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Cheese recommendations

post #1 of 48
12/22/07 at 12:45pm
Thread Starter 
Like clothing items, I go through cycles with food items. Now I'm on a cheese craze. Gotta have me some cheese with wine everyday. I'm a cheese amateur, but so far, do like

-Parmesan Reggiano
-Manchego, aged
-Mozzarela
-Feta
-even string cheese I like

I don't like Brie, any of the blue cheese offerings.

Any recommendations?
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post #2 of 48
12/22/07 at 2:05pm
drunken goat, bell paese, stilton blue, manchego. I'm more of a cheese with beer type but it's all good.
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post #3 of 48
12/22/07 at 3:47pm
Try some Dubliner, I've heard it described (accurately, imho) as a mix between Manchego and cheddar. Honestly I find it hard to go wrong with any British hard cheese if that's the sort of thing you like.

You might try some really good brie sometime, because you're really missing out on a lot of great chesse by writing off soft and semisoft.

What kind of feta are you eating?
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post #4 of 48
12/22/07 at 4:16pm
Appenzeller is great.
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post #5 of 48
12/22/07 at 4:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by underwearer View Post
drunken goat, bell paese, stilton blue, manchego. I'm more of a cheese with beer type but it's all good.


Ah, Stilton is one of them blu-cheeses that I don't like.
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post #6 of 48
12/22/07 at 4:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Edward Appleby View Post

What kind of feta are you eating?


Sheesh, I didn't even know there's different type of feta

I eat the feta that I buy in the supermarket
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post #7 of 48
12/22/07 at 5:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee_44106 View Post
Sheesh, I didn't even know there's different type of feta

I eat the feta that I buy in the supermarket

There is a HUGE difference between the real sheep's milk Greek fetta and the supermarket cow's milk nastyness. Look for a specialised grocer for good bulk imported fetta, ignore the shrink wrapped stuff.

Cheeses I have tried in the last few months and liked (igourmet has most of them):

Pico Picandine
Gres Des Vosges
Banon (loved this one - the others were good, too)
I am a big fan of Ekte Gjetost also - this Norwegian marvel has strong caramel tones to it and goes amazingly well with green apples as a friend of mine served it once.
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post #8 of 48
12/22/07 at 6:11pm
Brillat-Savarin! I prefer it to butter on bread. And I LOVE butter.
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post #9 of 48
12/22/07 at 7:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee_44106 View Post
Like clothing items, I go through cycles with food items. Now I'm on a cheese craze. Gotta have me some cheese with wine everyday. I'm a cheese amateur, but so far, do like

-Parmesan Reggiano
-Manchego, aged
-Mozzarela
-Feta
-even string cheese I like

I don't like Brie, any of the blue cheese offerings.

Any recommendations?

What kind of Mozzarella have you had? With Mozzarella, freshness is very important. Freshly made Mozzarella tastes nothing like the kind you find in a regular supermarket. If you can manage to find fresh Mozzarrella di Bufala by all means try it. It is not cheap but the flavor is well worth it. Mozzarella di Bufala usually has to be flown in from Italy and has a shelf life of only a few days but it is heavenly. I believe there is a US farm that makes a version of it now.

Did you not like Brie because it was dry and rubbery (which means it was not real Brie) or the flavor was too strong and the cheese too stinky?

A lot of cheese offerings you find in US are either poor, industrially made imitations of the original version or if they are the real thing, they tend to be abused and under or overaged/dried out.

The store where you buy your cheese is often more important than the label. If you tell me where you buy your cheese or if you are willing to mail order I can provide better recommendations.


Since you live in PA you may be able to find a local farm that produces fresh artisanal cheese.
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post #10 of 48
12/23/07 at 11:10pm
Lee, if you're into cheese with wine, you need to get some: Mimolette -- like a light cheddar. It's very French, very orange and very delicate Petit Basque -- white, semifirm and piquant. Love it! Caprino -- an elegant goat cheese, like a chevre, but better Aged Gouda -- light orange-tinted khaki. Just good. A true, aged provolone -- it's not white, it's tan and sharp as a razor I was visiting friends in PA and they have this great store called Wegman's that has an awesome cheese counter. If you're near one, go. ~ Huntsman
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post #11 of 48
12/24/07 at 12:35am
Thread Starter 
I've browsed through the online store igourmet, the selection is pretty good, but as I'm pretty clueless, don't want to plop down money to have something, then not like it.

I was at our local Costco and got some Parmesan Reggiano, which I do like, and some mozarella that was wrapped into the shape and size of a tennis ball, in a plastic bag. It had a fairly stamped shelf life, and tasted quite mild, at least compared to the store bought versions.

I can't do the brie because the smell is just too much.
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post #12 of 48
12/24/07 at 12:37am
Thread Starter 
At the Philadelphia Reading Market (it's a type of farmers' market) there's a cheese store that I can actually go have a taste of various types. My wife and I plan on haging around the place often.
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post #13 of 48
12/24/07 at 1:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lee_44106 View Post
I can't do the brie because the smell is just too much.

Ok, if the smell bothers you, you probably not going to like most washed rind (cheese gets a daily rub with wine or eau de vie) or bloomy rind cheeses (cheese gets a spray of bacterial spores). The cheese in these two groups tend to be the stinkiest.

You may wish to try an unaged goat milk's cheese, like Petit Billy or Selles-Sur-Cher. Aged goat's milk cheeses tend to get very assertive and intensely "goaty".

You mentioned you don't like blue cheese, however I suspect you may not have tried the best examples. A lot of blue cheeses don't have the bitterness or the sharp tang flavors. Try Gorgonzola Dolce and some good English Stiltons or Shropshire.

From hard and semi-soft cheeses you seem to like try some aged Gruyere (also very nice melted) and some Ossau Iraty.

I fully endorse Huntsman's suggestions as well.


Quote:
Originally Posted by lee_44106 View Post
At the Philadelphia Reading Market (it's a type of farmers' market) there's a cheese store that I can actually go have a taste of various types. My wife and I plan on hanging around the place often.

Certainly the best way to buy cheese.
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post #14 of 48
12/24/07 at 1:32am
On our honeymoon at Lake Garda in Italy, they served Parmesan chunks every night on a little plate along with a nice white wine. It is our favorite ever since!
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post #15 of 48
12/24/07 at 4:24am
http://www.hautegoatcreamery.com/index.html

DiscoStu's wife's cheese place. Never tried it but, hey, why not plug an SF member?
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