Okay, I’ll bite 
Isinglass; made from fish guts.
It’s made from a blend of milks from any or all of Buffalo, sheep, goat and cow; I love the stuff, but it is a rather strange raw, but cooked I love it (it makes a squeaky shound against your teeth when you chew it). I have no idea why you don’t like it - everybody is different I suppose.
Huerta, if you slice it paper thin and pile it on well-buttered Wasabread, Gjetost is very tasty. My Swedish pal’s mom eats it for breakfast like that, along with toothpaste tubes of blue cheese and fish eggs.
Skip the blue cheese and fish eggs and stick with the Gjetost.
Well, I’m a big fan of St. André. It’s a triple-creme cheese with approximately 80% butterfat. Yes, it’s really bad for you, but then again, isn’t all cheese? Almost the consistency of butter, it’s unbelievable when spread on hunks of French bread.
My favorite cheese (barely) is Stilton, but that’s already been mentioned. Suffice to say, they don’t call it “the king of cheeses” for nothing. Mmmmm…
Mmmm…taleggio.
I adore Halloumi. The thing about it is, it doesn’t melt - so maybe it wasn’t melted halloumi you had, istara. In Cyprus they serve it in a toasted panini with picallilli. Divine.
I’m not sure how widely available it is, but there’s a soft blue cheese called Castello (a completely inadequate comaprison to brie with blue veins could be made); split a fresh croissant, lay on a slice or two of Castello and gently toast it under the grill… mmmmm!
Well it wasn’t melted, sorta warm and soft and wobbly. But not wobbly like jelly. Grilled in fact.
One time I woke in the middle of the night craving cheese and crackers. The oddest thing, because I’ve never had much of a savoury tooth, let alone for salty things. (And no, I wasn’t pregnant!)
The next morning I bought whole packet of crackers and some Jarlsberg on my way to work, and at the whole lot in the office. It was heaven.
I’ve never had the same craving before or since. Most weird.
Well there is vegetarian “rennet” …
Isinglass is used in the production of beer, but isn’t in the final product. AFAIK, the active ingredient in rennet is an enzyme used to curdle the milk. The actual calves’ stomachs aren’t added, so I guess it depends on your reasons for being veggie.
Given my choice of cheese right now, I’d go for Dorset Blue Vinney. A medium fat blue cheese that’s less sharp than Stilton. A good blue for first timers, I think.
www.cheese.com has plenty of info about cheese, with useful categories. Plenty there I’d neve heard of. Mare’s milk cheese, for example.
Personally, I like Stilton, Halloumi, and Havarti… don’t go much for Gjetost, though - too pungent for my taste.
I’ve got a fondness for Cheshire (semi-hard cheese with a lovely crumbly texture) and Shropshire Blue (same rind and veins as Stilton, but much redder in colour, with a milder flavour). And I’m not going to worry too much about the holes in Emmental, while I can still get Jarlsberg - similar texture, but I think it tastes better.
For this you must come to Wisconsin. You must go to a local cheese factory. You will get cheese curds straight out of the tank.
There is nothing like it. You must chow it down in the parking lot (an easy task), because once you take it hours and miles away, it’s just… cheese.
Oh, and beer can be also be clarified with Irish moss (seaweedy type stuff), Bentonite (a type of clay), or Gelatin (from cow hooves). Yummy.
Thanks. Not only am I starving right now but due to this thread I forsee myself stopping at the store on the way home (not for another 5 hours–sob!) and bankrupting myself buying cheese. I love cheese. It should be a food group all its own.
Since I’ve been on a leek kick lately, I made a leek tart the other day with leeks, heavy cream, and shredded Gruyere. Good Lord. I highly recommend trying it. I also make a dip with artichoke, spinach, garlic (lots of garlic) Gruyere, and a little Swiss and serve warm with toasted baguette slices or tortilla chips.