Good grief!  Two days between SCT and the post.  I’m slacking.  But you have a macro photo, taken with a real camera and even edited a little bit to remove dust spots.  I’m trying to make up for it.

This week saw three hard cheeses, all of which were mighty tasty and well received.

Going from left to right, we start with Pecorino Ginepro which did not have a creamery of origin, but simply said “Italy”.  This was the day’s clear favorite.  It is similar to a Romano cheese but is soaked in Balsamic vinegar and crusted with juniper berries.  It has a mildly nutty flavor with a bit of the savory vinegar on the front end, while the juniper berry after taste left several people exclaiming, “There’s the gin!”

In the middle is my favorite, the Piave Vecchio.  This one also just cryptically said “Italy”, but being P.D.O. we can at least narrow it down to the Belluno area.  This particular variety of Piave was “Oro del Tempo” or “Golden Time” meaning that it had been aged fro at least twelve months.  This is a very hard cheese.  I worked up a sweat cutting this one.  It was so very worth it, though.  It has a flavor that is quite similar to Parmigiana, but lower in salt content and with a slightly less nutty taste to it.  A very mild and fresh tasting cheese, this would have been wonderful drizzled with a touch of honey.

Lastly we have Appleby’s Cheshire.  This is the last of the traditionally made Cheshires.  Cheshire cheese is similar to Cheddar in texture due to them both going through a cheddaring process, but Cheshire is made using a low acid rennet as a starter.  This gives it a much milder flavor, without nearly as much of the tang and bite that Cheddar has.  Factory produced Cheshire is typically made with a high acid rennet which makes it taste much more like a Cheddar than it should.  Appleby’s Cheshire is still made in the traditional manner and wrapped in cloth for aging.  That was one thing about this particular cheese that I had to warn people about.  There were errant threads still stuck to some of the pieces that had rind on them.  An absolutely delightful cheese.

Sorry for the delay in getting this up, things have been a bit hectic the last two days.  It was, without a doubt, the stinkiest Stinky Cheese Tuesday yet.  All three cheeses were soft ripened cheeses with quite the strong aroma.  Everyone described the entire IT/HR department as smelling variously like a barn, a locker room, and the devil’s sock drawer.  Even with my normal distaste of ripened cheeses, I really enjoyed all three of them.

Going left to right, and from strong to strongest, we start with Cyprus Cove’s Truffle Tremor.  This is a fine, ripened goat cheese with truffles (hence the name) and was clearly the favorite of the day.  It has a white rind, and a creamy, soft layer that is about .5 cm thick surrounding the bulk of the cheese, which is a crumbly goat cheese speckled with black truffle.  Simply fantastic cheese.

Next is a Spanish Cana de Cabra.  This is another ripened goat cheese that was amazing.  This one is traditionally made in a log shape and eaten when the volume of soft cheese is about equal to that of the crumbly cheese in the middle.  Pungent, tangy, yummy.  This cheese is amazing.

Lastly is Von Trapp Farm’s Oma.  It is named after the current cheese maker’s grandmother who first made the cheese in 1959.  This is the one that stank up the entire east side of the second floor.  I had it wrapped in cling film, in a zip lock baggie, and then in my Hello Kitty lunch box and it still managed to destroy the air quality in my car during the 90 minute trip into work.  This in a fully ripened cow’s milk cheese that has such a creamy, tangy taste that it was well worth the struggle to make it past the stench.  

Next week’s cheeses have already been procured, and it is three hard cheeses for contrast.

Stay cheesy!

Sorry about last week, folks.  I did try to make up for things today, and partially succeeded.

The first cheese is from our formerly unGoogleable friends Country Connection.  Unfortunately, it is an abomination.  Since everything else that they make has been stellar, I figured that I’d try bringing in their Tex Mex Jack today.  It is atrocious.  I can’t emphasize this enough.  If you buy this, Aristaeus, the Greek god of Cheese will make you lactose intolerant out of spite.  For those of you on the other side of the Atlantic and unfamiliar with the term, Tex Mex is supposed to be a unique fusion of American and Mexican cuisine.  The way that it is most often encountered is at Taco Bell.  A bland, vaguely Mexican spiced mush that has as much in common with real Mexican food as French Fries have with Coq au Vin.  This cheese tastes like they just poured in a whole bunch of Old El Paso™ Taco Seasoning into it.  Slightly chili flavored and super salty.  Completely nasty.

Well, now that is out of the way, let’s move on to much tastier fare.

Next on the plate is Dofino Edam.  This is my favorite for the day.  It is incredibly buttery and smooth, with a healthy dose of nuttiness thrown in for good measure.  It is like a buttery Emmentaler and is simply a joy to eat.

Thirdly is Red Apple’s Applewood Smoked Cheddar.  This one was enjoyed by quite a few people, but in my opinion the smoke is a bit over done.  This one is very smoky.  The underlying cheddar is quite good, but it gets lost in the taste of charred wood.  It is still good, but tastes and smells more like a cured meat than a cheese.

Lastly, we had quite a surprise.  Castello’s Saga Classic is a Blue Brie, or Bavarian Blue.  Given the fact that my dislike of Brie is not easy to hide, I figured that this one would just make me hate my taste buds for while.  It is surprisingly delicious!  The Brie flavor hits you up front, but is surprisingly mellow.  The Blue comes in on the back end and is also not too intense.  The first thing that came to mind when eating it was that it was like a slightly moldy Camembert.  That may sound like a back-handed complement, but it is actually a whole hearted endorsement.

Stay cheesy, and we’ll see what next week has in store!

Hooray for another bad cell phone picture!  I think that I am just going to quit apologizing for them.

Anyway, on to the cheese!

On the far left we have King’s Choice Havarti with Caraway.  This is a good cheese, but I won’t lie, nobody claimed it as a favorite.  The havarti cheese base is quite competent, being both buttery and nutty and the caraway seeds are a pleasant enough addition.  The two flavors do compliment each other quite well being almost like a grilled cheese on rye bread.  It just isn’t quite up to snuff compared to the other cheeses from today.

Center left is Sartori Balsamic BellaVitano.  Everything that I’ve ever said about Sartori cheeses is summed up in this one chunk of deliciousness.  The balsamic flavor is subtle, a casual addition to the robust, salty goodness of the underlying BellaVitano.  This one garnered the most votes for favorite of the day and with good reason.  This is a thoroughly wonderful cheese, and one that I enjoy every time I get it.

Center right is Bauer Butterkäse.  This one also got a fair number of votes.  It is an extremely mild, semi-soft cheese, rich with buttery creaminess.  I was told that it was unctuous and it was strongly suggested that I include that word in the description, so there you have it!  Butterkäse is a very smooth cheese that would melt quite well if you are looking for something to put in your grilled cheese or macaroni.

Far right is my favorite, Great Midwest Morel and Leek Jack.  This cheese is simply amazing.  The morel mushrooms confer a deep earthiness to the cheese, while the leek is herbaceous and light.  It is a savory delight that makes my taste buds sing!

Stay cheesy!

Even with the crappy cell phone picture, what you are seeing here is one of the best Stinky Cheese Tuesdays that we have ever had, despite the fact that this was the first time that I actually saw someone spit out a chunk of cheese into their hand immediately after popping it into their mouth.  You know who you are…

The first thing that you’ll notice is that there are five cheeses today.  I only brought in three of them and the other two were lovingly provided by Pastor Barb and Ignacio, one of our grossly under appreciated building and grounds guys.

Pastor Barb’s contribution was the lovely Snowdonia Cheese Company Ginger Spice Cheddar.  This was pretty much the favorite of the day.  Much more sweet than biting, the ginger is definitely the star of this cheese.  It is present in such abundance that the cheddar actually has a crumbly texture with the ginger bits being quite numerous.  If you don’t mind your cheese a bit on the sweet side, this one should be on your list!

Ignacio’s gift was Petacones Duro Blanco Con Loroco, a cheese from El Salvador.  Loroco is a vine found in Central America that is used like cilantro in a lot of dishes.  This particular cheese was like an herbed feta, with the high salt content, crumbliness, and texture where it has moisture held between the pressed, dry curds.  This was a favorite for the guys in the Refectory, but also the one that somebody really didn’t like.  Personally, I loved it, and need to find some loroco somewhere that I can experiment with.

The first of my cheeses was Somerdale’s Wensleydale with Cranberries.  Most Wensleydale’s that I’ve had with either blueberries or cranberries have been sweetened to the point that they taste like a cheesecake.  Somerdale believes in keeping their cranberries tart, giving this one quite the complex flavor.  As with the ginger cheddar, the cranberries are the star of the show, while the cheese serves as more of a stage for it to be displayed on.  This one is always a croud pleaser.

Next is the Van Kaas Mediterranean Gouda, a very creamy and soft gouda with garlic, olives, sun dried tomatoes, oregano, and some other herbs and spices that I couldn’t quite wrap my taste buds around.  This is an intense cheese.  The gouda flavor is certainly there, but it dances with the others.  The Mediterranean flavors are huge, and don’t shy away from letting themselves be known.  This was yet another great, awesome cheese.

Lastly, and my favorite, is El Pastor de la Polvorosa Iberico.  This is a semi-cured cheese that tastes like an immature Manchego.  Just the right amount of salt, sharpness, butter, and nuttiness makes this a solid choice for a table cheese.  Known in Spain as Hijos de Salvador Rodríguez S.A., El Pastor de la Polvorosa has been making cheese for almost 70 years and is one of Spain’s largest cheese makers.  Their years of experience really show with this Iberico.

Thanks again to Pastor Barb and Ignacio for helping to make this one of the best and most raved about Stinky Cheese Tuesdays yet!

Stay Cheesy!

Once again, Tuesday is upon us, and the cheese is stinky and plentiful!  And you have yet another crappy cell phone picture to accompany the post!  Huzzah!

From left to right, we have the Cypress Grove Midnight Moon, an aged goat cheese that was positively divine.  It had an asiago thing going on with a sharp saltiness, with a very goaty finish.  This was probably my favorite of the day, and more than a few people agreed.

Next up is today’s winner, Clawson Blueberry Fayre.  This is a white stilton with blueberries, and I swear that it tastes like cheesecake.  This is a very sweet offering that almost has a Wensleydale texture to it, very soft and slightly crumbly.  I love this cheese and could eat way too much of it if left unattended.

Lastly is Sartori Raspberry BellaVitano.  This cheese is one of Sartori’s masterpieces.  I’ve waxed poetic about their offerings in the past, and this is one of their best.  The raspberry flavor could easily be something that overpowers the gentle saltiness of the BellaVitano, but instead it is just the barest hint of the sweet and tart from the raspberries.  This cheese is also one of the favorites at work.

Until next week, stay cheesy!

Today was Spicy Cheese Tuesday, to the delight of most but the dismay of others. I did bring in one un-spiced cheese for those who don’t deal well with flaming taste buds. I am merciful, at times.

A decent order to go in today would be least to most on the Scoville Scale.

Starting at 0 (but being mighty tasty anyway) is Black Creek’s Extra Sharp Cheddar. This stuff is aged two years and it shows! It isn’t as hard as some aged cheddars are, but the tangy sharpness is there along with some lovely creaminess. I’m thinking that this one would have held its own during the Great Cheddar Cheese Off.

Next, at Oh-That’s-Nice heat is the Grazier’s Raw Jalapeño Jack. Super creamy and soft, this jack cheese has the slightest amount of heat, but is rich with the flavor of fresh jalapeño peppers. Raw cheese is made from raw, unpasteurized milk. Some cheese makers swear that it makes for a better cheese, while others claim that there is no difference. Honestly, if there is one, I can’t tell. Then again, I have a hard time differentiating between CDs and vinyl, so I may not be the best judge.

The next hottest, coming in at Wow-I-Need-Some-Water is the Great Midwest Fire Mango Cheddar. This one has been one of my favorites for a while, now. The mango is just sweet enough to perk up your taste buds, while the habanero peppers really bring the heat. This one has been know to turn the unprepared bright red and running for liquid. Both Black Creek and Great Midwest are actually subsidiaries of the same company, DCI Cheese Company. Hey, at least it isn’t Kraft, right?

Lastly, coming in at Why-Are-There-Blisters-On-My-Tongue is Cabot’s Hot Habanero Cheddar. This particular cheese has a bold cheddar flavor on the front end that turns into a smoldering fire as the habanero burns its way through the fat in the cheese. It sticks with you for a while. This is not for the faint of heart or weak of taste buds! I really love Cabot. They are a Co-Op of 1,200 small, family owned farms in upstate New York and New England, pooling their resources to make some of the best cheese made here in the US.

As always, stay cheesy!

Once again, Tuesday has arrived on the wings of cheese, or something.  I don’t know.  No sleep coupled with no sleep has left my brain a little lacking in certain areas, the cohesiveness of my train of thought being the primary victim.  Without further ado, the cheese rundown!  Before I get lost playing with my Storm Trooper Bobblehead and forget what I’m doing again.

We start off today with Kerrygold’s Blarney Castle.  Sean Keene over on Diaspora* pointed out last week that the reason that he loves Kerrygold so much is the fact that all of their cows are grass-fed, with no additives in their products.  Just a pure, natural product.  It’s something that I don’t really mention enough in these posts, but will endeavor to in the future.  Anyways, the Blarney Castle cheese is a super creamy, buttery cheese that would absolutely sing in a grilled cheese sandwich.  Mellow and mild, it is a wonderful comfort cheese.

The second selection was Red Apple Applewood Smoked Mozzarella.  This is an outstanding smoked cheese, as are all of Red Apple’s smoked offerings (try their gruyere!).  Smooth and smoky, this is another one that would just plain rock on a grilled cheese sandwich.  Red Apple is another cheese producer that uses 100% natural milk, and is also responsible for the Screaming Dutchman and Naturally Good Kosher brands of cheeses.

Lastly, our favorite un-Google-able manufacturer/distributer, Country Connection Chipotle Cheddar.  If you are looking for a hot, spicy cheese then you’ll need to search elsewhere.  This cheese has not even a hint of heat, but the cheddar flavor is quite strong, and matched perfectly by the power of the chipotle’s smokiness.  It smells like a barbecue and the taste is amazing.

So that was this week’s SCT, and I amazingly did not get too sidetracked while crafting the write up!  Go me!

Stay cheesy!

Sorry I’m slacking so badly with the pictures…two weeks of cell phone pictures in a row.  Shameful.  Today’s SCT?  Awesome!

Captain Barb brought in some lovely fruit platters with grapes, melons and strawberries.  Then Pastor Barb brought in melomakaronos, a Greek cookie made with a ton of honey that she got in Greektown from a place called Artopolis.  Those cookies were amazing!  They rode a fine line between sweet and cloying, but stayed firmly on the side of “give me more”!  This was all in addition to the three wonderful cheeses that we had.

First off we had AOC Le Gruyère straight out of Switzerland.  Like the AOC Emmenteler from two weeks ago, this stuff is the real deal.  All other Gruyères imitate this particular offering.  By far the best Gruyère I’ve ever had.  Salty, nutty and creamy all in one little bite, this one is happiness on my tongue.

The next cheese was Kerrygold Dubliner  This a quite the sharp and tangy cheese, with a texture like well aged cheddar.  The tanginess almost gives it a provolone or parmesan flavor with a hint of sweetness.

Lastly was the Montchevré Chèvre in Blue.  Don’t ask me about the differences in the accents over the E’s.  They’re in Wisconsin so they might just be making it up as they go.  The cheese itself is no laughing matter.  This is a cheese that speaks in monotone and never cracks a smile.  A serious cheese, if ever I’ve tasted one.  Both the goatiness of the goat milk and the blueness of the mold are cranked up to 11, taking everyone by surprise, even after I’d warned them about it.  The kind of blue that makes your tongue tingle for a few minutes afterwards.  Very, very fine cheese.

Again, a special thanks to the Barbs for helping make today’s Stinky Cheese Tuesday into something so much more!  As always, stay cheesy!

The votes from yesterday have been tallied, and the results are in!  Incredibly, we have a three way tie, with seven votes for each of our three cheddars!  I found it interesting just how many people were adamant about how much better their particular choice was than the others, yet the spread was perfectly even across all three choices.  I suppose this means that all three will be kept in the rotation since there was no winner.

Oh, and just to let you know, my favorite was the Kerrygold.

Stay Cheesy!