Where is the cheese thread?

[tulip]

Feb 12, 2022 1:29:10 GMT trixie said:

I like Havarti. (not for grilled cheese, just in general)

Last year we ordered a bunch of cheeses and charcuterie for our neighbors and a little for ourselves too. Plain Havarti, Havarti pepper and Havarti Habanero. Yum.

I like Havarti too... and love it in grilled cheese.

[czb]

i have melted havarti on my egg on toast for breakfast. yummy

[palta]

loving this thread!

i bought some raclette last week, and hard provolone to grate on my pasta.

i love warm brie with honey and walnuts for dessert. can't wait for winter to begin again with this new tradition we've started last year.

[funky]

There's this camembert you can put in the oven and then eat it like a fondue:

[no1novice]

Ooh nice funky!
Meaux Brie is delicious, so many other are just poor copy.

[sputnik]

Feb 11, 2022 18:15:40 GMT notoriousmkg said:

Feb 11, 2022 17:55:58 GMT imnotbitter said:

Because I'm sitting here wondering how to tell if my brie's bad and I need some cheese experts 

Brie is literally the only cheese that Mrs Mo doesnt' seem to care for.  But her sister?  Practically a tractor-wheel size brie at all her gatherings.

i agree that most brie is overrated and bland. that said, i ADORE saint-andré, which is a triple-crème cow's milk cheese that is basically an intense, funkier version of brie, and it is fucking amazing. i also eat the rind on most soft cheeses. 






as for the original question, how to tell if your brie has gone bad, i'm probably the wrong person to ask because i'll eat anything as long as it doesn't smell off and if it isn't fuzzy. 

[imnotbitter]

I ate it and it was fine. Got some more, and some Camembert waiting for me in the fridge!

[pattyrox]

We received a gift basket from Brennans Market in Madison Wisconsin that our in-laws sent for Christmas. We've been eating the Fresh Basil Farmers Cheese.  It's really good.



brennansmarket.com/products/farmer-basil-wisconsin-cheese

[waterslide]

I love Saint Angel brie, too...I love the mushroomy notes. I will probably piss European people off by saying this, but if you find brie bland, try artisan American varieties, like Moses Sleeper from Jasper Hill or Leo from Shooting Star. The latter was created by a very over-achieving teenager whose parents own a sheep farm. I'm not sure if Leo is technically a brie, but it's a really nice sheeps milk bloomy rind.

The only thing I would say about brie going bad is to check what dates the grocery store puts on it. Some of my local grocery stores will break down the wheel and tag it at 30 days for shelf life. Whole Foods only gives brie 7 days which is correct. So if the wrap date is April 25, don't eat it after May 2, regardless what the sell/use by date says. After that it's going to become ammoniated and nasty.

And I absolutely eat the rind. When I get "ice cream" brie (like Delice), which tends to be bland, the rind is the only thing really giving it a little depth.

[greysfang]

The 2023 world cheese champion has been revealed
By Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN
4 minute read
Updated 3:06 PM EDT, Fri October 27, 2023


www.cnn.com/travel/worlds-best-cheese-awards-2023-norway/index.html

A Norwegian blue cheese bested contenders from around the world Friday to become the world’s new No. 1 cheese.

The cheese, Nidelven Blå from cheesemaker Gangstad Gårdsysteri, vied against the crème de la crème of the cheese world in Trondheim, Norway, in the world’s largest global cheese event.

Organized by the Guild of Fine Food, the World Cheese Awards, now in its 35th edition, saw experts from across the globe join forces to crown this year’s champion.

And 2023 marked a record-breaking year for the competition, with 4,502 cheeses, the highest number ever, arriving “by boat, truck, train and plane” to be judged by an esteemed panel of cheese experts.

After a long day of deliberations, this year’s winner was finally chosen in front of a live audience by a carefully assembled “super jury,” including the Ambassador of Food Culture at Whole Foods Market in the US, after the entrants had been whittled down to a final 16.

“We’re a small dairy farm based just two hours from here, so this happening on our home turf means a lot, and having all of the crew from the dairy here adds an extra spark to it,” said Maren Gangstadt, general manager of Gangstadt Gårdsysteri, in a statement.

The judges had delectable things to say about Nidelven Blå, a semi-solid, blue mold cheese, made with pasteurized cows’ milk.

“It has this sort of short creaminess, like real dense fudginess,” said one judge. Another called it “the perfect blue cheese.”

A third remarked on its balance and “fruity overtones, maybe some wine-like characteristics that really speak. It’s a very unique language.”

I despise bleu cheese, otherwise I'd try this.

[kittylady]

Well I've finally found a cheese that I actually like - Boursin Garlic and Herb. Probably because the garlic is strong enough to make you render vampires unconscious at 50 paces after eating it (I love garlic!).

[chalet]

Feb 23, 2022 13:05:07 GMT funky said:

There's this camembert you can put in the oven and then eat it like a fondue:

There is a cheese called Vacherin Mont D'Or, a French & Swiss mountain cheese.  It's comes out in the winter time I believe.  It's served like the cheese above.  You put it in the oven to heat up (the crust on top is like a tree bark). You crack it open and dip into it or take your own portion.  It has a brie like consistency but is very flavorful and rich tasting.

Brie will smell ammoniated if it's overripe or bad.

I worked in a European style cheese shop during college. Tiny little shop based on the fromageries in France and Italy. The owner really did her homework. (that's how we met Paul & Joanne for catering) and those crazy kids who dressed alike at the time, Goldie and Kurt. 

I remember everything I learned but I don't know newer cheeses from the last 20 years. I made a cheese board display, put it down, and the client's golden retriever ate most of it as soon as I went back to the kitchen.  Janet Leigh was at that party. She was wearing a black spaghetti strap cocktail dress.  I had never seen so many chest wrinkles in the my life.  Cheese memories!

[imnotbitter]

^OMG yummmm

[notoriousmkg]

My cheese update.  Mrs Mo had sent a bunch of clothes and other stuff down to relatives in Honduras.  She does it through this guy that lives close to where our son goes to school.  Anyway, by way of thanking us, the relatives sent back what seemed to be about 10-20 pounds of Honduran cheese.  I forgot what the name is but the cheese comes in huge white, flakey blocks and I basically hate them.   I don't think they have much flavor, which means I am taking in all that salt and fat for no good reason.

But I'm especially annoyed because they are perishable and take up a lot of space in our fridge and freezer (yes, we were desperate enough to put some in there, too).  It crowds out the healthy food that we actually eat - and like.  So, today, Mrs Mo is heading down this weekend to her sister's for a baby shower (of a mutual friend), and Mrs Mo is taking all the cheese with her.    I have also tried to emphasize in no uncertain terms that she needs to tell people down there to NEVER send that stuff up here again.  I don't know enough Spanish myself to say it diplomatically.

[tulip]

Mr. Tulip and I went for a little weekend getaway a few weeks ago to a tiny town in Wisconsin, which apparently is the "Cheese Captital of the World." They apparently product 10-15% of the world's cheese. Thought this was a dubious distinction at first, but we came to learn that the headquarters for Sargento is there, which explains the volume. Of course, being Wisconsin there are some local dairies that produce cheese as well. The town has a Cheese Heritage Center. Ha! We bought some yummy local cheeses.