Happy Valentine’s Day, Cheese Lovers!

tasteofcheese — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 02:44:02 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day my fellow cheese lovers!
I do hope that this lovely holiday is treating you well and that you have been eating lots of chocolate.. and lots of cheese! Due to my Valentine being far, far away, I have been consoling myself by eating the prettiest cheese that I could find this February 14!

My Cheese of Valentine’s Day 2011 is Tommette aux Baies Roses, a small, fresh pat of chevre seasoned with herbs and sprinkled with pink peppercorns. The Tommette comes from France and is produced by the Fromagerie Banon in small, artisanal batches. The cheese is served up in a little paper cup, like a cupcake liner, and in a small wooden box… it is almost too pretty to eat!!

The aromas are fresh and lactic, so pure and sweet! This chevre is perfect for spreading, but I wanted to eat it all on its own at first, so I took a big hunk on a knife and took a big bite!! The texture is smooth and rich, with a full, creamy residual mouth feeling. The tart flavours are accented by the herb which dot the goaty flavours delicately. I can’t wait to try this on a fresh piece of baguette!! I also look forward to crumbling it into a salad and drinking it with tangy, acidic chardonnay or sauvignon blanc – maybe i’ll have to have a post-Valentine’s Day cheese celebration! Now, I know it isn’t quite as fantastic as real, human love… but the Tommette aux Baies Roses sure comes close! Yummmmm

The Ones That Stayed On The Plate… My Bottom 5 Cheeses

tasteofcheese — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:46:51 +0000

While it would be nice to imagine adoring every cheese that was served up at the Artisanal Master Class, that certainly isn’t very realistic. Most of the cheese I gobbled up was yummy and wonderful. But there were five that took me on an undesirable cheese field trip to the the un-mucked barns that they began their lives in! (Or something to that effect.)

So here they are.. my bottom of the barrel, or barn! BUT – don’t take this list to mean you shouldn’t try these cheeses. In fact, go try them and come back and tell me why you think I’m completely crazy for not liking them!!

Again, I’ll go from the best of the worst, to my least favourite! I won’t bore you with super long descriptions, just some key words.

5) Pecorino Toscano Stagionato DOC, Italy, Sheep Milk
- Salty smell, more barn-like than the other Pecorino we tasted, too peppery

4) Liberty’s Cream, USA, Goat
- Goat taste should be hidden more but it is very strong, very lactic, odd herbal flavour

3) Roncal, Spain, Sheep Milk
- Very gamey, a strong sheepy aroma, grainy texture

2) Cabecou Feuille, France, Goat
- This little cheese is wrapped in a Chestnut leaf which leaves a very bitter, unpleasant flavour; off spicy aftertaste

1) Le Moulis, France, Cow Milk
- Smells like a barn, unpleasantly tangy, underlying bitterness, very yeasty.
The Winner of my cheese losers!

And there you have it, the cheeses I wont be begging to try again.

Taste of Cheese » Goat Milk

Happy Valentine’s Day, Cheese Lovers!

The Ones That Stayed On The Plate… My Bottom 5 Cheeses