The Cheese thread.......

[decafjava]

Prefer only lactose-free cheeses. Quite hard to find. Havarti I am told tends to be lactose free. Not sure why it would be (since they all come from cows, and thus dairy).

I think the older and harder cheeses tend to be lower in lactose if not lactose-free as the process of cheese making and the types of bacteria or mold used removes the lactose. This was the reason cheese became a thing, a hack which allowed our ancestors to take a food meant for other infant mammal species and use it as a food for human adults and another incentive besides wool, leather and meat to learn to domesticate herbivores and move to agriculture.

That and grain for beer bread.

 

[steve knight]

Prefer only lactose-free cheeses. Quite hard to find. Havarti I am told tends to be lactose free. Not sure why it would be (since they all come from cows, and thus dairy).

I thought most aged cheeses are lactose free? get the 4 year old parm it is lactose free (G)

 

[Solomani]

I thought most aged cheeses are lactose free? get the 4 year old parm it is lactose free (G)

I look at food labels all the time, to make sure to see "lactose-free" labels. Just about 99% of cheeses I see sold, including the hard/aged cheeses do not indicate "lactose free" as a selling point. And when shopping for things like cheeses….. believe me, I am shopping at an EXPENSIVE/GOURMET market that specializes in healthy foods, such as WholeFoodsMarket, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, Mother's Market….. these are exactly the stores that should offer lactose-free options (which they do at the milk section), gluten-free options, organic foods, healthy foods, non-GMO, non-rBST, etc etc etc.

Sprouts once sold a very good brand of packaged cheeses, the Finlandia cheese brand. And the Finlandia Havarti was labeled lactose free. So was their Gouda. Not all types of Finlandia cheeses were labeled as lactose-free, however. I bought those Havartis, and that made me happy for some time. Maybe they did not sell well, so my local Sprouts no longer sells the Finlandias.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Purchased a number of cheeses today, but in small quantities: Aged, mature Cashel Blue, stunning Camembert Rustique (made with spring milk), a small slice of delicious Bleu d'Auvergne, (I asked several other blues, but none equalled this pair), a small slice of oozing Reblochon, and some young Comté.

I have some old pieces of a number of different blue cheeses: These shall be rendered into a blue cheese sauce to serve with pasta tomorrow or Sunday.

 

[DoM-i-NiC]

I wonder if anyone will use the to-be-released Mac Pro to grate/melt their cheese?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

And I have plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano to hand, as well.

 

[Solomani]

I wonder if anyone will use the to-be-released Mac Pro to grate/melt their cheese?

Mac n Cheese!

 

[0388631]

I think the older and harder cheeses tend to be lower in lactose if not lactose-free as the process of cheese making and the types of bacteria or mold used removes the lactose. This was the reason cheese became a thing, a hack which allowed our ancestors to take a food meant for other infant mammal species and use it as a food for human adults and another incentive besides wool, leather and meat to learn to domesticate herbivores and move to agriculture.

That and grain for beer bread.

That and the fact it has calcium and other minerals, fat and protein. You bring up an interesting point. A handful of our foreign clientele are Chinese/Taiwanese and like most Asians are lactose intolerant to varying degrees, but they consume cheese provided they can consume anything apart from mozzarella that doesn't offend their palate. We have a few ME oil clients who can consume cheese to a varying degree, but prefer to buy goats milk instead of cow's milk. Stores similar to Whole Foods tend to carry goats milk, cheese based on goat's milk and goats milk ice cream. Which isn't bad provided it's chocolate flavored.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Gorgonzola Cremosa made its way into my bag at the farmers' market today.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Enjoyed aged mature Cashel Blue, Reblochon, Camembert Rustique (made from spring milk), young Comte and Bleu d'auvergne with French rye bread this morning for breakfast.

 

[Solomani]

Enjoyed aged mature Cashel Blue, Reblochon, Camembert Rustique (made from spring milk), young Comte and Bleu d'auvergne with French rye bread this morning for breakfast.

A five-cheese breakfast?! You live in decadence!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

A five-cheese breakfast?! You live in decadence!

Yes, I suppose that I do.

But, in general, I prefer savoury breakfasts to sweet ones, and often have cheese for breakfast; and, as this thread makes more than abundantly clear - I absolutely love cheese.

Indeed, on some of my international postings, or deployments, the thing I miss most after a month or two away is usually..........cheese.

 

[retta283]

My cheese days are a thing of the past, and have been for about 7 years. Maybe I should try to re-enter the cheese world and try some new things.

 

[steve knight]

A five-cheese breakfast?! You live in decadence!

such a amateur I have 7 or more 5 days a week. come let's get some competition going.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

such a amateur I have 7 or more 5 days a week. come let's get some competition going.

No competition, not when I am discussing something I like.

Some mornings, I merely - but happily - tuck into three cheeses; personally, I prefer the self-indulgence of simple, solitary, but very satisfying greed.

 

[steve knight]

Just giving you a hard time. Cheese is a big source of calories and fat for me I would have real trouble without it.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Just giving you a hard time. Cheese is a big source of calories and fat for me I would have real trouble without it.

It is probably my single favourite food, although eggs (preferably free range and organic), and bread (and fruit) will also make any top five favourites list of mine.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Was in the farmers' market and the cheesemonger's today: Cheeses purchased include: St Agur, Gorgonzola Cremosa, Parmiagiano Reggiano, Comte, Camembert Rustique, and Reblochon.

 

[JamesMike]

Was in the farmers' market and the cheesemonger's today: Cheeses purchased include: St Agur, Gorgonzola Cremosa, Parmiagiano Reggiano, Comte, Camembert Rustique, and Reblochon.

...and nice wines to go with them?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

...and nice wines to go with them?

What an excellent idea.

Perhaps that will be the plan tomorrow.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Enjoyed a decent cheese board for breakfast this morning with fresh ciabatta: Gorgonzola Cremosa, St Agur, Reblochon, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Camembert Rustique.

 

[steve knight]

Now a quick memorial for a well enjoyed cheese

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Now a quick memorial for a well enjoyed cheese

Yum.

Don't dispose of that rind in the rubbish/trash; added to water, it will help make a wonderful stock for risotto, or a casserole, or a soup.

 

[steve knight]

I cant eat such things I cant even eat cooked cheese. you forgot 95% of my diet is protein oily kept simple. I cant even handle room temp cheese. my esophagus gets mad a me. but it was worth the 80.00 for the 2kilo's of cheese.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I cant eat such things I cant even eat cooked cheese. you forgot 95% of my diet is protein oily kept simple. I cant even handle room temp cheese. my esophagus gets mad a me. but it was worth the 80.00 for the 2kilo's of cheese.

The dispute between a man and his oesophagus is something deeply personal and between the two of them.

Something best kept private.

As for me, I find Parmigiano Reggiano to be a very useful - and not only delicious - cheese.

Greta in cooking, when grated on pastas or risottos, but also excellent consumed as a cheese, and, as mentioned earlier, the rinds add immeasurably to a stock.