Cheese!!!

[audreyh1]

I'm very surprised no one has posted about this: Today (January 20) is National Cheese Lovers Day!

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-cheese-lovers-day-january-20/

Thanks! I’m glad you mentioned that. I had no idea.

Also been meaning to mention that the Kirkland Manchego is good. I made sure to get one that had some give. I don’t know what I was eating earlier that I didn’t care for but it wasn’t just one source.

I like the shorter aged cheeses - I prefer the texture. DH is a fan of longer aged cheeses - he likes the more intense flavors.

 

[oiseux]

Thanks! I’m glad you mentioned that. I had no idea.

Also been meaning to mention that the Kirkland Manchego is good. I made sure to get one that had some give. I don’t know what I was eating earlier that I didn’t care for but it wasn’t just one source.

I like the shorter aged cheeses - I prefer the texture. DH is a fan of longer aged cheeses - he likes the more intense flavors.

I like the costco Machego as well. The price on the Affinois at $15 is really good. It is like $20 to $25 at local shops or Whole Paycheck.

Last night's dinner cheese/meat platter featured Affinois, a Bleu d'Auvergne, machego, and a local goat cheese with honey and meyer lemon (plus some prosciutto di parma and rosette de lyon).

 

[audreyh1]

Wow, sounds great! Especially the Bleu d’Auvergne.

 

[ElizabethT]

Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Oregon, has the freshest and most flavorful Blue Cheese I've ever enjoyed. It has to be bought fresh from that location, where it glistens with moisture as they cut it off the wheel in front of you. Buying it pre-packaged from the market is a poor substitute IMO.

My personal favorite is the Smokey Blue.

 

[Luvtoride]

Well, that’s too bad for those of us who don’t live in Oregon. I’ve enjoyed Rouge Creamery’s cheeses sold at Whole Foods and better cheese shops in NY/NJ. I’ve also ordered directly from them. Maybe not as fresh as going to the source, but still pretty darn good cheese. I pick up Rouge River Blue any chance I get.

 

[tenant13]

https://www.upi.com/amp/Odd_News/20...iry-dreamers-cheese-before-bed/3821674509336/

I’ve already reported on it in this thread. It’s 100% true.

 

[Catkins]

How about Humboldt Fog and Cow Girl creamery goat cheese from CA. Aged mimolette, and German gorgonzola. I'm hungry!

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Oooh, my local Trader Joe's has had Irish Porter Cheddar lately, and it's very good! I was tempted to get two pieces this week! :9

 

[audreyh1]

How about Humboldt Fog and Cow Girl creamery goat cheese from CA. Aged mimolette, and German gorgonzola. I'm hungry!

Big fan of Cyoress Grove which makes the Humboldt Fog. We love their Midnight Moon aged goat cheese.

I say the ”fancy” cheeses at our HEB and Sprouts are super expensive for small pieces too. I’m so happy when Costco carries a favorite and then we really stock up.

 

[tmitchell]

Whole Foods has Parmesan 28% off for prime members this weekend. Planning to perfect my cacio e pepe this week

 

[audreyh1]

A few more West Coast CA cheeses were available in the Monterey area.

I fell in love with the Point Reyes Toma - a semi-hard 90 day aged cheese. Just delicious and the texture I like.

Other cheeses readily available there I have access to here - Marin variations on Brie, Point Reyes blue (don't care for their more aged versions), Cypress Grove of course. While there we enjoyed a Cypress Grove Lamb Chopper (aged sheep cheese) which we never see here.

I'll probably have to order the Point Reyes Toma though - have to keep my eyes peeled in case it shows up locally but haven't seen it since returning.

 

[Chuckanut]

The local Costco always picks up a few special cheeses as we approach Christmas. They sell them at a better price than the fancy boutique markets. This week i bought some La Sauvagine, a soft ripened cheese by Alexis de Portneuf. Good stuff!

 

[Chuckanut]

Sadly many stores are now into cheaper cheeses that are flavored with things like cranberries, bacon, wine, and one even had mint in it. One cheese food even had garlic in it, no doubt a particularly lousy batch of cheese that they were desperate to ‘repurpose’ and sell. I put these concoctions in the same unpleasant category as many of the flavored coffees sold this time of year. YMMV.

 

[MC Rider]

Our Grocery Outlet bargain store has a small cheese section, but some real nice British cheddars, among other things. The bigger Vons (Albertsons) has a few nice cheeses, but is priced higher.

 

[FLJim]

One of our all-time favorite cheese is English Stilton. Very hard to find except if you go online and get it shipped. Costco used to carry it in November/December months, but not for quite a few years. Stilton so good with red wine!

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

One of our all-time favorite cheese is English Stilton. Very hard to find except if you go online and get it shipped. Costco used to carry it in November/December months, but not for quite a few years. Stilton so good with red wine!

I regularly get "Stilton" at Trader Joe's and Wegman's, is there a big difference? I will try to look at the labels to see where it's made. Maybe it's better if I don't know, right now I love the Stilton that I can find locally!

 

[yakers]

I eat so much cheese that Wisconsin sends me a thank you note every year. Like hard, soft, US, European....

 

[Lorenzo]

We scour the "Murray's Cheese" section of our local Kroger for mark-downs. Not infrequently we find a washed-rind cheese that has just reached perfect ripeness. The expiration/mark-down date is when it's ready to eat, you silly grocers! I wish they carried Cowgirl's Red Hawk. We've also found Humboldt Fog, camembert, Stilton, mimolette, and others, all something like half price.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Years ago we dined at an Alain Ducasse restaurant in Provence. For the cheese course, the server arrived with a briefcase holding small logs of goat cheese, several with additives like dried fruit. I had to try the variety he described as "cheese wiss Ashh." As I recall the cheeses were quite a bit firmer than the goat cheeses we are accustomed to. The ash added a gritty note, IIRC.

 

[Gumby]

Two of my favorite cheeses are Morbier and Tomme de Savoie.

 

[Luvtoride]

Look for Rouge River Blue, the first US produced cheese that won the BEST cheese in the world award a few years ago (2019?).

Rogue River Blue

As fall comes to the Rogue Valley, cooler temperatures and wet weather bring renewed growth to the pastures. This is when our cow’s milk is at its best – and it’s only during these months that we make our limited edition, seasonal Rogue River Blue – a cheese named World Champion at the 2019/20 Wo...

roguecreamery.com

I’ve ordered it in quarter wheels from Rogue Creamery but it has been carried the past few years in Murrays (Krogers now) Whole Foods and better supermarket cheese shops. It’s only available from September until it’s sold out later in the fall. It is a phenomenal blue cheese if you are into those.

 

[audreyh1]

Unfortunately I’ve been avoiding dairy for a while, so missing my beloved cheese.

Costco cheese selection here is not what it was several years ago.

 

[tutan]

I find the “fancier” selections different at each Costco. There are 4 Costco warehouses within 10 miles from us not counting the business center. Two of them have more of the gourmet choices.

 

[Chuckanut]

Unfortunately I’ve been avoiding dairy for a while, so missing my beloved cheese.

Costco cheese selection here is not what it was several years ago.

Same at my Costco. They have upped the ethnic food selection, but the bakery and cheese choices have been reduced. There’s another Costco just a few miles in the opposite direction. I may try that one.

 

[oiseux]

Costco can be very local market and neighborhood demographic based. I'm looking forward to see what is new in for the holidays, but I agree the last two years have seen a falloff.

@Mr. Graybeard --- I've a a number of very good goat cheeses that are covered in ash for ripening. Some of my local shops carry some. Is that what you had?

Last fall, at a 2* Michelin chef's new restaurant, the cheese course include a monstrous wheel of a artisanal blue cheese made in the alpine foothills of Liguria. It was almost liquidy, and the dream for any lover of blue cheeses. The server just spooned out puddles into our plate.