5-Spoke Creamery Redmond Cheddar is made from raw cow’s milk and aged for 60 days. A very nice cheddar that we think is from Pennsylvania. Also melted well for breakfast on toast.
Manchego – a regular.
Societe Roquefort, (which I think is one of the most common brands), is very nice, one of our favorite blues. As it is an AOC, it is made from raw sheep milk according to the rules.
When we went to Cheesetique the other day, AKT found a new Camembert that we’ve not tried: Camembert du Bocage. At least, the box lid was not in our collection so we had to get it. It was very good, of course. ‘Fabrique en Normandie’!
We also got Fontinella, a Wisconsin cheese similar to fontina, Grand Pardo Parmesean, and to fill the blue category, Gorgonzola a very nice blue cheese from Italian cows.
We were in Arlington, so stopped by Cheesetique, of course. We got a very nice sheep’s milk blue from Wisconsin named Little Boy Blue, because the girls liked the name. It is from Tony and Julie’s Hook’s Cheese Company.
We went across town to Wegman’s, a very large grocery store in/near Lanham. It’s only 12 miles away, but with no easy way to get there, it takes a good 40-50 minutes from DC. It’s in a megamall area with a Costco, Best Buy, Petco and more. They had 28 checkouts, a cafe, live music, a bakery and more — but we particularly went for cheese. We’d also read the Washington Post article, “‘Club Wegmans’ in Pr. George’s: Smooth jazz and smoother pickup lines” and seen a special on TV (and then we ended up meeting the chef, Joe Serock, there). We didn’t eat there, though, we went to the nearby Levis Restaurant for BBQ.
Anyway, while we were at the cheese counter AKT turned her back on me and I was unsupervised for a while (probably not a good idea). I found 5 very nice Italian cheese for tonight’s tasting. Wegman’s has a huge cheese selection, including some of the biggest wheels we’ve seen. They have a tasting table, but don’t seem to let you taste the cheese like the Calvert Woodley cheesemonger. However, they did cut several of the large pieces into smaller pieces for us.
We had so many cheeses, we invited neighbor L, who we discovered was also with NC Stat’s Wolfpack. L is a goat cheese fan, and she likes the goat cheese brie from Brookville that AKT likes. She isn’t as much into hard, aged cheeses–we will need to get her a triple-cream next time.
Vento d’estate, a cow’s milk cheese from Monfenera, a historical mountain in Treviso, Italy. Rolled in hay and aged in oak barrels buried in hay and herbs. The name means “summer wind”.
Pecorino Toscano oro Antico, a semi-hard pecorino (sheep’s milk) cheese brushed with olive oil during aging. From the Tuscany region of Italy. Aged one year.
Pecorino Ginepro, made from unpasteurized sheep’s milk cheese from Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Aged for 4 to 6 months and rubbed with juniper berries and basalmic vinegar during aging.
Quadrello di Buffala, a washed-rind (stinky) buffalo milk cheese from Lombardia, Italy. Said to be like tallegio. We found it wasn’t that strong. It was good with the Olive Fougasse.
Gorgonzola mountain piccante is a cow’s milk blue produced in the Piedmonte and Lombardy regions of Italy. D.O.P Mountain Gorgonzola comes in two styles, the younger sweet, creamy Dolce, and the elder, stronger Piccante with its thicker, drier rind and punchier flavor.
The cheeses were all from Calvert-Woodley, a very nice local cheese & wine shop. (clockwise from lower left)
Fromager d’Affinois is a double-cream cow’s milk cheese. We’ve had it before, and it was still very good. Somewhat like the Saint Angel that we had last week, but milder.
Emmentaler, an AOC alpine cheese that was on sale. It looks like traditional “Swiss cheese” with the holes. It was a bit rubbery. Good for fondue (probably), but not the best for a cheese board.
Gruyere, also on sale. Another AOC alpine cheese, but a better texture, and no holes. Good for both a cheese board and fondue.
Maytag Blue – one that we’ve had before. Very good (for a blue), and featured in this month’s Culture magazine.
Amadeus: A new cow’s milk cheese from Austria. Like gouda, very nice. A white wax rind. Named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Cheshire: England’s oldest cheese, listed in the Doomsday Book (dated 1085). Very crumbly; it isn’t spreadable, so use a spoon.
Blue Cashel: developed in 1984, it is Ireland’s original artisinal blue, and is the creation of Jane and Louis Grubb, a husband and wife team. Steve Jenkins says “To my mind, what Cashel Blue most resembles is the world’s finest Gorgonzola. I’m rarely out of it.” We thought it was very good.
