cheese strut; recommendations

jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts
edited April 2011 in Strut Central
i love cheese. pretty uneducated in that department. just know what i like. can anyone school me on some sh*t that they think is really good as i want to branch out? i went to new zealand last year and got my mind blown by some of the goat cheese.
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  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Find local artisan cheese makers.

    There is a guy from somewhere near Wala Wala (maybe Dayton) who has the best goat cheeses. He sells at the downtown Portland farmers market.
    The folks at the Hollywood (Portland) framers market are selling mediocre cheeses that they flavor with lots of rosemary and garlic. There is also a farm that has real good soft goat cheese there.
    The other great Portland farmers market cheese I have gotten was at the King market. The farm is on the coast. Their feta makes my knees buckle.

    No doubt there is some farm near you making great cheeses.

  • WoimsahWoimsah 1,734 Posts
    ah dude -- opening a serious, serious can of worms here.

    I could snort and mainline cheese -- probably simultaneously.

    If you like goat cheese -- I highly recommend Humboldt Fog.

    It's a goat / brie hybrid, and while I'd usually stay away from something like that, this is the one you can really trust. Smear some of that on a decent cracker -- lordy. You can get it at pretty much any decent cheese shop, or Whole Foods if you're close to one.

    Manchego you can also pretty much never go wrong with. Also, most goats milk cheeses are somewhat milder than that of cows, and it's hard to find a shitty one.

    For a cheap stand-by that always pleases, I recommend Parrano.

    Think they even sell it at Trader Joes. SO dope. It's a dutch gouda, more or less.

  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,779 Posts
    I can eat aged gouda all day... It's the ultimate cheese in my opinion:



    I'm also a fan boy of the Swedish VODKACHEESE???.


  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts
    raj, never seen that vodka cheese. i might have to seek that one out. gouda is always trusty and easy to find.

  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts

    It's a goat / brie hybrid, and while I'd usually stay away from something like that, this is the one you can really trust. Smear some of that on a decent cracker -- lordy. You can get it at pretty much any decent cheese shop, or Whole Foods if you're close to one.

    this looks like crack. is it pungent? how does it taste?

  • fejmelbafejmelba 1,139 Posts
    RAJ said:
    I can eat aged gouda all day... It's the ultimate cheese in my opinion:



    love it,
    but in this picture is mature(oud belegen) beemster cheese. wich imo beats gouda.

  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts
    i was gonna say, it looks more aged than regular gouda

  • Bavarian Smoked and Red Leicester are my favourites..

  • FrankFrank 2,370 Posts
    Cheese is such a highly diverse thing, it's all about personal taste and it's great fun to explore and find personal favorites.

    While there are many great cheeses from Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Germany, the wide range the French have to offer just can't be messed with. Go someplace where they have a good selection and buy whatever looks good to you. You won;t have much luck finding a store that cuts from loaf for the customer (major pet peeve of mine) so you want to make sure you go someplace where they don't shrinkwrap tons of stuff that then sits in the refridgerated shelf for weeks and months. Once it is cut and wrapped, a piece of cheese doesn't age properly anymore but rather decomposes, becomes slimy and developes undesired mold growth on the cut surface.

    Get a nice Boule bread with a woodoven crust. Most baguettes outside of France are a disgrace so don't touch that stuff.


    For Roquefort (a bit sharp, blue, very aromatic, made from sheep milk) get a ripe and soft pear (not a hard and tasteless one) and as shown in th eimage with sweet, red grapes.


    For (real) Munster, cut some white onion into very fine cubes and try some caraway seed on top. Munster is only ripe when it begins to flow and really stinks.


    Goat cheeses are great with grapes.


    Try to find some fine Brie made out of crude milk. Again, it's best when it's already getting liquid.


    The Morbier is a fantastic cheese, very pleasant. bottom layer is from morning milk, then they put a fine layer of ashes on top before adding the evening milk at the end of the day.


    The Chaource is mild, ridiculously buttery and doesn't need anything but bread alone:


    Tomme d' Entremont is great with white wine:


    Buy your wine in a knowledgable wine store, tell them how much you want to spend and what you're going to have with it.

    I would never have Spanish or Italian wine with French cheese but that's just me being conservative, (terroir related)

    Don't re-wrap your cheese for storage. Put them on a big plate or wooden board and cover it with a glass bowl.
    Take the plate out of the fridge 1-2 hours before indulging and remove the bowl so the cheese can breathe while slowly reaching room temperature.

  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts
    Woimsah said:
    ah dude -- opening a serious, serious can of worms here.

    I could snort and mainline cheese -- probably simultaneously.

    If you like goat cheese -- I highly recommend Humboldt Fog.

    It's a goat / brie hybrid, and while I'd usually stay away from something like that, this is the one you can really trust. Smear some of that on a decent cracker -- lordy. You can get it at pretty much any decent cheese shop, or Whole Foods if you're close to one.



    Also, Cowgirl's Mt. Tam.



  • drunken goat all day.

  • any old gouda will rock my boat

  • doisndoisn baleadas&pupuzas 303 Posts
    too many good ones to mention, as frank said this depends on your personal taste...

    tough, here??s one outstanding good cheese and personal favorite:

    Caramelised Goat Gouda is what they call it in my bodega:



    here??s some info from the interwebs:

    "Brunost ( brown cheese ) or geitost means goat cheese is uniqe cheese made from goat's milk. Taste like caramel and goat's milk. Geitost has a strong, sweet, yet somewhat sharp flavor. Usually in Norway serves on open sandwich topping. Some people like to adding brunost in brown sauce, give taste more creamy"

  • mr.brettmr.brett 678 Posts
    If you have one nearby, go to a Whole Foods and ask to try some stuff. They will usually give you several samples.

    Cosign on the aged gouda- older goudas have salt crystals that form inside of them. Delicious.

    Woimsah said:


    If you like goat cheese -- I highly recommend Humboldt Fog.


    For a cheap stand-by that always pleases, I recommend Parrano.

    Think they even sell it at Trader Joes. SO dope. It's a dutch gouda, more or less.

    YES.

    Whole Foods also has a fantastic triple creme brie. Very luxurious. I've had two of them from there, and one of them was definitely better than the other, so make them give you a sample before you buy.

  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts
    thanks for all the info guys. i am defenitley off to the gourmet store tomorrow

  • jaysusjaysus 787 Posts
    I don't have a producer for you, but ask for some gouda with stinging nettles:


    Also I had this blue cheese/cheddar combo one time that threw me on the floor.

    What bread/crackers/fruit/booze are you going to consume these beautiful molds with?
    Thinly sliced baguette
    Water crackers
    Pear
    Apple?

    Jam or honey always gives you options in putting together bites.

  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts
    decent bread is the best. water crackers are great too. i don't like putting too much else into the mix. if the cheese is awesome, then it should be like terminator-x and speak with its hands. errrr....

  • DeegreezDeegreez 804 Posts
    Crazy, we had a thread about this exactly 2 years ago!

    http://www.soulstrut.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/60438/

    I love cheese.

  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts
    hey, cheese lovers unite. it doesn;t suprise me that cheese gets discusssed around here.

  • RisingsonRisingson 696 Posts
    Mossfield from Co. Offaly in Ireland



    I think it's a Gouda. I love it though, rumour has Bruce Springsteen loves it to!!


    anyone givin Casu Marzu a try?

  • FrankFrank 2,370 Posts
    The Peulh (or Fula how they are called in other West African countries) people of Northern Benin produce their own cheese. While they converted to Islam in most other places, the Beninois Fula have remained animists, often still live nomadic and herd sizable herds of cattle. Their women who are famous for their beauty all over West Africa sometimes display traditional, complex facial tattoos and beautiful chains made of glass beads.

    On rare occasions you can see some even wearing mohawk-style haircuts.

    Their cattle with their long horns and distinctive humps on their backs provide the hands down best steaks I ever had and the Fula women use the cow milk to produce the traditional Fromage Peulh:

    The cheese is sold throughout Benin but remains most popular in the North of the country. I was fortunate enough to get to eat it plenty of times and my favorite way of preparation was cubes of cheese simmered in spicy peanut sauce.

    Here's an interesting documentary on the production and preparation of this cheese:






  • jammyjammy remixing bongo rock... 813 Posts
    frank = next level. africa and cheese ain't the norm!

  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    If you have a place near you that gets or can get this Australian Feta, do it! It's seriously beyond reproach.




    Check out Lazy Lady Farms in Vermont...lately she's been my cheese steez
    http://www.vtcheese.com/members/lazylady/lazylady.htm

  • AlmondAlmond 1,427 Posts
    Another vote for HUMBOLDT FOG. I remember where I was and exactly who I was with when I fell in love with that cheese.

    I enjoyed the mini lesson, Frank. That Peulh woman is indeed stunning.

  • mr.brettmr.brett 678 Posts
    Frank said:
    Most baguettes outside of France are a disgrace so don't touch that stuff.

    This is true and it boggles my mind. Why can't bakers in the U.S. make a decent baguette?

  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    Don't know the name of it, but I recently grabbed some sort of Dutch cheese that had cumin seed all throughout it and I loved it. My girl said it smelled like an armpit and wouldn't touch it. I loved it though...paired it with some dry sausage and some pilsner...great.

  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    same here i just made burgers with the levtovers of that cumin cheese and its perfect
    big up to humboltd fog as well
    but manchego and portugese ''brebis'' milk cheese are my faves
    a local quebec cheese also won the world cheese awards as top cheese in the world in 2009

  • Mr_Lee_PHDMr_Lee_PHD 2,042 Posts
    I ride for Roquefort

  • jjfad027jjfad027 1,594 Posts
    I once spent a 100$ Whole Foods gift card entirely on cheese. My lady (vegan) was pissed as hell when I returned home with nothing but cheese.


    Making cheese is fun but it takes A LOT of milk.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Dissapointed more people are not repping their local cheese makers.

    Found myself at the downtown farmers market Saturday and bought this cheese:
    LeRoi, is a petit chevre, soft ripened, dusted in grapleaf ash imported from France, cellared for two weeks and crowned with pure gold dust. Fit for a Queen or King !

    From these guys:
    http://monteilletcheese.com/

    Can't recommend enough.
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