The Cheese thread.......

[Scepticalscribe]

Purchased a few cheeses today: Two blues: Roquefort and Bleu d'Auvergne, both French.

The Trappist cheese, Chimay, from Belgium, and two more from France, Camembert Rustique, and a gloriously liquid Époisses.

Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano, I already have, in generous quantities.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have cheese for bearkfast - that is, a proper cheeseboard, invariably including at least one blue cheese - for breakfast even more often than I do toast and marmalade.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I paid a brief, fleeting visit to the cheesemonger today:

The following cheeses were bought:

Two blues: Bleu des Causses (basically the cow's milk version of Roquefort), and Bleu d'Auvergne.

Semi-soft, and/or washed rind cheese: Chimay cheese (made by the Trappist monks who brew Chimay beer); Camembert Rustique, and Époisses.

Hard cheese: Etivaz and Goat's Gouda.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Cheese purchased today included:

Two blues: Gorgonzola, Bleu des Causses;

Semi-soft, washed rind cheeses: Chimay and Reblochon.

Mozzarella, and Comte.

Plus a generous hunk of Pecorino Romano.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Bleu d'Auvergne, Roquefort, Etivaz, Goat's Gouda, and Goat's Maasdammer cheese (a superb breakfast cheese) were purchased yesterday.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Headed into the market, and the French bakery, and the cheesemonger's:

Unfortunately, they didn't have some of the cheeses that I had hoped to find.

Nevertheless, I did treat myself.

Cheeses purchased included:

Blues: Bleu des Causses (essentially, a cow's milk version of Roquefort); Bleu des Basques Brebis (a sheep's milk cheese from the Basque region of France); Roquefort (the classic sheep's milk cheese from France); and Blue Goat's Gouda (a lovely version of a goat's cheese Gouda).

Semi-soft Cheese: Camembert Rustique, (the Époisses wasn't ripe, and neither was the St Nectaire; I had hoped to find Chimay cheese, but they haven't had it for quite some time), and Floçon de Savoie.

Hard Cheese: Goat's Gouda, and Al Romero (a lovely sheep's cheese from Spain, rubbed with rosemary, giving it a sort of rosemary coating).

 

[Scepticalscribe]

French bread plus a small platter comprised of a variety of serious cheese, what more could one ask for?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Treated myself this week-end to some Gorgonzola, Maasdammer goat's cheese, Époisses, a little Camember Rustique, and Pecorino Romano.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

There are very few cheeses I've tried that I didn't like. Those tended to be the excessively stinky or smoky ones.

Spanish Manchego is one of my favorites to eat as is. It has a lovely strong flavor. Goat cheese with fig jam on crackers is also heavenly.

My fave prepared cheese dish is baked Brie en croute, or slathered with diced sun dried tomatoes.

Baked Brie, or baked Camembert, (or baked Vacherin Mont d'Or) are all delicious.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have found Maasdammer cheese (cow's milk or goat's milk) - for it has a mild, somewhat sweet flavour - to be an excellent breakfast cheese.

 

[gigatoaster]

Back from la fromagerie with Comté (18 years) Roquefort Papillon, Moliterno af Tartufo, Tomme à l’Ail des Ours (bear’s garlic), Morbier and some traditional Leerdammer. Looking forward to enjoy all this later!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Back from la fromagerie with Comté (18 years) Roquefort Papillon, Moliterno af Tartufo, Tomme à l’Ail des Ours (bear’s garlic), Morbier and some traditional Leerdammer. Looking forward to enjoy all this later!

That is a serious haul, do enjoy.

Aged Comte is always delicious, and Roquefort is a classic for a very good reason.

I recall that I have had the Moliterno af Tartufo in the past, and found it an intriguing cheese.

Morbier, I love, and Leerdammer is an excellent breakfast cheese.

Now, the Tomme à l"Ail des Ours is a cheese that I have never heard of, let alone sampled.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My own cheese purchases today included:

Gorgonzola, a blue goat's cheese, goat's Maasdamer, Camembert Rustique, St Nectaire, plus some Mozzarella.

While making my purchases, I also tasted an unusual cheddar cheese made from buffalo milk (akin to a cheddar mozzarella), and a Gouda with walnuts, but declined to purchase them.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Gorgonzola Cremosa - especially when almost liquid when ripe - is gloriously delicious on (almost) fresh French bread for breakfast.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Visited the cheesemonger's today and purchased some cheese:

These included: Bleu des Causses, Brie de Meaux, Fontal, le Marechal, and St Nectaire.

 

[decafjava]

Visited the cheesemonger's today and purchased some cheese:

These included: Bleu des Causses, Brie de Meaux, Fontal, le Marechal, and St Nectaire.

France thanks you for your support. Excellent selection, I need to make some cheese purchases this weekend.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

France thanks you for your support. Excellent selection, I need to make some cheese purchases this weekend.

Yes, I hadn't ever tried either the Fontal, or the Le Merechal until today; both were excellent.

The Brie de Meaux was superb, loamy and mushroomy; usually, I prefer Camembert Rustique, but today, the Brie was outstanding.

And, in general, I have found that Bleu Des Causses is every bit as delicious as its better known kin, Roquefort.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

They also had just recieved a delivery of Brin d'Amour - a stunning Corsican sheep's milk cheese - which they haven't stocked for some time - but I decided to forego that pleasure until my next visit.

 

[Bodhitree]

Was at the market today, treated myself at the cheese stall to a huge chunk of Maasdammer, a piece of over-age Frisian Nagelkaas and a good piece of Boerenkaas. Its amazing all the excellent Dutch cheeses that are hard to find outside of the Netherlands.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Was at the market today, treated myself at the cheese stall to a huge chunk of Maasdammer, a piece of over-age Frisian Nagelkaas and a good piece of Boerenkaas. Its amazing all the excellent Dutch cheeses that are hard to find outside of the Netherlands.

You'll find Maasdammer, and various Goudas: Young, medium, seriously (crystalline) aged, plus sheep's milk Gouda and Goat's milk Gouda in my cheesemonger's; others include a blue Gouda, a walnut Gouda, and a Gouda style cheese with cumin (or, is it caraway?) seeds.

 

[Bodhitree]

The cumin-seed cheese is called Komijnekaas in Dutch, so I’m pretty sure it’s cumin. The Frisian Nagelkaas I bought is similar, except that it’s done with cloves, which tend to flavour the whole cheese.

 

[F23]

this thread is...cheesy

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The cumin-seed cheese is called Komijnekaas in Dutch, so I’m pretty sure it’s cumin. The Frisian Nagelkaas I bought is similar, except that it’s done with cloves, which tend to flavour the whole cheese.

Ah, cumin, yes, that was it.

I couldn't remember which of the two differnet types of seeds had found their way into the cheese.

That particular stall (it was run by a Dutch couple in the weekly farmers' market,) told me a few weeks ago that the cumin Gouda style cheese (Komijnekaas) is very popular with Dutch people, and a German lady I know, used to buy some every week while she lived.

While I personally quite like it, it would not be a weekly purchase, more an occasional one. Mind you, I do like the Blue goat's Gouda, and am also partial to their smoked goat's Gouda.

I have never tried the clove one, but I must say that I did quite like the version with walnuts.

There was a spicy paprika version, which, I felt, missed the point somewhat becasue the taste of the hot spices overwhelmed the flavour of the cheese.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Was at the market today, treated myself at the cheese stall to a huge chunk of Maasdammer, a piece of over-age Frisian Nagelkaas and a good piece of Boerenkaas. Its amazing all the excellent Dutch cheeses that are hard to find outside of the Netherlands.

When I worked abroad (in Afghanistan) with the EU, one of the shops in international forces' compound always stocked Old Amsterdam cheese, which was very welcome.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

@Bodhitree: There is another Dutch cheese - a semi-soft washed rind cheese - that I quite like, and can obtain in the Dutch cheese stall at the farmers' market: Doruvael cheese.