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.