Cheese epicures?

I like cheese, but I woulld like to expand my horizons. I regularly eat Muenster, Swiss, Cheddar, Mozzarella, etc (the common cheeses). In cooking I use Riccota, Parmesan, Gorgonzola, etc. More and more I am eating Brie and some of the goat (Chev…) cheeses. I recently put some Halloumi cheese (the grilling cheese from Cyprus) on the grill and it was fantastic.

So, what else would you suggest? Extra points for wine/cheese combinations.:smiley:

My current favorite cheese are Havarti and Port Salut, plus a local Amish cheese that’s a garlic cheddar.

I don’t drink wine, so I can’t help there.

But not this cheese.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/10/10/cheese20051010.html

Buy this book and eat your way from beginning to end!

I’m only half joking.

Try a good imported Gruyere. Great with sweet things like fig paste, or a glass of semi-dry Riesling.

Compare some Cheddars of different ages. Compare a supermarket cheddar (usually aged about 6 months) to a 2-year and a 4-year cheddar.
Then compare your favorite to a real English Cheddar.

I personally like Cheddar with beer rather than wine. Try a brown ale or an IPA, or an ESB.

If you’re digging chevre, ask at a good cheese shop/cheese counter for an aged goat cheese. Yummy.

I’ve become pretty fond of double Gloucester lately. As far as wine combinations, there are some folks who will say that cheese should only be eaten with lower-quality wine because it tends to mask imperfections and blunt the flavor of the wine. I’m not one of them – I’m a big believer in food and drink combinations that I like, not that I’m supposed to like.

That said, I’d go with something like a tempranillo/cab blend or a rioja with the double Gloucester. But that’s just cuz I like them both so well.

Stilton + walnuts + port = Nirvana.

I’ve given up candy/sweets and replaced them with cheese. I love all types of cheese! Sometimes I try and match up the country of origin of my wine with the same country’s cheese. But mostly I just put the cheese to the sniff test: If it smells like stinky sweaty feet, I’m buyin’ it!

Try some Etorki from France. Most of my friends seem to really enjoy that one.

For a dessert cheese try White Stilton with mango and ginger.

Champagne and Explorateur. It makes the champagne taste like honey.

You can get similiar results with a double-cream brie, but nothing’s as good as the real triple-cream goodness that is Explorateur.

First of all let me give a resounding second regarding the recommendation of the Jenkins book Cheese Primer. The only negative I have about the book is that every other cheese that he lists in the last section of the book is the “world’s greatest cheese, etc, etc”.

One general rule of thumb would be to stay away from factory made cheeses and go more for the artisanal cheeses. However, I should warn you about sticker shock regarding the prices of artisanal cheeses as they can easily range from several dollars per pound up to and beyond $20 per pound.

From a practical standpoint your best bet is find local sources of cheese and build up a relationship with those stores so that you have a source of new cheeses to chose from. Some suggestions to start with would be the whole world of bleu cheeses (gargonzola, cabrales, etc.), the true English farmhouse cheddars (look for Neal’s Yard Dairy cheeses). If you like Brie then try some of the French soft cheeses or Italian “Taleggio”.

For the bleu cheeses an often recommended pairing is with port and I also like the combination of cheddar and a good tannic and fruit forward red such as many of the “Bordeaux” style blends that are so prevalent these days.

Good luck and enjoy!

Or Epoisse or St. Marcellin. I have just had the latter and it is absolutely fantastic and I had a Beaujolois as my accompaniment.

Have you tried Red Leicester? Tilsit? CaerphillyBel Paese? Red Windsor? Stilton? Emmental? Gruyère? Jarlsberger ? Liptauer? Lancashire? White Stilton? Danish Blue? Double Gloucester? Cheshire? Dorset Blue Vinney? Brie? Roquefort? Pont-l’Évêque? Port Salut? Savoyard? Saint-Paulin? Carre-de-L’Est? Bresse-Bleu? Boursin? Camembert, perhaps? Le fromage de la Belle France? Gouda? Edam? Caithness? Smoked Austrian? Japanese Sage Darby? Wensleydale? Greek Feta? Gorgonzola? Parmesan? Mozzarella? Pippo Crème? Danish Fimboe? Czech sheep’s milk? Venezuelan Beaver Cheese? Ilchester? Limburger?

Thank you all! I am going to print this thread out and take it with me. My gf and I resolved to eat more cheese this fall/winter and this thread will keep us busy. As an added bonus, I was going to order Billy Collins’ new book of poetry., and adding the Cheese Primer will get me free shipping. WooHoo! :smiley:

You noticed that too, eh?
I also have a beef with his lack of coverage of US artisanal cheeses, but I suspect that has more to do with him needing to put out a new edition, rather than him deliberately ignoring them. The book was published in 1996, and good US cheeses are much more plentiful & available now than they were then.

I’ll have to try that combination, thanks for the suggestion.

These are my favorites –

Montgomery cheddar and Keen’s cheddar (by Neal’s Yard) - The first time I tasted a real English cheddar, it blew my mind. It’s nothing like the slabs of rubber and polystyrene that go under the name “cheddar” in the United States (Vermont cheddar? I laugh). This is a rich, flavorful cheese. Absolutely fantastic.

Taleggio - a soft, creamy, fantastic Italian cheese

Munster. That’s munster, a French cheese, not muenster or münster

Parmigiano reggiano - note the Italian. Stay away from the imitation “parmesan” or that straw-colored dust that comes in green cans. Yes, it’s a hard cheese and it’s usually grated onto food. But just hack off a sliver and try it. Fantastic.

Brie’s not one of my faves, but if you’re going to continue with brie or camembert (actually the same thing), then skip all the imitations and go straight to brie de meaux. You’ll be surprised by the difference.

There are many more, but this is enough to start with.

Oh, and go for a real, fresh mozzarella di bufalo. It comes in balls (large or small) packed in brine (sometimes flavored with oil or herbs). The difference between fresh mozzarella and the sliced or shredded stuff that you put on pizza and sandwiches is vast.

Thought of a couple more –

Comte (France)

If you’re making a fondue, then go for the original Swiss cheeses - Emmenthal and Gruyere. Add garlic and your choice of Swiss liquor.

Take a trip to a good cheese shop. If you don’t have a standalone cheese shop, then go to your nearest Whole Foods or Dean and Deluca, they have fantastic cheese counters and they will let you taste.

I’d just like to clarify that I’m not correcting anyone’s spelling but pointing out that munster and muenster/münster are two completely different cheeses. The French version is a soft, meaty cheese. The American/German version is a common sandwich cheese.

In general, when I’m on a mission to eat the real cheese, I stay away from anything made in America, because they are usually failed imitations. So far as I know, the only genuinely American cheeses are colby (Wisconsin) and monterrey jack (California).

I have tasted some American replications of some of the artisanal cheeses, and they weren’t bad, but, unfortunately, I can’t remember any of the names.

Motorgirl - Yes - I agree regarding the lack of US made cheeses though I’m not sure how my wallet will react. It seems that the shop owners sometimes use Jenkin’s book as a price guide.

Acsenray - Two outstanding American artisanal cheese makers that seem to be readily available are Vella (yes of the Vella Jack fame) and Three Sisters. Both are California dairies. They are increasing in number and Werlin (I believe I have the right name) has two excellent books covering American artisanal cheeses.

I try to serve a cheese course for dinners with guests and most people are blown away by the taste of a “real” cheese (cheddar for example) compared to the supermarket factory made crap that we had thrust upon us by the Kraft’s of the world.

Don’t stop at Parmigiano-Reggiano, the lineup of hard grating cheeses from Italy is long and spectacular with the family of Pecorino (sheep milk) cheeses such as Pecorino Toscana. Also look for Locatelli Grana Padano which is an awesome romano cheese (though salty).

Serve Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings with balsamic vinegar and capers on grilled portobella mushrooms or on Caprese salads (tomato slices with slices of fresh mozzarello).

Damn, I’m getting really hungry now!

I love cheese!

Try some sheep’s milk cheeses - a couple of my favorites are Roncal and Manchego, which are Spanish. A spanish red wine would go nicely with them.

Also, if you have a good upscale grocery near you, go to the deli and get some Hoffman’s Super Sharp white cheddar. It is awesome. I can’t get it here, and miss it dearly.

I’ll recommend, as I always do in cheese threads, my favorite: caciocavallo. Sharp and firm, I enjoy it with hot pepperoni or other italian cold cuts and a dry red wine, like chianti.

Minor point but when I have purchased this it has always been listed as cacciocavello. And yes this is a underrated cheese that can also be used (the aged versions) as a grating cheese. Unfortunately it seems to be increasing in price in direct proportion to the gas prices!

Another fantastic cheese is 5-year aged (or antique) gouda. For me, this goes really well with port or full bodied reds.