Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Cheese: Abondance
Country: France
Type: Cow, raw

Horray, a new Pope! Congratulations to the Catholic world on the appointment of Pope Francis.

So this week I had the fine staff at Janice Beaton's pick me something random, and they handed me a 100grams of Abondance. Abondance is sort of like a strong scented havarti. Creamy, semi-firm, and buttery in texture. The rind is slightly crunchy, and a wee bit bitter. Over all for a cheese with a moderate amount of aroma to it the flavour is quite mild. A nice first step on the road to limburger.

Wednesday March 06, 2013

Cheese: Rougette
Country: Germany
Type: Cow, wash rind

Ah, another Wednesday is here and it's time for cheese!

Today I had a wash-rind soft cheese from Germany called Rougette. Like a lot of German cheeses it tastes a lot like butter, with a hint of pasture from the washed rind. Very mild in smell, which is nice if you happen to have coworkers around who aren't keen on the pungent stink that can come with some German cheeses. The texture was soft, creamy, and melted like butter on the pallet. If you're looking for something a bit different than brie this is a good place to start, it has almost none of the ammonia undertones you get with a brie.

I paired this with some elk terrine and a duck rilette with a bit of peppadews on the side.