For this cheese tasting I decided to pick up cheeses I had never seen or heard of before, well except for the Burrata. I picked it up because it was on special at Schefflers at the market for $5.99 instead of its usual $11.99. Quite a deal. And the day I wrote this, everyone went out and just left me to my own doings so I cut up some nice Calabrese bread, got out some blueberry preserves, greek olive puree and my Rhubarb Chutney to mix and match and pair. With a lovely glass of wine of course.....not such a bad thing being left alone over lunch apparently.
Bel Gioioso Burrata - Ontario
I have talked about Burrata before as it is definitely one of my favourite kinds of cheese. Burrata is a kind of fresh mozzarella cheese but is different from the kinds you normally buy in that it is silkly and smooth on the oustide and the inside is filled with mozzarella shreds and cream. When you cut into a burrata, the centre oozes out gently as the cream and mozzarella shreds spill from the belly of the cheese ball.
Rating: For an Ontario product, I am impressed. Beautiful with just a splash of olive oil, some salt and freshly ground pepper and an outstanding olive pureé we bought from a vendor at the St. Lawrence Market (their product is extremely good whether it is their olive oil, olive puree or the vac-sealed olives themselves - all great). Buy again if I cannot get Italian!
Fourme d'Ambert - Semi-soft Blue - France
This cheese is an ancient French blue from Auvergne that was being made far before the English started making the Stilton which it resembles (try finding white Stilton one time....soooo good with a glass of Bordeaux).
This is a raw cow milk blue, which has a grey-brown rind that is edible. It is ivory in colour with a blue-green vein running throughout. The blue vein is not terribly prominent or as strong as in some cheeses
Rating: Stood up well to a Blueberry compote I was gifted a few weeks ago. The sweet earthiness of the blueberries nicely accentuated the earthy blue veins and the creaminess of the cheese (it being a semi-soft blue) really became prevalent. It also worked nicely with the chutney and the olive puree. I even mixed a bit of the blueberry with the olive and WOW that was a nice combo. Sweet meets salty and tangy. Wonderful. Buy again if I want a gentle blue - maybe if I need two on a tray.
Bonnechere - Raw Ewe Milk - Ontario
This cheese comes from the burgeoning Ontario cheese mecca in Picton, Ontario and is made by Back Forty Artisan Cheese. The cheese is named after the Ottawa Valley's Bonnechere River.
It is a semi-firm sheep milk cheese but what makes it unique is that the Cheesemaker has toasted the exterior to give the cheese a smokey flavoured rind. The cheese has a subtle caramel flavour with a bit of wood, but does not taste like a typical smoked cheese - the flavours are subtle.
I like stories like the one for this operation, where the Cheesemakers left their jobs as teachers to pursue their passion in cheesemaking full force.
Rating: Pairs quite nicely with the Rhubarb Chutney I made a few weeks ago (the chutney is also awesome with plain white chevre). Worth another purchase.
English Hollow Cheddar - Wisconsin
This cheese is produced by the Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative in Twin Grove, Wisconsin. This particular one was aged 1 year and was crowned 2008 World Cheese Champion Winner in the Cheddar category.
This is a beautiful example of a short aged cheddar. Wisconsin is known for producing cheeses in the Swiss style, so it is quite interesting that this cheese is produced in the style of the English town of Cheddar (you knew there was a place called Cheddar right...) smack dam in the middle of an area run by the Swiss Mafia (or at least is rumored to be).
Rating: The cheddar is one of the most pleasing and complex ones I have eaten. It doesn`t have the sharpness that some cheddars aged 5 and 7 years do but it has enough going on all by itself that it doesn`t need that age to be wonderful and distinctive. And my kids inhaled what I left. Totally buy again!
Cheese Fresh Bags
I also wanted to tell you all about these incredible bags that I actually got at my dollar store! They work in a similar way to those green bags for vegetables that you see advertised on TV. As you know, cheese is a living thing so it needs to breathe or else it will become overly-moist and bad bacteria and mould will develop.
It says to only put one kind of cheese in each bag, but I cheat and put different kinds together. These things work wonders and keep your cheese fresh waaaaay longer than if they were kept in a plastic bag alone. Not that cheese has much time to go bad in my house living with a 15 year old and a 10 year old who eat anything besides blues (they will come back to me on this one one day I know!)
I have talked about Burrata before as it is definitely one of my favourite kinds of cheese. Burrata is a kind of fresh mozzarella cheese but is different from the kinds you normally buy in that it is silkly and smooth on the oustide and the inside is filled with mozzarella shreds and cream. When you cut into a burrata, the centre oozes out gently as the cream and mozzarella shreds spill from the belly of the cheese ball.
Fourme d'Ambert - Semi-soft Blue - France
This cheese is an ancient French blue from Auvergne that was being made far before the English started making the Stilton which it resembles (try finding white Stilton one time....soooo good with a glass of Bordeaux).This is a raw cow milk blue, which has a grey-brown rind that is edible. It is ivory in colour with a blue-green vein running throughout. The blue vein is not terribly prominent or as strong as in some cheeses
Rating: Stood up well to a Blueberry compote I was gifted a few weeks ago. The sweet earthiness of the blueberries nicely accentuated the earthy blue veins and the creaminess of the cheese (it being a semi-soft blue) really became prevalent. It also worked nicely with the chutney and the olive puree. I even mixed a bit of the blueberry with the olive and WOW that was a nice combo. Sweet meets salty and tangy. Wonderful. Buy again if I want a gentle blue - maybe if I need two on a tray.
Bonnechere - Raw Ewe Milk - Ontario
This cheese comes from the burgeoning Ontario cheese mecca in Picton, Ontario and is made by Back Forty Artisan Cheese. The cheese is named after the Ottawa Valley's Bonnechere River.
It is a semi-firm sheep milk cheese but what makes it unique is that the Cheesemaker has toasted the exterior to give the cheese a smokey flavoured rind. The cheese has a subtle caramel flavour with a bit of wood, but does not taste like a typical smoked cheese - the flavours are subtle.
I like stories like the one for this operation, where the Cheesemakers left their jobs as teachers to pursue their passion in cheesemaking full force.
Rating: Pairs quite nicely with the Rhubarb Chutney I made a few weeks ago (the chutney is also awesome with plain white chevre). Worth another purchase.
This cheese is produced by the Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative in Twin Grove, Wisconsin. This particular one was aged 1 year and was crowned 2008 World Cheese Champion Winner in the Cheddar category.
This is a beautiful example of a short aged cheddar. Wisconsin is known for producing cheeses in the Swiss style, so it is quite interesting that this cheese is produced in the style of the English town of Cheddar (you knew there was a place called Cheddar right...) smack dam in the middle of an area run by the Swiss Mafia (or at least is rumored to be).
Rating: The cheddar is one of the most pleasing and complex ones I have eaten. It doesn`t have the sharpness that some cheddars aged 5 and 7 years do but it has enough going on all by itself that it doesn`t need that age to be wonderful and distinctive. And my kids inhaled what I left. Totally buy again!
Cheese Fresh Bags
I also wanted to tell you all about these incredible bags that I actually got at my dollar store! They work in a similar way to those green bags for vegetables that you see advertised on TV. As you know, cheese is a living thing so it needs to breathe or else it will become overly-moist and bad bacteria and mould will develop.
It says to only put one kind of cheese in each bag, but I cheat and put different kinds together. These things work wonders and keep your cheese fresh waaaaay longer than if they were kept in a plastic bag alone. Not that cheese has much time to go bad in my house living with a 15 year old and a 10 year old who eat anything besides blues (they will come back to me on this one one day I know!)
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