am rather partial to Bath Blue, another cheese that is diffiuclt to lay hands on, outside the immediate region.
 
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Arkitect said:
Another Cheddar fancier here, the more mature the better. (Which goes for all my cheeses. I don't fancy insipid stuff… cream cheese is only for cheesecake.)


It is an excellent Cheddar. Luckily there is a decent supply at The Fine Cheese Co here.


Bath now has two cheese shops! 🤣

The Fine Cheese Co and Paxton & Whitfield.
My birthday gift to myself each year though is a slab of Gorgonzola — to eat all by myself, despite the fact that an unpasteurised Brie is my Beethoven. The one that I would choose above all else.

In related news…
Autumn last year our last central butcher closed down… With Covid and everyone turning to online shopping they just gave up the ghost. They were there for something like 50 odd years. They always had something in cold storage they could bring out and cut to specification. And if you wanted something like caul fat, pigs liver, they wouldn't bat an eye. The queue the day before Christmas was always long and chatty. And then just emptiness. Just a note in the window… Goodbye and thank you.

Anyway! In February they have been replaced by — Green Street Butchers. So I am a happy camper. They don't have the range of the previous one, but the quality of the beef I have bought was excellent. Otherwise my go to is Larkhall Butchers — only 20 minutes walk away.

I have highjacked this cheese thread enough! 🙂
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Re mature cheeses, have you ever tried the extra mature, very aged, Gouda - the one with a burnt orange/apricot colour, is incredibly difficult to cut, and has insanely delicious explosions of taste (those salt crystals, that caramel sensation) when eaten?

Another aged cheese that I love is the rare (very, very, mature - for 36 months) Comte that occasionally puts in an appearance around Christmas; absolutely fantastic.
 
I'm just hoping that international supply chains don't get bollixed again due to random effects of blowback from sanctions on Russia.

As covid effects waned, I was just getting used to seeing predictable stocks of imported dairy items at the supermarkets. Meanwhile I must say that some of the supermarket brands of "cheddar" that were offered had got more insipid than ever before. I stopped buying it and resorted to subterfuges like using monterey jack with some added crumbles of blue cheese, in even the most common sort of toasted cheese sandwiches that I favor having with tomato soup
 
SouprMatt said:
The latest cheese news:

boingboing.net

Thieves steal $22,000 worth of cheese | Boing Boing

Thieves allegedly stole more than $22,000 worth of cheese from a dairy farm in Fijnaart, the Netherlands. The cheese was in the form of sixty huge wheels each weighing 22 pounds. I wonder if the cr…
boingboing.net boingboing.net
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Definitely sounds like organized crime. They get around the label issues by providing it to restaurants and delicatessens, where people will just be served by the slice, or will buy part of a pound to take home.

MissNomer said:
Gotta admire their taste...
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That is def some pricey cheese. $ 16.67 a pound. Not US-style factory farm 6-month old "cheddar" for sure.
 
I discover thaT Muenster cheese with mold on it, not excessively moldy was still good! As I blue cheese lover, honestly, I’m not surprised. 🙂
 
MissNomer said:
One of my plans when we go back to England later this year is to revisit Neals Yard in Covent garden.

I was last there one late February in the year of our cheese, 2000 and had some of the most sublime, aged Cheddar my mouth has ever had the delight to taste.

So crumbly that it was all but impossible to slice without coming apart, and so powerful that it was hard to know what was more moist - my mouth from the taste, or my eyes in a blissful combination of enjoying the powerful taste, or my brains comprehending “What the hell have you just done?”

Not once found a Cheese over here that has come close to that, sadly…
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I'd define cheese as anything - except cheddar. 😀
 
EricWN said:
I'd define cheese as anything - except cheddar. 😀
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Well there's a world of difference between a really well aged cheddar and some of the stuff in the US that should have landed instead in the "cheese powder" pile for making fast food mac'n'cheese packets.

I do keep cheddar in the house for grilled cheese sandwiches, to serve w/ tomato soup in winter.
 
The cheesemonger appeared on my birthday (April 11) with cheese, salami, chorizo, pâté, terrine, duck confit, an Easter egg, dark chocolate, and a few bottles of wine, among other goodies.

Cheeses included: Buchette (aux fleurs), a lovely goat's cheese, Gorgonzola cremosa, Parmigiano Reggiano, Flacon de Savoie, delice de Bourgogne, and Ossau Iraty.
 
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