EarlyandLate
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I recall my surprise when having Havarti in Denmark. Much stronger than the US supermarket stuff I was used to!
Cheese!!!
- Thread starter audreyh1
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I recall my surprise when having Havarti in Denmark. Much stronger than the US supermarket stuff I was used to!
I love this thread! Thanks for starting, Audrey.
Many of these cheeses are new to me. A couple not mentioned that I like are Halloumi - great sautéed with a little olive oil and served with tomatoes, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar. And Trader Joe’s carries a seasonal cheese around the holidays that is a lemon ricotta. Tastes like lemon cheesecake!
I love blue cheese, and a favorite product is Trader Joe’s Blue Cheese Pecan Dip. Delicious with veggies or on crackers or just by itself.
Many of these cheeses are new to me. A couple not mentioned that I like are Halloumi - great sautéed with a little olive oil and served with tomatoes, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar. And Trader Joe’s carries a seasonal cheese around the holidays that is a lemon ricotta. Tastes like lemon cheesecake!
I love blue cheese, and a favorite product is Trader Joe’s Blue Cheese Pecan Dip. Delicious with veggies or on crackers or just by itself.
RobbieB
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Now enjoying "Cello Copper Kettle" from the local market. Wisconsin made and really good. A nice hard cheese with rich multi-layered flavor.
Montecfo
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We stumbled across Tillamook, Oregon by accident. We were staying at Cannon Beach and saw it on a map. We did tour the creamery but only ate ice cream. It was a fantastic spot. Memorable.
anothercog
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audreyh1
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Yep, Humboldt Fog is very good.
Cypress Grove also makes some wonderful fresh herbed goat cheeses. I ran across “Psychedillic” once and it was fabulous. Haven’t found it since.
Cypress Grove also makes some wonderful fresh herbed goat cheeses. I ran across “Psychedillic” once and it was fabulous. Haven’t found it since.
Also a lover of Brillat-Savarin. Other triple-cremes that are similar and also excellent are:
- Saint-Angel (much milder; made by the same creameries that make Brillat)
- Cremeux de Bourgogne (a really luxe cheese; even better than Brillat but hard to find)
- Brie Fermier, made only by Ferme de la Tremblaye, a farm SW of Paris, from organic thermalized milk. It is the closest Brie you can buy in the US that will taste like the raw-milk Bries sold in France.
- Camembert Fermier, also more full-bodied than standard Camembert.
- Ragged Point by Stepladder Creamery, Central Coast CA. I love this one as it's one of the few that comes whole in a petite 3.5oz size, perfect for 2 people.
- Willoughby and Moses Sleeper by Jasper Hill Farm of Vermont. More like Brie or Camembert Fermier than Harbison is; very hard to find outside New England.
The ultimate:
- Harbison by Jasper Hill Farm, Vermont. Harbison is so soft you can't unbox it. It flows, like the heaviest cream imaginable. Wonderful rich funk.
Love Ossau Iraty. It is said to be the oldest cheese in the world that has remained continuously in production!
FYI it's correct that Cowgirl Creamy has closed their retail outlets, but their production remains intact. They have decided to concentrate on serving their wholesale supply chain. Like many others in the hospitality industry, keeping the retail stores staffed during the pandemic/lockdown chaos was just too difficult to manage.
Lovers of Cambozola might want to try it with roasted sliced fresh beets. Walter Hansel Bistro/Sonoma County CA makes THE most amazing salad with it, adding some Marcona almonds as a garnish. Despite a change of chefs and six years, customers won't let the kitchen take this dish off the menu. It's a wonderful, and surprising, combination.
BTW, Manchego goes very well with ham when melted inside a sliced croissant.....yum!
- Saint-Angel (much milder; made by the same creameries that make Brillat)
- Cremeux de Bourgogne (a really luxe cheese; even better than Brillat but hard to find)
- Brie Fermier, made only by Ferme de la Tremblaye, a farm SW of Paris, from organic thermalized milk. It is the closest Brie you can buy in the US that will taste like the raw-milk Bries sold in France.
- Camembert Fermier, also more full-bodied than standard Camembert.
- Ragged Point by Stepladder Creamery, Central Coast CA. I love this one as it's one of the few that comes whole in a petite 3.5oz size, perfect for 2 people.
- Willoughby and Moses Sleeper by Jasper Hill Farm of Vermont. More like Brie or Camembert Fermier than Harbison is; very hard to find outside New England.
The ultimate:
- Harbison by Jasper Hill Farm, Vermont. Harbison is so soft you can't unbox it. It flows, like the heaviest cream imaginable. Wonderful rich funk.
Love Ossau Iraty. It is said to be the oldest cheese in the world that has remained continuously in production!
FYI it's correct that Cowgirl Creamy has closed their retail outlets, but their production remains intact. They have decided to concentrate on serving their wholesale supply chain. Like many others in the hospitality industry, keeping the retail stores staffed during the pandemic/lockdown chaos was just too difficult to manage.
Lovers of Cambozola might want to try it with roasted sliced fresh beets. Walter Hansel Bistro/Sonoma County CA makes THE most amazing salad with it, adding some Marcona almonds as a garnish. Despite a change of chefs and six years, customers won't let the kitchen take this dish off the menu. It's a wonderful, and surprising, combination.
BTW, Manchego goes very well with ham when melted inside a sliced croissant.....yum!
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audreyh1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I do remember seeing Delice de Bourgogne a couple of times, and indeed it was outstanding.
Manchego is one of the cheeses I don’t care for - it’s the texture: too dry and waxy/plasticky. I’ve tried many. I go for other smoother Spanish cheeses with my Jamón Ibérico - Iberico, Drunken Goat, or Idiazabal.
Manchego is one of the cheeses I don’t care for - it’s the texture: too dry and waxy/plasticky. I’ve tried many. I go for other smoother Spanish cheeses with my Jamón Ibérico - Iberico, Drunken Goat, or Idiazabal.
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tenant13
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I’m not a cheese expert but I spent last winter in Portugal and several things happened around my then developed obsession. First I discovered non-pasteurized goat and sheep milk cheeses… OMG. I wouldn’t be able to tell you their names; I just visited my favorite cheese store in Lisbon every two days and pointed at my favorites. When I coupled them with great fresh Portuguese bread and their inexpensive delicious red wines…. I was in heaven. But…
I discovered that I might be allergic to strong and flavorful cheeses: the sides of my tongue developed small blisters - you know how you sometimes accidentally bite it and an annoying blister appears for a day or two? That’s what I had - for weeks. And more than one. I had no clue what it was until I left Portugal and my doctor mentioned that diet might cause these things.
Second, and much weirder thing, were the dreams. Every time I would eat a lot of cheese, I would have intense, all night lasting dreams full of complicated stories that continued even after repeatedly waking up. I do not like dreaming so that was just as bad as blisters on my tongue.
I went to the cheese tasting in Greece a few weeks ago and boom! Both symptoms came back instantly.
I discovered that I might be allergic to strong and flavorful cheeses: the sides of my tongue developed small blisters - you know how you sometimes accidentally bite it and an annoying blister appears for a day or two? That’s what I had - for weeks. And more than one. I had no clue what it was until I left Portugal and my doctor mentioned that diet might cause these things.
Second, and much weirder thing, were the dreams. Every time I would eat a lot of cheese, I would have intense, all night lasting dreams full of complicated stories that continued even after repeatedly waking up. I do not like dreaming so that was just as bad as blisters on my tongue.
I went to the cheese tasting in Greece a few weeks ago and boom! Both symptoms came back instantly.
Pont-l'Évêque is one of our favorites. It's a French cheese from the Normandy region. Absolutely wonderful with a decent baguette and some red wine. It's quite difficult to find here in the USA. In Austin, the only place to sometimes find it is Antonelli's (a great independent cheese shop), Whole Foods, or Central Market.
For more everyday cheeses we find Costco has good quality and prices. We love their Gruyere, Comte, Kerrygold Cheddar, Stilton, and recently their Kirkland branded Coastal cheddar.
For more everyday cheeses we find Costco has good quality and prices. We love their Gruyere, Comte, Kerrygold Cheddar, Stilton, and recently their Kirkland branded Coastal cheddar.
We love Stilton and have introduced it to several friends who are now "hooked" as well. (The first few bites are free!).
But Stilton is not that easy to find. Used to buy it at Costco, but have not seen it at the 4 or 5 Costcos that we frequent. Anyone have a good source?
Yes, I've seen that Costco doesn't have Stilton in stock year-round. They usually have it before the holidays though. So be on the look out from now on.
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audreyh1
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We’ve had very good luck cutting the larger Costco cheeses in half and vacuum packing for much longer storage. This helps stretch out the holiday abundance a bit.
NW-Bound
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Hmmm... And I thought you have the same problem as Meg Ryan character has in this scene of "French Kiss".
I stick with hard aged cheese to avoid this problem.
oiseux
Recycles dryer sheets
Oh my, a cheese thread. A great thing for the fall. I just turned on my furnace as the temperature dropped to 64 today.
I am fortunate that even my independent corner market (walkable) has an excellent cheese selection (they have an excellent butcher section as well). I can find St. Andre, Pont L'Eveque and almost all of the cheeses mentioned in the thread (domestic and foreign). If not there, there are two other specialty markets I can go to within a mile or two.
Costco tends to stock extra cheeses before the holidays. However, Delice de Bourgogne was not in my local one -- it is usually stocked each winter. It's gotten quite trendy, I read, with top restaurants. They also stock raclette slices, which is when I haul out the raclette machine. Another alternative to Delice de Bourgogne are cheeses from the Fromager Affinois -- they are "shorter" but very soft.
Three cheeses that are hard to find year round in the US:
* St. Marcellin --- a petite washed rind cheese with a near liquid center. These are about the size of a hockey puck. I'm usually not a fan of heavy rinds, but this one is thin and is like the wrapper on a fine ravioli. Last month I had one fried, on top of salad, in the village of Chateauneuf du Pape (as my starter).
* Vacherin Fribourgois --- this is the Swiss cheese that brings the smooth but delicious flavor to typical Swiss "moitie-moitie" (half and half) fondue. Emmental and gruyere are nothing without this in a fondue
* Delice de Jura --- this is a washed rind cheese made in the style of Reblouchon, which is illegal to import to the US. It is the essential cheese for tartiflette but is delicious on its own.
Truffled tallegio on top of a filet is a typical northern Italian secondi. You can find the cheese stateside, sometimes at WF or at specialty shops.
I am fortunate that even my independent corner market (walkable) has an excellent cheese selection (they have an excellent butcher section as well). I can find St. Andre, Pont L'Eveque and almost all of the cheeses mentioned in the thread (domestic and foreign). If not there, there are two other specialty markets I can go to within a mile or two.
Costco tends to stock extra cheeses before the holidays. However, Delice de Bourgogne was not in my local one -- it is usually stocked each winter. It's gotten quite trendy, I read, with top restaurants. They also stock raclette slices, which is when I haul out the raclette machine. Another alternative to Delice de Bourgogne are cheeses from the Fromager Affinois -- they are "shorter" but very soft.
Three cheeses that are hard to find year round in the US:
* St. Marcellin --- a petite washed rind cheese with a near liquid center. These are about the size of a hockey puck. I'm usually not a fan of heavy rinds, but this one is thin and is like the wrapper on a fine ravioli. Last month I had one fried, on top of salad, in the village of Chateauneuf du Pape (as my starter).
* Vacherin Fribourgois --- this is the Swiss cheese that brings the smooth but delicious flavor to typical Swiss "moitie-moitie" (half and half) fondue. Emmental and gruyere are nothing without this in a fondue
* Delice de Jura --- this is a washed rind cheese made in the style of Reblouchon, which is illegal to import to the US. It is the essential cheese for tartiflette but is delicious on its own.
Truffled tallegio on top of a filet is a typical northern Italian secondi. You can find the cheese stateside, sometimes at WF or at specialty shops.
The Tillamook vanilla ice cream is amazing. I will have to try their cheese.
I'm not used to a lot of fancy cheeses, but I'm vouching for the white cheddar sold at Aldi's. It is very good.
It's always in stock at my local Trader Joe's.
NW-Bound
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I like cheese, but have to eat it sparingly due to a problem: kidney stones!
The calcium in cheese collects in my kidney like flies sticking to honey. My gosh, all the tastiness is not worth the pain, I tell ya.
I generally eat a morsel of a volume of 3 or 4 sugar cubes at a time. That's it.
The calcium in cheese collects in my kidney like flies sticking to honey. My gosh, all the tastiness is not worth the pain, I tell ya.
I generally eat a morsel of a volume of 3 or 4 sugar cubes at a time. That's it.
The Cosmic Avenger
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
There's Stilton at every supermarket we go to (Trader Joe's, Safeway, Wegmans) here in Maryland. Those all have quite very good, dedicated cheese section, though, not just deli cheese.
timbervest
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Grew up not far from their dairy in Marin. Love that I can get it in SoCal.
