Cheese thread!

[Kimby]

My sister from America’s Dairyland brought us two blocks of Wisconsin cheese on her recent visit to Montana. An aged cheddar - 6 years - and a Sheep’s Milk Gouda.

Both very good, though the cheddar falls to pieces when you try to cut it. The sheeps milk Gouda definitely has a little funk, but in a good way.

[lagatta]

I've had ewes' milk gouda in the Netherlands.

[fumobici]

My local grocery store has Dutch goat Gouda. I tend to dislike cheese that falls apart when sliced, I find them tending to be dry and having an unpleasant texture in the mouth. I also in general tend to prefer cow's milk cheeses over others, even if they are lacking in exoticism.

[kerouac2]

I would like to be able to say that the international cheese selection in France is outstanding, but since there are already so many French cheeses there isn't all that much space left for the other countries. We have a number of Dutch, Italian and Swiss cheeses but not much else except near other national borders, except of course for Greek feta which is now a protected name, so you always see that at the supermarket next to the local version which is now just called "ewe's cheese" (fromage de brébis) and which is about 30% cheaper than the real stuff. I would be curious to see how the Netherlands have handled this because France and the Netherlands are the two principal producers of "feta style" cheese in Europe (far ahead of the authentic Greek production). Both countries obviously respect the EU rules on the name, but it would be interesting to see what the non-Greek feta products are called in places like Germany or Italy.

France has an incredible multitude of both hard and soft cheeses (with probably quite a few somewhere in between). I bought some Comté yesterday, a universally loved hard cheese, but today I bought a nice soft stinky Munster from the Vosges. Apparently there is an American version called muenster but I bet it isn't stinky. Does anybody know anything about it?

[Kimby]

Got me wondering what Gouda is...
“Gouda is a mild-flavored, yellow cow's milk cheese originating from the Netherlands. It is one of the most popular cheeses worldwide. The name is used today as a general term for numerous similar cheeses produced in the traditional Dutch manner.” Wikipedia

[Kimby]

And American Muenster is not the same as French Munster:
spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/13-smelliest-cheeses-in-the-world

[kerouac2]

I had an American friend who was proud to know that the correct pronunciation of Gouda is "Gowda". But every time she said this, no English speakers knew what she was talking about. It rarely pays to be too knowledgeable about simple subjects.

[kerouac2]

Apr 8, 2021 15:15:58 GMT Kimby said:

And American Muenster is not the same as French Munster:
spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/13-smelliest-cheeses-in-the-world

We're sorry, but Spoon University isn't available in your country.

We get this all the time, generally from American newspaper and television sites whose concept of freedom does not include EU laws on internet privacy.

[lagatta]

I do know the correct pronunciation, but use it only in the Netherlands and Flanders.

My cow-milk allergy has abated somewhat, but I still prefer consuming goats' or ewes' cheeses.

[tod2]

Apr 8, 2021 15:11:24 GMT Kimby said:

Got me wondering what Gouda is...

In my local supermarkets I can find Gouda style cheese made here and also imported ones. I have found the run-of-the-mill Gouda a bit like eating soap. Lately I have noticed "Mature"Gouda on sale and I admit it is far nicer with a bit of a bite. And yes, in South Africa we pronounce it 'gowda' , also called Sweetmilk cheese.

[kerouac2]

I have some excellent pecorino and yet I am having trouble finding ways to use it.

[bjd]

A look at some Italian recipes seems to show it being used grated on various pasta dishes.

[kerouac2]

Yes, I know that mya perents used it to replace parmesan on pasta, thrilled to have discovered it at a street market in Lorraine at a little truck that only sold Italian products.

[fumobici]

Pecorino can be anything from a mild hard cheese to a soft fresh cheese to a ripened stinky one. In the US, it means a rather boring hard cheese, but in Tuscany it pretty much only means it was made from sheep's milk.

[kerouac2]

The one I bought is hard, sharp and full of black peppercorns (which is what attracted me to it).

[casimira]

Isn't pecorino a Romano cheese?

[bjd]

Jan 20, 2022 18:59:42 GMT casimira said:

Isn't pecorino a Romano cheese?

I don't know what you mean by "Romano", but when I was looking at recipes, they mentioned pecorino from Sicily (with peppercorns), from Sardinia and from Tuscany.

[fumobici]

Pecorino Romano is the poor sister of pecorino in my opinion. It's used like reggiano, but if reggiano is too dear, just get grana padova instead and you're still ahead of the game. It's not bad grated over a hot bowl of soup, but grana or reggiano is still better.

[bixaorellana]

Nooooo, Fumobici ~ not if romano is the cheese of all ones family memories!

I'm pretty sure Casimira and I are referring to the same "romano" -- beautifully stinky, hard, but not rock-hard cheese.

[casimira]

 You are correct about what I was saying Bixa.

T. and I both use it as a substitute when one recipe calls for parmesan and vice versa. There are some exceptions to this of course.

[fumobici]

I remember "Romano" cheese from decades ago although it's still around, often as part of a green can or bagged pre-grated blend. The term in the US apparently means essentially nothing, any hard-ish cheese made anywhere from either cow, sheep, or goat milk in any combination and made by any method qualifies, kind of the antithesis of the AOC,/DOP approach.

Italian Pecorino Romano is, for me at least, among the less-interesting of the probably hundreds of varieties of pecorino but it definitely has its uses too. Next time I'm in the COOP in Sansepolcro or a cheese shop nearby I'll try to remember to take a snap of the pecorino cheese section, in Tuscany especially there can be a lot of choices.

[bixaorellana]

No green can! My family always bought it off a wheel & it was imported, whether from Sicily or mainland Italy, I don't remember. I'd give a kidney for some romano right now!

[tod2]

Jan 20, 2022 16:46:19 GMT kerouac2 said:

I have some excellent pecorino and yet I am having trouble finding ways to use it.

Here's an idea, even though you are not warm enough to eat it on a terrace.....Caesar salad - Yesterday I grated an entire Pecorino Romano - and yes I prefer it to Reggiano or Grand Pandano, and had it ready for my enormous Caesar salad that evening. I chopped up 6 romaine lettuces. What was left of the anchovies, and added them to a very good store bought Caesar salad dressing. Putting it all together at the last possible moment I tossed the dressing, nearly all the Pecorino, and two big handfuls of croutons in my biggest salad bowl. It was demolished in 15minutes!

[cheerypeabrain]

I do miss going to the Cheese Shops in Loughborough and Melton Mowbray... fabulous specialist stores with a wide range of mainly British cheeses, altho they did sell some French, Dutch and Italian cheese. Not been since Christmas 2019 as they're difficult for me to get to....don't even know if they've survived the pandemic.

[kerouac2]

I still have a little bit left.

[casimira]

Quite some time ago I sampled a cheese at a tasting in one of the more high-end groceries here. I fell in love with it immediately.

Since that time, I rarely see it and when I do I snatch it up despite it being quite pricey.

It's called "Huntsman" and consists of layers of a very sharp cheddar and stilton cheeses.

T. found some at a pricey cheese shop that we frequent occasionally and bought a big wedge of it.

I had some for a snack last evening with some good French bread and some slices of a tart apple.

[mickthecactus]

Sounds nice. I must look out for that.

[casimira]

Oct 18, 2022 14:10:01 GMT mickthecactus said:

Sounds nice. I must look out for that.

As I suspected, it's a British cheese created by Long Clawsen Dairy so it shouldn't be difficult to find there.

[onlyMark]

Casi, Huntsman cheese is not Cheddar but Double Gloucester.
Also known as Stilchester from what I've just looked up.

[casimira]

Mark, I was just about to edit my post to say that, but you beat me to it. You are as sharp as the cheese dearie.