Sylvan Star Nettle & Celery Gouda

Another unique cheese from Sylvan Star Cheese. We found their booth at the Farmer's Market whcih carries a wider variety of their products than the local Foo' Mar'. I'm a fan of nettle tea but I wasn't sure how it would taste in a cheese. Is this another win for Sylvan Star?

Tonight on Dinner Plate: Tartiflette par Camembert

In my last post I reviewed Le Rustique Camembert which I mentioned was purchased for a specific cooking purpose. Well here's what it went into:

Le Rustique Camembert

Today we review a French cheese from Normandy. Le Rustique Camembert by Jean Verrier Fromager. We bought this cheese for a special cooking project that I'll share with you soon but I thought it only right to review the cheese on its own merits.

Moroccan Spice Cheddar

Moroccan Spice Cheddar was the clear favourite of our last batch of cheese. It's a nice cheddar, not overly sharp but the various spices added give it a complex flavour. The main source of spice is Moroccan Harissa Paste that contains coriander, garlic, paprika, and other spices. We tried harissa marinade on some chicken a while back and it was pretty delicious. The same mix of flavours works well here.

This cheese was so good my mother-in-law brought some home in her suitcase. It works quite well on its own but would add a kick to sandwiches or omelettes. 

Highly Recommended.

My local cheese counter takes the big rounds and repackages them in smaller wedges so I can't always be sure of which company they come from but it's likely that this cheese was produced by Coombe Castle in the UK.

For more info follow the link: http://consumer.coombecastle.com/our-products/product/morrocan-spice

Chaumes Cheese

Chaumes Cheese is a semi-soft cheese on the brie-camembert spectrum.  This one has a bright orange rind and a pale white interior.  The bouquet is fragrant without being overpowering and the flavour is just delicious. As Mrs. ISMOTU put it " it's got that creamy brie-ness without being too bland."  So yes, the flavour is a bit stronger than your typical brie but nothing that should put off cheese neophytes. This was another of my much delayed reviews. So much so that I went out and bought some more just to properly refresh my memory.  And I was glad I did.

Recommended.

Chaumes comes from France and is made by Ile de France Gourmet Cheese. 

For more info follow the link: http://iledefrancecheese.com/index.php/Chaumes/chaumes.html

Swiss Cave Aged Gruyere

Today's review: Swiss Cave Aged Gruyere another treat from the Fromages du Monde counter at my local Co-Op.

This is a delicious mature gruyere that was strong and salty. It was nice to nibble on and worked quite well in a pair of quiches I made to impress my in-laws on their recent visit. (P.S. It worked!)

It's got a nice semi-firm texture and all flavour you'd expect from a quality gruyere. I fear my reviews are getting shorter as I try more variations of the same style of cheese because I'm by no means a gourmand and as such my vocabulary is somewhat limited. Plus I've been less that diligent about writing these reviews in a timely manner so this one is based more on memory than the actual cheese since it's long been devoured.

Recommended.

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.