Hey everybody! Sorry about skipping last week, but while I did bring in cheese, I did not partake since I was in the midst of a week long experiment with Soylent during which I discovered that I have an iron deficiency. Science!

Also, this week’s is a day late since yesterday was spent running around and cursing due to a narrowly avoided Locky outbreak at work. Distinctly not happiness. But now, on to the cheese!

Starting on the left, we had Appenzeller Classic. This was a tremendously good cheese! It is almost like Switzerland’s answer to Provolone. It is a smooth, firm cheese with a slightly nutty flavor and a very sharp, acidic finish. This one was a crowd pleaser, to be sure. The only thing that I hated about it was the foil that it was covered in was very thin and did not peel easily off of the cheese. I must have spent ten minutes just ensuring that the foil was all gone before I chopped it up for the masses.

Next we had Stella Mediterranean Parmesan. This cheese smells and tastes just like pizza. Very good pizza. It is Stella’s Parmesan, which is really good as it is, but crusted with tomatoes, oregano, garlic, and a whole mess of other stuff before it is aged. I could have gone through the whole block by myself if nobody had been watching me.

Lastly, we had Beecher No Woman. This is one of my top three cheeses of all time, and I have written about it endlessly. The reason that I brought it yesterday, though, is bittersweet. My friend Ben, who has run the Refectory at McCormick/LSTC for the last four years, is leaving us at the end of the week. He has found a new, shinier job that is closer to home, and has a boatload of paid time off. That is wonderful, and I’m ever so happy for him! But I will miss him a great deal and wanted his last Stinky Cheese Tuesday to be special, and remind him of me when he thinks back on it.

Until next week, stay cheesy!

@Cheese Forum+

Hello everybody!  This week, quite simply, was delicious.  We had four wonderful cheeses, each quite distinctive but equally tasty.

Starting on the upper left, we had Red Apple Cheese Applewood Smoked Gruyere.  This is a favorite around these parts.  It is more of a mild Gruyere, with a texture that straddles the line between semi-soft and firm.  The smokiness is strong, but not overpowering, and provides a wonderful match to the cheese.  Good stuff.

On the lower left we had Ski Queen Gjetost.  Damn, I love this cheese!  Gjetost is made from the whey instead of the curds, unlike most cheeses.  They boil it to caramelize the lactose which makes it taste like cheese and fudge combined into one divine bite.  I think that I ate half of this all by myself.  And I’m not ashamed.

In the middle we had Kaltbach Emmentaler.  This is Swiss cheese, made by the Swiss, in the original manner, and my goodness is it delicious.  It has a much stronger flavor and aroma than Americanized Swiss cheese, being much closer to a strong Gruyere or Comté than the stuff that gets called Swiss cheese by virtue of having holes in it.  Very yummy stuff, indeed.

Lastly, on the right is McCall’s Shamrock Porter Cheese, a beer cheddar.  They mix the beer in with the curds before making the cheese, which is what leads to the marbling that you see.  It has a bit of the bitter flavor that you’d get from the beer, but it is mixed with the mild cheddar bite, making for a nice combination of the two tastes.

There really was no clear winner today, although I am personally enamored with the Gjetost.  It was simply a yummy, yummy day.

Stay cheesy!

@Cheese Forum+

Hey everybody!  All three cheeses today were herb infused bundles of decadence, but one of them was wretchedly fantastic.  Not quite "Push-Your-Mom-Down-The-Stairs" good, but maybe "Push-Somebody-Else’s-Mom-Down-The-Stairs" good.

On the left, we’ve got Sartori Rosemary and Olive Oil Asiago.  Sartori’s Asiago is already a stellar slice of deliciousness, but add some rosemary and a bit of olive oil and it transforms into pure delight.  If you can find it, get it.  You won’t be disappointed.

In the middle is Dofino Dill Havarti.  If you like dill, this is a must try.  If you don’t like dill, then you should still try it since the dill flavor is really not that strong, and it pairs so well with the creamy bite of the Havarti.  A great cheese, but the clear loser of the day.

On the right, with bursts of light and an angelic choir, is Belton Farm Sage Derby.  Holy Moly is this an incredible cheese!  Derby cheese is a close cousin of Cheddar, but it is chock full of sage.  On first contact with your tongue, the cheese flavor is sharp and clear, but as time goes on the sage quickly blossoms through the cheese and comes to the forefront.  This is one of my all time favorites, up there close to No Woman and Humboldt Fog, though certainly no displacing either of them.  I am so happy that I found this one again after a three year search!

Until next week, stay cheesy!

@Cheese Forum+

Hey everybody!  Really long, really busy, really good day at work, so this is just a quick run down, from left to right:

Arla Dofino Muenster (good), Sartori BellaVitano Gold (ridiculously good), and Wyngaard Mustard Dill Affiné (uniquely delicious).

Until next week, stay cheesy!

@Cheese Forum+