January 19, 2006
Heart-shaped Cheese?
It might be because of Valentine's Day or because cheese makers feel they need to use silly gimmicks to differentiate themselves from other cheeses, but what is going on with all the heart-shaped cheeses I saw at Murray's Cheese the other day?
Must... investigate... delicious... cheese...
P.S. Welcome back! The cheese quest is back on!
Posted 02:14 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2005
Cheese Mistress
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Maggie: "This lady looks nuts!" Randy: "You're just jealous becuase you're not the craziest cheese lady on the Internet." |
Posted 01:16 PM | Comments (0)
August 01, 2005
Cheese Guide in Cook's Illustrated
The newest issue of the Cook's Illustrated Magazine sports a cheese-shopper's guide to buying cheese in grocery stores. As with everything that's provided by Cook's Illustrated editors, it is well organized and presented. It is pretty basic, though. You get your parmesan and chevre but not in-depth knowledge.
It was a little cheese-empowering to read this guide since my cheese knowledge seems to have increased rapidly since I started with the cheese expert endeavor. And yet, it was still nice to read about the basic characteristics of the types of cheeses you are most likely to find in a non-gourmet or "regular" grocery store.
The New York Times had an article few months back saying that people are more interested in wine and cheese (and especially cheese) over the past few years. Maybe the fact that Cook's Illustrated had a cheese article is just a symptom of this trend. I am glad though that cheese consumption is on the rise - the more cheese is liked, the more cheese will be available. (And maybe one day we can import unpasteurized cheeses to the U.S., mhm....)
Posted 12:18 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2005
Delicious Grilled Cheese
Granted, grilled cheese is horrendeously bad for you. But oh, it's so delicious.
While researching random cheese-related things on the interweb, I stumbled upon this blog entry (via del.icio.us) featuring a glorious recipe for a grilled cheese sandwich with sauerkraut on rye bread. Oh, man, it looks so good, if it weren't so dreadfully hot today, I'd have one for dinner.
Speaking of grilled cheese, check out the website for the Greatest Grilled Cheese Sandwich in America Contest. Good pictures and awesome-looking recipes.
It's probably somewhat of a heresy to grill some cheeses, such as morbier, but frankly, there's nothing better than hot cheese (well, maybe except raspberries or pickled herring).
Posted 01:28 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2005
Blue cheeses
I've never been a big fan of blue cheese. The flavor is just too powerful. I can see myself eating huge amounts of soft cheeses, nice and creamy, mhm... Yet, for this cheese-exploring endeavor, I've been eating blue cheese. Americans eat blue cheese in a kind of heathan fashion: in salads or as dipping sauce for chicken wings. Terrifying! The French eat it as a dessert cheese and I think that's an appropriate way to eat blue cheese. It is very strong and very powerful - you can't really eat too much of it and the edge is easily taken off by eating blue cheese with fresh fruit, like apples or grapes.
To make blue cheese blue, you have to add the mold to it. This, at least in the case of Roquefort, is accomplished by adding Pennicillium Roqueforti mold. It is added to the cheese curds contained in powdered bread. Then there's the process of aging the cheese, usually in caves. To make the blue part permeate throughout the whole mass of cheese, some flipping of the cheese is required. Since blue cheese is crumbly, this requires a careful approach.
The result is a very sharp cheese with a very specific, almost overpowering flavor. I am learning to overcome it, but it's coming slowly. So far, I have tried French Roquefort, but I will branch out into the milder blue cheeses as well as the more full-flavored ones. Reviews coming soon.
Posted 02:01 PM | Comments (0)
