Sylvan Star Grizzly Gouda

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

I've got Christmas quiches in the oven and I used this cheese in them so I figured I should do a quick review of the cheese in its natural state.

Sylvan Star Cheese is a great local operation that continually impresses me with their solid cheese offerings. Their Grizzly Gouda is aged 12-24 months and has a strong sharp flavour to match. There's a hint of an almost fermented nutty flavour that reminds me a little of Amaretto liqueur but without the sweetness. Overall just a nice strong blast of gouda goodness.

The texture is fairly hard and crumbly and Grizzly Gouda has a wonderful pale golden colour and there are a few little holes every so often.

I think this cheese is great. It lives up to the ferociousness of its ursine name, though it's delicious rather than deadly.

Highly Recommended.

For more info follow the link: http://www.sylvanstarcheesefarm.ca/home.html

Ossau-Iraty Cheese

Ossau-Iraty Cheese is made with Sheep Milk which always adds a nice twist to the flavour.

This was smooth, less firm cheese with a mild flavour. If someone were reticent to try goat's cheese this could be a gateway cheese for them. I'm sure this cheese would be a great addition to your typical egg dishes.  Admittedly I'm not writing this review as promptly as I would like so my memory is a bit fuzzy but this cheese made the least impression on me of the inaugural CO-OP cheese plate dinner we had after our big move but it was still good.

Just Fine.

So that's the last of my mini-reviews. Frequency of posts should pick up from here on in but I reserve the right to forego any kind of formal schedule.

Auf Cheese-dersehen for now Fromage-fiends!

Alexis de Portneuf Triple Creme Brie Coco (coconut flavoured)

So you can't see a coconut brie at the CO-OP and NOT try it right?

Alexis de Portneuf Triple Creme Brie Coco was a nice smooth brie with a typical mild brie flavour.  There were tiny bits of coconut blended into the cheese but the coconut flavour was a little difficult to detect.  Mostly it showed up in the aftertaste which I found an interesting phenomenon. 

This felt a bit more like a gimmick cheese than something that blew me away. It was okay but nothing amazing.

Take it or leave it.

Vital Stats:

Moisture 45%

M.F. 40%

Prima Donna Mature Cheese

Prima Donna Mature Cheese was another aged cheese to grace our plates recently.  It was definitely a sharp aged cheese though not as dry as the Mimolette.

According to the label it was supposed to be somewhere in between a Parmesan and a Gouda. It tasted more on the Parmesan side to me. Mrs. ISMOTU found this to be a bit too strong on its own but remarked that it would probably be excellent in a quiche. I enjoyed it just fine by itself but I can't argue that it wouldn't make a great quiche.

Recommended.

White Stilton with Mango and Ginger

Next up on our mini-review plate is a White Stilton with Mango and Ginger.

This semi-soft, melt-in-your-mouth cheese was absolutely delicious.  Stilton tends get high praise from me but this one was exceptional. The sweetness of the mango perfectly balances the spicy heat of the ginger.    Even Mrs. ISMOTU was drooling over this one and she doesn't usually like ginger as much as I do.

This cheese was perfect for enjoying on its own on a plain cracker. It did not last very long this round but is sure to make a repeat appearance.

Highly Recommended.

Aged Mimolette

Here's the first of the mini-reviews I promised. No photos because we kinda ate all the cheese before I thought to take pictures. 

The Aged Mimolette was a nice deep orange colour with a weird dark brown rind. 

Flavourwise it was strong and sharp, with a nice saltiness.  Though orange the mimolete had a distinct flavour that was not cheddar-like. 

This was a firm cheese with a lower moisture content rendering somewhat crumbly.

Recommended.

Hiatus over? Hopefully.

Hi interweb denizens, I haven't posted in a LOOOOOONG time. For a variety of reasons that many bloggers share, basically stuff got in the way. I've recently moved and my new local grocery store has an amazing "Fromage du Monde" section so I plan to get back to a regular pace of updates.

Keep an eye out for a few, quick, bare-bones reviews of the cheeses from our inaugural cheese plate dinner in our new home.  Then I plan to get back to the usual format for future posts.

Stay Cheesy!

Le St-Antoine Cheddar

Le St-Antoine is a mild cheddar with herbs, garlic, and onion made by fromagerie Ile-aux-Grues in Quebec.  Previously I've tried out Cheddar Ile-aux-Grues. Will this fancified version cut the mustard?

Sheesh! More Quiche!

Today's post is all about quiche. In my childhood home quiche was our traditional Christmas morning breakfast. I think largely because preparation was simple, (likely done the night before) and once in the oven my mother didn't have to babysit it much and we could enjoy opening gifts as a family.

It wasn't until I started this blog that I attempted to make a quiche myself. It came about from wanting to branch out from omelettes.  Today is not my first attempt at quiche, but probably my third or so. I don't really know why I didn't blog about it the other times but now's the time as I look out the window at the snow covered ground this very Canadian May long weekend.

Pecorino Fresco

Pecorino Fresco is the second of our cheeses this month. It is an Italian cheese made from sheep's milk.  Forget suspense this time, I'll just tell you that the wife and I adored this cheese. It has a nice bite, sharper than the Emmentaler. The texture was smooth and slightly creamy with a fresh zing.

This cheese would be great on pasta, with eggs, really anything you want to do with cheese.  Sometimes we have bits of cheese hang around for a long while after our initial tastes but not this fellow. Pecorino Fresco is a delicious Italian cheese from Sardinia that didn't last long in our fridge.

Highly Recommended.

Allmikas Bavarian Emmentaler

Allmikas Bavarian Emmentaler is made by a farmer's collective that has the exacting standards you'd expect from Germans. Regular readers have heard me rave about gruyère but will this variation on a different type of Swiss classic tantalize my taste buds? Find out after the jump.

Ivanhoe Horseradish Cheddar

Ivanhoe Horseradish Cheddar is a cheese I've tried before but ate all of it before I blogged about it. So here's round two with this unique cheese.

Zerto Asiago

Asiago is a great cheese with a flavour similar to parmesan.  This particular version comes from the United States but the variety is named after a small town in Northern Italy. 

Zerto Asiago is a semi-hard cheese with a crumbly texture and a salty, tangy flavour.  There's a hint of nuttiness and definitely a parmesan-like taste.  I think we used this cheese in a salad but I haven't played around with it much beyond that.  It tastes great though and would make a great addition to any pasta dish.  

Highly Recommended.

Vital Stats:
Moisture 35%
M.F. 30%

For more info follow the link: http://www.finica.com/productsDetail.php?Asiago-Pre-Cut-Wedges-58#section3

Ilchester Applewood Smoke-flavoured Cheddar

In a previous post I raved about Balderson's double smoked cheddar, today I'm going to try another smoked cheddar from England and see how they compare.

Sylvan Star Cayenne with Green Peppercorn

The second of the Sylvan Star cheeses I bought is a bit "fancier" with the addition of cayenne pepper flakes and green peppercorns. Does this addition compromise the integrity of the cheese? Or does it manage to enhance the already great taste of the gouda? Let's find out.

Sila al Peperoncino

I am really not great at blogging in a timely manner. Good thing I never set out to keep a schedule here or I'd be failing miserably.  Today I'm going to finally complete my reviews of March's Cheese of the Month with Sila al Peperoncino.

Grilled Cheese Month: Classic Grilled Cheese with Cayenne and Green Peppercorn Gouda

Sylvan Star Cheese makes a return appearance in this final, only-slightly-late entry to Grilled Cheese Month.  This time I opted for simple, straightforward, bare-bones grilled cheese relying instead on the cheese itself for a twist.  

Grilled Cheese Month: Goat Gouda w/Apricot Jam

This morning I had quite the predicament on my hands. Do I use the last of the Sylvan Star Goat Gouda to make scrambled eggs or an omelette for breakfast? Or do I try my hand at a breakfast themed grilled cheese?

Sylvan Star Cheese Goat Gouda

I was in Grande Prairie last weekend and decided to pop into the Farmer's Market so see what was around. I picked up a couple cheeses I thought would be good in grilled cheese sandwiches and here's the first of them.

Grilled Cheese Month: Grilled Goat Gouda Bagels w/Sautéed Onions and Apples

Alrighty, I promised more grilled cheese goodness and here it is!  This "recipe" is one of my own devising cobbled together from various ideas I go whilst surfing the 'net.  I've been watching reruns of "Good Eats" lately and Alton Brown inspired me to get more experimental, plus I didn't really pick a recipe before hand and thus had to make do with ingredients already in the house.

Snow Peak

The Udder Way Artisan Cheese Co. is based in Hamilton, ON and manufactures Snow Peak.  Snow Peak is a semi-soft goat's milk cheese with added bacterial cultures to give it a taste akin to raw milk cheeses.  Snow Peak is aged up to six weeks to allow the strong flavours to fully develop, and strong is the word.  Upon trying this cheese Mrs. ISMOTU asked if I was sure it was supposed to taste that way.

Borgonzola

A new month, a new cheese box in the mail. We've been enjoying the Cheese of the Month Club so much that we've decided to sign up for 3 more months of delicious postal cheese.

Grilled Cheese Month

Apparently April is grilled cheese month which a friend of mine said I needed to feature on this blog. So here we are.

Emmi Le Gruyère

Emmi Le Gruyère is a delicious example of a fine firm Swiss cheese. It has a sharp flavour that doesn't cut your tongue out.  I started this post months ago but was stuck because this cheese really is so good I had a hard time thinking of ways to describe it. Then I ate the last of my gruyere and couldn't possibly just finish the post from memory. So now I've bought another block of gruyere and after grating some into a spinach-mushroom quiche last weekend and into my omelette this morning I decided it was high time I gave gruyère its due.

Bauer Bayrischer Alpen Tilsit

Now I finally finish the reviews of our first cheese-of-the-month box before I start on the second.

Bauer Bayrischer Alpen Tilsit from Bavaria, Germany is a semi-firm cheese with a slightly spicy taste. Made in the style of Emmental, the Swiss migrants found the local environmental conditions and differences in the ingredients resulted in a cheese with smaller holes and a stronger fragrance.  So it's a cheese from the Baltic lowlands made with the procedures from the Swiss Alps. Apparently it is also lactose free which is interesting.

This cheese had a more rubbery texture but was still tasty. I wouldn't have called it pungent like the newsletter did but perhaps it was in comparison to a traditional Emmental. The Alpen Tilsit is a versatile cheese perfect for snacking with bread or crackers.
Recommended.

Vital Stats:
Moisture ?
M.F. 45%

For more info follow the link (but it's in German): http://www.bauer-milch.de/bayerischer-alpen-tilsiter-natur/info

Formaggio Authentic Hand Rolled Prosciutto with Mozzarella Cheese & Basil

This was a supplement to our cheese meal with the first set of cheese of the month.  It claims to have been pre-sliced but the slices do not look as nice as on the package. The prosciutto tended to slide off the cheese rather than slice. But looks aren't as important as taste in my book and this was a pretty yummy discovery. The mozzarella and basil flavours compliment each other well but I felt the ratio of prosciutto to the rest of the ingredients was too small and its flavour was overwhelmed.
Overall this was a nice thing to try but didn't leave a huge impression on me.

Moderately Recommended.

For more info follow the link: http://formaggiocheese.com/live/hand-rolled

Blyth Goat Gouda

Golden Blyth Goat Gouda, from Blyth, Ontario.
Definitely our favourite of the bunch. The Blyth Farm Cheese Gouda is made from 100% Goat's milk.  Often goat's cheese is a softer cheese but this gouda is firm, salty, fragrant, and delicious. According to the description in the "Cheese of the Month" newsletter gouda is more a style of making the cheese than a recipe for a specific variety.   This example of a farm fresh, well crafted cheese explodes your palate with a sharp, tangy flavour. It's noticeably salty but not distractingly so and takes the prize as the only cheese we received that I don't want to try in any dish. I want to keep the Golden Blyth Goat Gouda as a solo act and enjoy every morsel.  It has a firm bite but then the texture turns creamy and smooth as you chow down.
Highly Recommended!

Vital Stats:
Moisture 42.8%
M.F. 25.8%

Cheddar Ile-aux-Grues

Cheddar Île-aux-Grues from Quebec came to us through the grace of my friend the Proff. She got us a three month subscription to a cheese-of-the-month club from AmazingClubs. Every month three fancy cheeses arrive in the mail sealed in a little styrofoam box. It's pretty neat and will certain provide an impetus for me to post on this fairly neglected blog.

Île-aux-Grues Cheddar is aged one year on a small island in the St. Lawrence River. It has a nice mature cheddar flavour. Not too salty, nor too pungent. The texture is medium, not too firm nor soft neither. The notes from the newsletter which accompanied our mail-cheese mention a hint of hazelnut that I cannot detect and provides wine pairing which I do not care about.  Overall this is a solid cheddar with a nice flavour.

Recommended.

Vital Stats:
Moisture 39%
M.F. 31%
275g

Image © Société Coopérative Agricole de l'Île-aux-Grues. For more info follow the link: http://fromagesileauxgrues.com/les-cheddars-de-l-ile-aux-grues-en/

Double Gloucester

Another classic from Bradburys Cheese, Double Gloucester is a firm ripened cheese with a nice orange colour and a good tang.  There's a creaminess to the texture that I like and its savory flavour is due to it being aged longer than Single Gloucester cheese.  As is apparent should you read more than one post on this blog I tend to favour stronger, older cheeses and this is no exception. Double Gloucester is a great addition to any sandwich, omelette, or on nachos.

A clip from the fabulous British sit-com "The IT Crowd"

The cheese relevance is about 20 seconds in.

Highly Recommended.

Vital Stats:
Moisture 36%
M.F. 32%
200g

Image TM Bradburys Cheese. For more info follow the link: http://www.bradburyscheese.co.uk/our-products/our-cheese-range/

Balderson Double Smoked Cheddar

This cheese has a strong smoky taste which is what you want in a cheese that proclaims it is wood smoked on the label.  The flavour is quite strong, as is the scent but it is not overpowering or off-putting. We really enjoyed this cheese in salads and omelettes mostly but it would work well in sandwiches or on burgers. Actually, typing that sentence makes me want to fashion up some homemade hamburger patties to grill and top with a generous slice of Balderson Double Smoked Cheddar. Maybe this weekend...
This cheese was so good we've bought another giant brick of it since I started writing this post (before the new year, oops) and we'll likely continue to enjoy its distinctive flavour for years to come.
Highly Recommended.

Vital Stats:
Moisture 37%
M.F. 33%
250g

Image TM Balderson Cheese. For more info follow the link: http://baldersoncheese.ca/balderson-cheddars/balderson-double-smoked-cheddar/