Hubby picked out this cheese and therefore, I don't have a brand name for it, either. (I'm not starting out too good, am I?) I will get the brand for this one and the Double Gloucester from last week as soon as I can and pass them on to you.
This is a lovely, creamy white cheese with a brownish-tan colored natural rind (which I will be saving to use as a flavoring in my next pot of soup). It has a firm, smooth texture. Easy to slice. Feels good "to the teeth", to borrow a pasta cooking term. This cheese is semi-dry. As it came up to room temperature it became slightly oily.
From the label:
Raw cow milk, salt, animal rennet, lactic ferments.
Net weight: .26 lb.
Unit Price: $16.99/lb.
Total Price: $4.42
As I said, Pete picked this cheese. So, of course, he didn't care for it. Me? I love it! It is a robust, flavorful, some might say "pungent" cheese. I accompanied my first serving of this cheese with red seedless grapes, cherry tomatoes, pumpernickel bread and iced peach tea. The tomatoes were really good with this cheese. So was the pumpernickel. The grapes didn't go so well. This cheese needs to be served with foods that can "stand up" to it. I would serve it with such things as cured meats, different types of pickles, olives, rustic breads, veggies... I would not serve it with sweet or fruity items. Except maybe berries with balsamic vinegar.
There is almost a flavor of Parmesan cheese when you first put this in your mouth. Then the flavor changes into something else. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's something I've tasted before. Some other type of cheese. Gruyere, perhaps? Something about this Comte French makes me think of fondue. This is a very rich, slightly nutty flavored cheese.
This cheese is not for everyone. It has a strong, distinctive flavor that some people may object to. I would save this one for guests you are sure will appreciate it. Despite the cost, I would buy this cheese again. Perhaps not every week, or even every month, but two or three times a year would not be out of the question.
5 comments:
Yum Yum Yum. I love your blog because I love cheese on anything. Now that they are telling us protein is good maybe I will eat more.
I know what you mean. The nutritionist at my diabetes class said that one serving of cheese equals 2 ounces. I have a little digital scale in my kitchen now and I weigh everything. I can tell you, if you slice it real thin, 2 ounces of cheese can look like a whole lot. 2 ounces of cheese equals one meat serving, according to the book, so... I don't feel nearly as guilty as I used to. I'd rather have cheese than meat most of the time anyway.
My problem is I want my meat with cheese on top. A good steak with blue cheese butter on top. Yum Yum.
You and Pete... he loves blue cheese on his steak. He almost won't eat a hamburger unless I mix blue cheese in it. Or better yet, make a blue cheese stuffed burger. I like blue cheese, too, but not as much as he does.
Oops, I said 2 ounces, when I know full well, that it's only 1 ounce of cheese per serving for me. Still, the slicing it thin method does help to fool my eyes. Chewing slowly and savouring the flavor also helps. I find I am having difficulty eating everything that my coach said I should eat in my meal plan. That's a good thing, tho, I hope.
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