Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Cheese: Gorgonzola
Country: Italy
Type: Cow, soft blue

I had a hankering for some Gorgonzola today, I haven't had it in a couple years. It's mild, sweet, and creamy. I think it goes smashingly with nuts (cashews in my case today) and in the past I've found it to be an excellent cooking blue cheese.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Cheese: Queso Valdeon
Country: Spain
Type: Goat & Cow blue

I love blue cheese. Valdeon is a lovely sharp blue, creamy and slightly salty-sweet with a good kick for an after taste. The rind is sharp and bitter from the sycamore leaf wrapping (don't eat the leaves, they are toxic). There are some grassy undertones, and the cheese melts on the tongue nicely. Goes great with something fruity and slightly acidic, like a plum. Also lovely with apples, dried or fresh. I can eat a big block of it (the one in the picture is about 150 grams and I polished it off at lunch), but most people probably would prefer it on a tasting plater with something else.

Wednesday September 05, 2012

Cheese: Chaumes
Country: France
Type: Cow, soft washed rind.

So I went in today with a specific role for my cheese, to be melted over fresh beans from my garden. The lovely people at Janice Beaton hooked me up with a big chunk of Chaumes, a washed soft-rind from France. This cheese was perfect for melting over something crunchy. It melted into a smooth gooey mess over my beans, and the soft rind broke up into delicious tangy bits. The texture was delightful, but not half as lovely as the salty creamy flavour. Totally wicked cheese.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Cheese: Brie de Meaux
Country: France
Type: Raw cow soft rind

I am not the biggest fan of brie, I find them boring. Brie de Meaux is all right, it's quite mild with a soft ammonia taste to it and the rind has a slight hint of earthiness. I paired it today with some castelvetrano olives (which are crack) and it worked well, but I think you could also eat it with some nice jams. Normally it is best to eat a brie at room temperature, it changes the texture and flavour profile. In this case I was impatient and hungry so started in while she was a bit firm, as the cheese softened the texture became quite pleasant and creamy and the ammonia flavour softened.

Wednesday August 22, 2012

Cheese: Les Fleurs des Monts
Nation: Canada
Type: Medium-Hard Sheep

I've had Les Fleurs des Monts a couple times before, I find it a nice dry sheep cheese. I love the rind, it's a bit funky and sometimes has hay stuck to it, I figure they age the cheese in a barn or something. But the rind has an earthy, almost leathery taste to it that compliments the slightly sweet flavour of the cheese. I find there is a bit of a floral undertone to the cheese, which is nice. Like most sheep cheese the dry texture goes great with salami or some other fatty cured meat. If I was pairing it with fruit I'd go for something on the sour side of sweet, fresh prune plums or cherries. This is a great cheese for someone looking to get outside of the cheddar box - it's not to strong, it's different from what most people would be used too, and it's a good eating cheese. I doubt it would melt nicely, most sheep cheese doesn't, but I haven't tried.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Today's cheese: Pico

Nationality: France
Type: Soft rind goat

Normally I'm not a big fan of the soft rind cheeses, they tend to be pretty bland, but this one is pretty good. This one has a bit of stink to it, which I liked. Earthy, but not punch-you-in-the-face earthy and not the typical ammonia smell you get from a soft-rind cow brie you'd see at the grocery store. Creamy with a hint of the typical dry goat-cheese texture that melts in the mouth and coats the tongue in a pleasant way. Mild flavour that starts out sweet and ends with just a bit of bitter in the aftertaste.

Mmmm.... Cheese

So for the past few months a co-worker and I have been walking over to the local cheese shop near our office, Janice Beaton Fine Cheese, every Wednesday. We wander over and pick up 100 grams or so of a random cheese. I figured it would be fun to start documenting the cheeses that we go pick up, and any adventures along the way.