It’s impossible to read a thread about cheese without wanting some, so I’m currently having a glass of wine with some Balderson Royal Canadian Cheddar (2-year old white cheddar).
The texture is wonderful – just the right balance of moisture and firmness, with a slight hint of grittiness and a subtle nutty flavour.
I’m not as adventurous a cheese eater as I used to be. At one time I even sought out (and found, several times) Stinking Bishop. I brought a bunch of it to a party once. I don’t think the crowd appreciated how hard it was to find, or how expensive it was. The taste met with general approval, and the smell met with a variety of creative commentary!
Cheddars like Neal’s Yard’s Montgomery’s cheddar (all those possessives!) are anything but “mass market” or “innocuous.” They’re jam-packed with flavour and are nothing like what is sold commercially as cheddar cheese in the U.S. mass market.
British cheeses have had a bit of a renaissance in recent years with many new varieties, although how many of them are available outside of the UK I don’t know. In Britain, annatto isn’t really used now except for Red Leicester. Hop coated cheeses are really worth trying, and I’m fond of beer washed-rind cheeses too, like Lindum. If you want something a bit pungent, ‘Stinking Bishop’ is the go-to British cheese.
To be fair, Montgomery isn’t Neil’s Yard - they just sell it, along with many other retailers. I know Montgomery well, I live about 30 mins from the dairy (which is in Somerset, the spiritual home of cheddar, and indeed Cheddar). My trouble with cheddar is that, whilst there are some stonking examples around, most people never come across them and therefore associate cheddar with the mass market supermarket stuff.
I must admit, an extra mature cheddar, some Branston pickle (a chutney) and some fresh baked baguette, the basis for a Ploughmans lunch, is one of the great delights of British food.
W&G did greatly popularise it, like they did Wensleydale. It’s a cheese made by one highly regarded cheesemaker in Gloucestershire (Charles Martell, who also invented hop cheese), so if you were local to the area or an aficionado you’d already know about it.
Gjetost and brunost/myost-- basically the fudge of cheeses! They’re not made quite in the same way as normal cheese. I’ve made them at home, and it’s essentially more of a caramelized milk (cow and/or goat, depending on which one) product than cheese. Essentially, just boil whey down with milk and/or cream until it thickens and caramelizes into a spread consistency. Good stuff, but for some reason, many people consider it an acquired taste. I’m not sure why, as it’s just caramelly goodness.
Oh, I love my gjetost! I’d love to try the brunost also, which if I understand right is more/all goat’s milk product. But I can’t find it in the US. It is different from all other cheeses in that it’s made from whey and whole milk/cream instead of containing curds. Thanks for mentioning it.
Yeah, at the local cheese shop (here in the US), the most common British cheese with fruit add-ins is Wensleydale or white Stilton. Oh, and cheddars, too, I suppose. Seems like they’ll put anything in a cheddar.
I was hoping to find some Shropshire blue yesterday but no luck. I’m not even sure if you can get it around here.
I would say that no cheese benefits from having anything added to it, but I must admit, I like the fruit-studded-Wensleydales or white stiltons as part of a light lunch plate. That said, I’d prefer a proper blue Stilton with some nuts and fruit (fresh or dried) on the side, but I won’t say no to the adulterated Wensleydale. Though now I have a hankering for a ploughman’s, and I’m out of Branston’s pickle, and the nearest shop that sells it is a half hour drive away.
It seems increasingly hard to find Wensleydale, especially, without any added nonsense. It’s especially bad at Christmas, for some reason- cheese board selections are a really common thing, and all of them have to include Wensleydale with cranberry. Blech. I like it unadulterated, but if I wanted fruit, I’d be eating fruit, and not cheese
Shropshire blue is pretty damn common round here- unsurprisingly, given that I currently live in Shropshire.
This on Wasa ryekrisp was one of the traditional holiday hors d’oeuvres for my Norwegian-American kinfolk, back when I was a youngun. Fond memories, and I sometimes track down a brick of gjetost and a brick of ryekrisp to indulge. As good as I remember.
Sadly, it’s too “weird” for the rest of my family, for whom an exotic cheese is a block of Kraft Colby-jack.
