As we've got a Wine section is their anyone into Cheeses, Wine & Cheese generally go hand in hand!
Munching on some nice Ilchester Wensleydale with Cranberries Cheese
Printable View
As we've got a Wine section is their anyone into Cheeses, Wine & Cheese generally go hand in hand!
Munching on some nice Ilchester Wensleydale with Cranberries Cheese
Do you know I opened this thread to recomend Wensleydale as a general recomendation, and was going to comment that its really nice with cranberrys in it.. How about that?!? Good man
Just finished off a block & feel a bit ill for it :( i'll have to totter off to the boozer in a few hours recouperate :lol:
I opened this thread to read about Andre's recommendations for cheesey pop records, and I'm very disappointed that he doesn't seem to want to share with us his favourite nuggets of commercial wonderment.
I'm bloody working today, then moving house when I finish ( new hifi in new house this evening... I'm really looking toward to getting it set up!!)
Nothing wrong with the Ting Tings! Good luck with the moving Hamish!
Oh, better post on topic! I love any cheese - a really ripe brie, anything blue, Austrian smoked, roule - yummy!
Chris:)
I've just made significant inroads into a board of 8 different cheeses with my family:
Wensleydale,
Double Gloucester,
Cheddar,
Brie
Swedish Blue - no I've never tried it before either,
Another soft slightly nutty Swedish one,
Creamy Lancashire,
Peppered Boursin.
With a selection of different types of biscuit.
Best combo?
Wensleydale on Oatcakes.
Carr's Water Biscuits every time! I hate the Hovis" digestive" type ones in selection packs, and not keen on cream crackers either really! Got a few cheeses to open this evening (with a nice 2005 Gran Reserva Rioja... nice!) I'll report back later! (If I can!)
This is a nice soft cheese
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/p...1/labrique.jpg
Also like these with smoked salmon
Boursin with figs
Boursin with walnuts
Let's hear about the Rioja on the wine thread! :)
I'm with you on Carr's water biscuits. I also like oatcakes and (salted) melba toast with cheese, and sticks of raw celery with it.
As far as cheese is concerned I'm very much a traditionalist with fairly plain tastes. I hate some of the weird modern concoctions available now, such as cheese stuffed with cranberries and suchlike - sorry folks! :eyebrows:
My favourites include an excellent ripe, runny, Brie de Meaux (the 'de Meaux' bit is significant, as it has much more flavour) or Camembert. Most of the stuff you get in this country though is too 'young'. When it's served in France you can almost eat it with a spoon!
I also really enjoy any strong blue cheese such as Stilton, Danish Blue, Dolcelatte (creamy blue), Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Bleu D'Auvergne, Cambozola, Cheshire Blue, etc.
I also love (proper) Bel Paese (shown below), Port Salut and Chaumes.
Classic Bel Paese:
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/9426/belpaese.gif
Link here: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cheese_belpaese.htm
Truly wonderful stuff!
As far as hard cheeses go, my favourites include Pecorino Toscano (shown below), Grana Padana, Gruyere or Emmental, and virtually any mature cheddar, Wensleydale or Cheshire cheese.
Classic Pecorino Toscano:
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/1198/toscano.jpg
Further details here: http://www.igourmet.com/shoppe/prodv...eeses&prod=254
Simply awesome and one of the finest Italian cheeses you can eat (enjoy it with a lovely glass of Brunello di Montalcino).
I hate anything smoked!!
Marco.
I once had a fantastic meal in a resteraunt in Copenhagen. Now, despite being a fat bastard, I don't have a sweet tooth, so I generally go for the cheese & biccies if available. The cheese option at this place was called the Cheese Clock. You got 12 samples of different Danish Blue cheeses each at the various positions of the clock. You start eating at 5 past - the weakest flavoured of the 12. You then work your way round the face of the clock till you get to the strongest at the 12 o'clock position.
Now, I love cheese, and I love those that take the skin off the roof of your mouth with their strength. I'll eat blue cheese happily, but it's not my favourite. When I got to the 9 position, it was getting a bit strong for me! I seriously gagged several times before I was able to polish off the final hunk.
Thank God the Danish had thought of the perfect recovery strategy as they also guzzle beer like it's going out of fashion!
I'm a non sweet tooth fat Bastard also chris.. :lol:
Now who's guilty of the Rizt Biscuits
Hi Chris,
Interesting. I'd like to have tried that.Quote:
I once had a fantastic meal in a resteraunt in Copenhagen. Now, despite being a fat bastard, I don't have a sweet tooth, so I generally go for the cheese & biccies if available. The cheese option at this place was called the Cheese Clock. You got 12 samples of different Danish Blue cheeses each at the various positions of the clock. You start eating at 5 past - the weakest flavoured of the 12. You then work your way round the face of the clock till you get to the strongest at the 12 o'clock position.
I very rarely eat desserts or puddings, either at home or at a restaurant (only really on special occasions), as in my view they're just 'stodge' and completely unnecessary after a proper meal. If I feel like I could still manage a pudding then quite simply I've not had enough to eat before it! ;)
I prefer to fill myself with meat, fish, pasta, vegetables and suchlike, than sweet stuff or even cheese and biscuits afterwards - in fact, that's even worse because it's more filling than most desserts, once you've eaten some bread or crackers to go with it.....
So, yes, I love cheese and biscuits (and drinking wine with it), but only as a separate snack on its own, or as part of a buffet (along with assorted cold meats, etc) where I'm hungry enough to savour and enjoy it properly :)
Marco.
If you like strong Brie/Camambert type cheese look out for one called Le Rustique with a checked type pattern on the wrapping, it knocks your head off everytime you open the fridge.
LOL - I know what you mean... I think I've had that one before :eyebrows:
Have you tried Brie de Meaux? It's different from the glorified 'white cardboard' sold in most supermarkets, pretending to be Brie.
Marco.
I don't believe i have, we must look out for that, i have found a pic of Le Rustique, we have the red, i havn't tried the blue
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/p...0Camembert.jpg
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/p...stiqueBrie.jpg
Noted, Jon - cheers :)
The blue one will be a lighter (lower fat) version, hence "léger".
Here's the Brie de Meaux that I'm talking about:
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/6...meauxdonge.jpg
Info here: http://www.cheesesonline.co.uk/Soft-...de-Meaux-Donge
You'll notice how much richer, riper, and more mature it looks compared to the pale, cardboard-like, offerings seen in most supermarkets. It has a much more luscious, stronger and creamier, flavour too: all-in-all a totally different ball game to any other (inferior) Brie.
Marco.
Add me to the list of cheese nibbling fat bastards!
Ritz, Cheddars, Tuc (Especially the sandwich ones!) but all only ever without cheese, or maybe a simple cheddar.
Marco, "Brie de Meaux" was what I meant when I said a "really ripe brie" earlier - if it isn't runny it isn't worth having!
Good thread Andre, I've got some new suggestions to try, and I love the Copenhagen anecdote Chris - sounds fab!
You're obviously a man of taste, Alex :)
I do love nice cheese, but TBH, I rarely eat it... It's only because it's Christmas and we've bought in some goodies that I'm actually having any! :eyebrows:
Marco.
I love cheese here is a pic of the cheese counter in my shop.
Wow...quality! :)
Which are your favs?
Marco.
Wow - great stuff!
That Camembert (centre right) looks fab!
A proper cheese counter, nice one Kirk
I'm having a day off work today - I've got a job on with shifting hi-fi & records & CD's around - (more on that in a more appropriate place later).
But we nipped out to get some bits & bobs, one of which was some bread & cheese for lunch. I happened across a lump of a cheese that I've never had before. Well I have now! And it's great.
Pont L'Eveque from Normandy.
http://www.aoap.com.au/SiteMedia/w3s...838991f3b3.jpg
Although you wouldn't want to try it if you read this description from:
http://www.thefiftybest.com/food/best_cheese/5/
Pont-l'Évêque is yet another cheese to take advantage of the fine quality of Norman milk, but this time, we got a lil' stinker. Pont-l'Évêque is a small, flat square with a thick full bodied paste. The stinky aromas of the rind barely touch the paste, which instead has its own eggy funk, and a flavor reminiscent of canned cooked vegetables.
I have eaten that many times in France, very nice too
.....eggy funk, and a flavor reminiscent of canned cooked vegetables.
Is this cheese you're on about or a new soul genre??:lol:
It's the new ELP reunion album
I am developing a slight addiction to Roqufort (sp?). Can't recall the exact brand in the pre-packaged wedges from Waitrose, but it's quite clever in that there is a dampening strip at the sharp end and the cheese is on a little plastic plate of it's own. When you slide it back in, it stops the wedge from drying out. Genius.
I can recommend this:
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...G_0001-3-4.jpg
Isigny Ste. Mère 'Demi Pont L'Eveque'
An unpasturised, washed rind cheese from Normandy.
Best to let it mature. When you ask yourself: "What is that awful smell?", you'll know it's at its best.
Regards
That reminds me of a cheese who's name I forget. I couldn't pronounce it anyway.
When I was working in Loughborogh with some German, Swiss, and French blokes, one of them appeared one day with some 'cheese' (I use the term loosely). It came in a little round wooden box. And we DID eat it with a spoon!
The thing is, for WEEKS we kept hiding the EMPTY box in various portacabins around the site. Within no time the place absolutely reeked! Much fun was had watching the green faced inhabitants turning the place upside down to find the source of the utterly rancid stench! :lol:
Good times. :)
Well.....there is this one that's supposed to be a naughty little morsel:
Casu Marzu
from - http://www.ilovecheese.co.uk/casu-ma...us-cheese.html
Casu Marzu is not your average cheese lover’s cheese. The name of this Sardinian specialty literally translates to “rotten cheese.” And if that’s not to scare you away, how about a few thousand wriggling maggots?
That’s right. Casu Marzu, otherwise known as walking cheese, is an Italian sheep’s milk variety with a little something extra. You could say it’s alive. Very alive.
How Casu Marzu is Made
Casu Marzu begins as Pecorino Sardo (Fiore Sardo), a cheese that’s typically soaked in brine, smoked, and left to ripen in the cheese cellars of central Sardinia. But to produce Casu Marzu, cheese makers set the Pecorino Sardo outside in the open – uncovered – and allow cheese flies (scientifically named Piophila casei) to lay eggs inside of it.
As the eggs hatch into a myriad of white transparent maggots, they feed on the cheese. By doing so, they produce enzymes that promote fermentation and cause fats within the Casu Marzu to decompose.
Sometimes, cuts are made into the rind of Pecorino Sardo and already-hatched maggots are introduced into the cheese. This speeds the whole cheese making process along.
How Casu Marzu Tastes
Casu Marzu is a local delicacy in very high demand. It’s a highly pungent, super soft cheese that oozes tears (“lagrima”), and fittingly so, as it tends to burn on the tongue.
Some say Casu Marzu tastes like an extremely ripe Gorgonzola. That is, of course, without the savoury blue veins and with a whole lot of larva. One piece of Casu Marzu may be populated by thousands of living, breathing maggots.
In fact, local Sardinians will tell you the spicy, creamy cheese is only okay to eat if the maggots are still moving. Apparently, once the maggots are dead, the Casu Marzu has gone bad – decayed to a point that’s too toxic for human consumption.
Is Casu Marzu Dangerous?
Casu Marzu has been declared illegal and not in compliance with EU hygienic standards. It is banned by Italian health laws and not sold in shops. In addition to numerous anecdotal reports of allergic reaction (including burning, crawling skin sensations that last for days), there is increasing concern of risk for enteric myiasis, or intestinal larval infection.
Once ingested, it’s possible for the Piophila casei larvae to pass through the human stomach without dying (sometimes stomach acids aren’t enough to kill them). In that case, the maggots may take up residency in the intestines for some time. They can cause serious lesions and bore through intestinal walls, resulting in abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and bloody diarrhoea.
Despite the health warnings, people in Sardinia say they’ve been eating Casu Marzu for hundreds of years without any problem. In fact, the Italian cheese is often brought out for special occasions like birthdays, bachelor parties, and weddings. According to folklore, Casu Marzu is even an aphrodisiac.
Casu Marzu Buying & Serving Tips
Casu Marzu cannot be legally sold in Italy, but mountain shepherds continue to produce it in small quantities for the black market. It’s often kept under the table, but only for the most trusted customers. Selling or serving it is punishable by a hefty fine.
If you find yourself with strong stomach and a local Sardinian connection, Casu Marzu may be procured – for about twice the price per pound as regular Pecorino. It’s generally served with thin slices of Sardinian bread (pane carasau) and a strong, red wine called Cannonau.
One final note of caution, some people wear eye protection when eating Casu Marzu: the maggots are known to jump as high as six inches and straight toward the eyeballs with exact precision. At a minimum, make a maggot sandwich and shield your eyes with your hand as you take a bite.
Buono appetito!
That's a cheese too far for me Chris!
Regards
It makes my experience in Copenhagen seem a little tame does it not? It's good PR for the vegetarian society - non veggie food that bites you back!
You know what? Um, NO! I'll try most things once, but maggoty cheese - thanks, but no thanks!
I've been scoffin' something perhaps a little more conventional than the above -mentioned 'danger cheese' tonight:
Applebey's Chesire
Unpasteurised & matured in cloth, just like all hard cheese used to be made. It tastes................fanbluddytastic!
http://www.murrayscheese.com/images/20032600000.JPG
:drinking:Government cheese and Thunderbird! .60cents a bottle!
I hope some of you in the UK can get the joke.
Thunderbird was for years the drink of Winos,Bums and Vagabons and in the 1980's ,
through a government grant to help dairy farmers Reagan distributed huge quantitys of free government cheese to the poor and elderly by the case! Everyone in the U.S.A. was eating this horable pastureized cheese because there was 20 pounds per case!and it was free,you would see Winos eatting huge blocks of cheese and drinking Thunderbird wine. Poor old basterds couldn't of lived to long if the wine didn't killem the chease shure as hell must have.
http://www.bumwine.com/tbird.html
please read the song in the link.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/photos/2009/aug/10/5048/
Thunderbird has not been made for some time but every high school kid in my day bought at least one bottle because it was so high in alcohol and dirt cheap.
I was in a liquor store that had been sold and they where cleaning out the old storage shed in the back and found a case of 1985 Thunderbird!
I bought 4 bottles on the spot and should have bought the whole case!
This was in the year 2005,most likely the last bottles of this legendary terrable stuff to have ever been made.
I got them because a good freind of mine and a former U2 pilot had invited me to a cheese and wine tasteing partey where people bring several bottles to a case of there favorite wine and some cheese and taste them and trade bottles and swap bull shit storys.
Liveing right next to Napavalley and Sonoma valley people got to the wine country and buy cases of Califorina wine here at great prices so people here trade bottles alot.
I brought several good bottles and the 4 bottles of thunderbird and a horrable block of Velveta processed cheese and put it on a paper plate marked government cheese!
I couldn't belive it,all the rage was sampleing the Thunderbird and laughing about how bad it was and the guy's there dareing each other to finnish another glass! The 4 bottles where gone with in the first hour! and people where comming to me wanting to buy some for there wine colection to show an old bottle of TB.
I went back to the liquor store and the new owner had thrown the rest out thinking I was just crazy and noone would buy that old crap.
It turned out to be the talk of every wine tasteing after that till Rusty my freind moved to L.A.
My favorite cheese is long horn extra sharp chedder, or a very dry swiss.I seem to be eatting it with Austrailan Siraz a dry red.
HEY,LOOKS LIKE IT'S BACK INTO PRODUCTION AGEIN!! AMERICA REALLY IS IN THE MIDST OF A DEPRESSION...
Thunderbird was available here too. There were two types blue label & red, I think.
I seem to remember it being a fortified wine, cheap and rough as hell.
It lives on for me, in the song 'Sweet Gene Vincent' by Ian Dury:
Skinny white sailor, the chances were slender
The beauties were brief
Shall I mourn your decline with some Thunderbird wine
and a black hankerchief?
I miss your sad Virginia whisper
I miss the voice that called my heart
YYYYUUUCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:
Chris:spew:
Epoisse.
Very strong, very expensive, in same part of cheesedom as is occupied by Camembert.
In Waitrose, both prepacked (£7.50 per 250g) and on the cheese counter.
No need to put it in your shopping basket, it will crawl out of the store of its own accord.
Thunderbird - Gosh, that takes me back, to the offie in Norwich circa 1986... 'orrible stuff, but did the trick! Soon surpassed by the far more favourable half a bottle of vodka mixed with 3 litres of White Lightning "cider" - don't think you got that in the US though!