The Cheese thread.......

[Scepticalscribe]

Ah, our neighborhood cheesemonger in France often has a fabulous young truffled Gouda, I always take a very large chunk back home with me. It’s excellent in pretty much everything, one favorite is to melt it into scrambled eggs with a side of crusty bread.

But yes aged Gouda is an entirely different entity and also utterly delicious.

I will ask her about the Brie in a few weeks and I get over there...

Mind you, there is an Italian hard cheese with truffles that I have come across - very tasty, but......aggressive aromatically in the fridge, I have discovered.

I think it is called Moliterno al Tartufo, but I will confirm this with the cheesemonger.

 

[Lioness~]

Our 18yo cat has developed a taste for Cheddar… Extra mature (Just Cheddar, not Brie or Parmesan or anything else). She never liked cheese, but this past year or so I can't sneak a piece without her waking up from sleep (which is what she does mostly nowadays) and demanding her share.

I like that cat

Mature Cheddar, Brie and Camembert, in some variations, are my favorites.
Plus Gorgonzola and Feta on pizza

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Plus Gorgonzola on pizza

Gorgonzola on fresh French bread.

Gorgonzola (Cremosa) on stale French bread (as toast).

Gorgonzola on crackers, savoury biscuits.

Gorgonzola on spoon (especially if it is - ah - liquid with dreams of world domination).

Gorgonzola in mouth. Yum.

And yes, Gorgonzola on pizza with other cheeses.

Gorgonzola in blue cheese sauce for pasta.

 

[arkitect]

I like that cat

Since then things have turned for the worse!
She now hangs about the kitchen… if she could figure out a way to open the fridge I'm sure she'd scoff the lot.
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Gorgonzola on fresh French bread.

Gorgonzola (Cremosa) on stale French bread (as toast).

Gorgonzola on crackers, savoury biscuits.

Gorgonzola on spoon (especially if it is - ah - liquid with dreams of world domination).

Gorgonzola in mouth. Yum.

And yes, Gorgonzola on pizza with other cheeses.

Gorgonzola in blue cheese sauce for pasta.

Another vote for Gorgonzola in any shape or form.

My birthday treat to myself every year is a hunk of a chunk of the best Gorgonzola available.
All for me to be consumed with a jar of fiery Mostarda.

Some people have birthday cake…

 

[Huntn]

Since then things have turned for the worse!
She now hangs about the kitchen… if she could figure out a way to open the fridge I'm sure she'd scoff the lot.
[doublepost=1532072973][/doublepost]
Another vote for Gorgonzola in any shape or form.

My birthday treat to myself every year is a hunk of a chunk of the best Gorgonzola available.
All for me to be consumed with a jar of fiery Mostarda.

Some people have birthday cake…

I’ve not tried or heard of Mostarda, but it sounds interesting, although a taste would be required to know.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mostarda

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Today's cheese purchases: St Nectaire, Gorgonzola, Stilton, La Delice, Époisses, Camembert, aged mature Gouda, aged Comte.

Yum.

Plus French bread from a French bakery.

And French cakes from the same bakery.

 

[Huntn]

Today's cheese purchases: St Nectaire, Gorgonzola, Stilton, La Delice, Époisses, Camembert, aged mature Gouda, aged Comte.

Yum.

Plus French bread from a French bakery.

And French cakes from the same bakery.

I’ll have to look for a package that says mature Gouda.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I’ll have to look for a package that says mature Gouda.

Or aged Gouda. Or, a specific age - ask if they have three year old Gouda, - the cheese will be dark amber in colour.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

In addition to yesterday's purchases, today's included a different Gorgonzola, a goat's Maasdamer (a lovely mild, sweet cheese) and the Norwegian Brunost (more precisely, Gulbrandsdalsost) - a sweet, brown chose made from whey.

A very nice cheese at breakfast.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sampled the Norwegian Brunost for breakfast with rye bread (bought in the French bakery); very tasty.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Cheese for breakfast: Gorgonzola, Camembert, Époisses, St-Nectaire and aged Gouda on toasted French bread.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Some serious cheese bought today: Gorgonzola Cremosa, Camembert, Époisses, Blu d'Auvergne, Goat's Maasdammer, Taleggio, St Nectaire, aged Comte, Doruvael.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Breakfasted on Goat's Maasdammer, Camembert, Gorgonzola Cremosa, St Nectaire, and Doruvael, a Dutch washed rind cheese.

Last night, I sampled some Blu d'Auvergne with an excellent Australian Riesling (Last Cut) as a dessert wine.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Another interesting cheese that I have come across is an Italian mixed milk cheese topped with dried fruit that goes by the name of Testun Occelli alla Grappa.

This is pretty pricey, but quite incredible, the sort of cheese that I think of as a rare treat.

 

[Gutwrench]

I added a six year Wisconsin cheddar to a cucumber salad over the weekend. Pretty darned good.

Prima Donna is my go-to cheese.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

For those who like goat's cheese and blue cheese, I would recommend a Blue Goat's Gouda - a sweet and slightly sharp yet tasty cheese.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Came across Comte Grand Cru (an exceedingly aged Comte - delicious).

And Brie with truffles. Durrus - an Irish washed rind cheese, and Gorgonzola Cremosa.

Yum.

 

[decafjava]

So a question for fellow cheese lovers, do you eat the rind or not? Assuming not a wax rind.

Example, the rind of parmesan is apparently good for soups and sauces. Too chewy and well dirty looking to eat.

Gruyere and raclette cheese are melted with the rind - but when gruyere is eaten at room temperature the rind is often cut off.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

So a question for fellow cheese lovers, do you eat the rind or not? Assuming not a wax rind.

Example, the rind of parmesan is apparently good for soups and sauces. Too chewy and well dirty looking to eat.

Gruyere and raclette cheese are melted with the rind - but when gruyere is eaten at room temperature the rind is often cut off.

Depends on how greedy and hungry I am.

Actually, it really depends on the rind. Young cheeses often have rinds that can be eaten, and, while I don't usually devour the rinds of Camembert and Brie, I have been known to do so.

And it depends on the context. Private greedy eating (or eating with good friends who are equally partial to cheese) is not quite the same as sharing a cheeseboard with academic or diplomatic type colleagues - that is when you constrain and restrain your instincts and curb your greed.

I have used Parmesan (Parmiagina Reggiano) rinds when making my own minestrone soup (adding the bone of a Parma ham to the soup stock is also an amazing addition when preparing such a thing - but 1) you need a huge saucepan, and 2) a generous cheesemonger - as their own chefs are usually greedy for such things) - time consuming, labour intensive, but delicious.

Rinds of soft cheeses, or young cheeses, can be eaten. The rinds of washed rind cheeses are often delicious. Depending on the blue, I will or have eaten the rinds of some of them - certainly, I will use their rinds (unless it is an especially strong Stilton) when preparing a blue cheese sauce to accompany pasta.

 

[decafjava]

Really we owe so much to micro-organisms - while some are deadly most are vital for our life and quality thereof...

 

[LizKat]

I added a six year Wisconsin cheddar to a cucumber salad over the weekend. Pretty darned good.

Prima Donna is my go-to cheese.

Taking some cheddar, gouda, muenster and havarti with dill to a gathering this weekend, along with an assortment of crackers. Tasty but surely not special enough to warrant attention from the serious cheese fiends on this board.

No intention to have more than a nibble at any of them myself, either, since one of my brothers is grilling bratwurst along w/ sweet and hot Italian sausages, regular hotdogs, hamburgers. Someone else is bringing peppers and onions, someone else potato salad. So the ingredients of our all-American chow-down at Seneca Lake are pretty much firmed up, with a few by now "standard" but unusual picnic fare expected, including a niece's photogenic salad of greens topped w/ edible fleurs...

Spoiler: Yes Edible Flowers

All in all presenting foods I don't keep in house due to immoderate liking of a lot of it.

One hopes the more organized amongst us will have come up with plates and forks etc. I am charged with providing what to package any leftovers in, but will need supervision if I help wrap up... I'd snag some of that havarti with dill for sure.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Havarti with dill sounds delicious - this is not one that I have come across before - and the muenster would most certainly attract my greedy attention; gouda is a great crowd pleaser - you are not human if you don't much care for it.

Enjoy the week-end.

 

[Gutwrench]

Taking some cheddar, gouda, muenster and havarti with dill to a gathering this weekend, along with an assortment of crackers. Tasty but surely not special enough to warrant attention from the serious cheese fiends on this board.

No intention to have more than a nibble at any of them myself, either, since one of my brothers is grilling bratwurst along w/ sweet and hot Italian sausages, regular hotdogs, hamburgers. Someone else is bringing peppers and onions, someone else potato salad. So the ingredients of our all-American chow-down at Seneca Lake are pretty much firmed up, with a few by now "standard" but unusual picnic fare expected, including a niece's photogenic salad of greens topped w/ edible fleurs...

Spoiler: Yes Edible Flowers

View attachment 774069

All in all presenting foods I don't keep in house due to immoderate liking of a lot of it.

One hopes the more organized amongst us will have come up with plates and forks etc. I am charged with providing what to package any leftovers in, but will need supervision if I help wrap up... I'd snag some of that havarti with dill for sure.

That’s gorgeous Liz! I had a flower salad at the Rutherford Grill in (Rutherford) Napa Valley long ago. It had an interesting flavor but a great presentation.

 

[LizKat]

Really we owe so much to micro-organisms - while some are deadly most are vital for our life and quality thereof...

Too bad we can't just choose the ones we learn are good for us, as when harvesting wild mushrooms. Picking under close supervision by a couple of very old Italian Americans one year, I asked how they had learned to know the good from the bad and they said, laughing, "historically it must have been trial and error, right? We pick what our grandparents picked since they lived to great old age." While they lived --and that was to great old age indeed-- I got to share in their harvests while helping them with the labor, but after that I most definitely reverted to buying mushrooms from the market. I just don't trust my eye for it, books and photos and some real life experience notwithstanding.

I have used Parmesan (Parmiagina Reggiano) rinds when making my own minestrone soup

I do that too, makes it so rich and yet you don't really know "oh that's parmesan in there".

 

[Scepticalscribe]

T.......

I do that too, makes it so rich and yet you don't really know "oh that's parmesan in there".

You've given me an idea; I think the acquisition of some Parmesan rinds is in order; therefore, must pay a visit to my cheesemonger.