Monti Trentini Smoked Provolone

Oh my goodness! The aroma of this cheese is so beautiful. It smells so good, just the scent makes me feel like I'm starving. It's a really, really appetizing smell.

It's quite firm, somewhat dry, not crumbly. The cheese has tiny little holes throughout. Slices easily. Now for the first taste...

Wow! That's wonderful! Every bit as good as it smells. Milky, with an over-lying smoke flavor. Tasted it alone and was thrilled. Put some on a Hazelnut rice cracker... yummy. This cheese is great all by itself. I think it would also be good with pretty much anything. Fruits, veggies, pickles, dried meats... I have to try this in a Panini. Bet it would be terrific melted onto a nice thick slab of whole grain Italian bread, too.

Price per pound: $14.99
I purchased: .53 pound
Total price: $7.94

The price was perhaps a little more than your average grocery shopper might want to spend on a slab of cheese. However, it wasn't as high as some I've purchased. And my personal opinion is that it is worth every single penny. This is a truly enjoyable cheese. I would recommend it to any cheese lover (wish you could taste this Pam). Would not hesitate to put it out on a cheese platter for everyone else, too. What a lovely, lovely cheese. Appetizing aroma, looks and out-standing flavor. I'm quite pleased with this purchase. So happy that I decided to go ahead and buy it. I almost put it back but the scent wouldn't let me.

I hope you will all make an effort to try this cheese. It's fabulous.

Gouda - Aged 2 years and 3 years

I truly did enjoy these cheeses. Unfortunately, I took them with me to Florida last weekend and shared them with Tina. So... I don't have the wrappers. I can't tell you what the price was on these, I think it was $17.99/lb. and $19.99/lb. I won't swear to it, but I think that's what it was.

I enjoyed these two much better than I did the aged 1 year Gouda. These didn't seem to have as much of a musty smell as it did. They weren't quite as pungent either. Very nice cheeses. For someone who likes a good, assertive flavor in their cheese, these will do very nicely. You should have seen Tina's eyes light up when she had her first taste. I don't remember which one she had first, but she was smiling while she ate them both.

Gouda - Aged 2 Years

The two year cheese was not noticeably different in texture to the 1 year Gouda. As mentioned above tho, the odor was not quite as musty. I first tried this cheese with a Cameo apple and whole wheat crackers. It was delicious, very enjoyable. The next time I tried it grated on a baked potato. Just as nice... a very versatile cheese. Tasty eaten cold, room temp and warm. Good with sweet foods, and savory foods. All around a good experience.

Gouda - Aged 3 Years

The 3 year Gouda was not much different from the 2 year. Not sure I would pay the extra just to say I had the 3 year variety. It was somewhat harder and had a bit more crystals in it. I enjoyed this very much grated over my salad. I also enjoyed it with black olives and dry salami. I'm pretty sure this cheese would go with nearly anything. I do recommend this cheese as well, tho as I said, not much difference that I could discern, from the 2 year Gouda. I'm certainly not sorry I bought it. Now I know...

Kerrygold Irish Vintage Cheddar

Oh my God! This is good stuff! Sharp, without any bitterness and absolutely no aftertaste. Beautiful, creamy white cheese. Soft without being sticky. Easy to slice. So sharp it almost has a Parmesan like flavor. Only not quite the same. It's weird how good this cheese is. I would definitely recommend this cheese to any cheese heads out there.

Net Wt. 0.31 lb.
Unit Price: $15.99/lb
Total Price: $4.96

This cheese has a black wax coating which peeled off quite easily. The aroma is slightly sweet, not musty. I ate this cheese with red grapes, rye bread, and iced tea. It was all I could do to keep from eating all of it at one go. It's very good. Even Thomas liked it. We didn't share this one with Pete, but I imagine he would like it very much. I would not hesitate to serve this cheese to anyone (especially myself, ha!)

I'm sure this cheese would be great with an assortment of pickles, dried meats, crackers/breads or with pretty much any type of fruit. I really wish I'd had some type of melon to try it with. I think it would be fantastic with cantaloupe or honeydew melon.

I truly do hope you will all try this one. It is really something special. I loved it.