Cheese Plate at Artisanal Master Class

44 recorded cheeses. Many more that went undocumented. When you eat more than 50 different cheeses in 3 days, you’re bound to have some favourites, the ones that slide over your tongue like a breath of fresh air or a gulp of caramel. You’re also bound to have some that make your taste buds feel like you’re punishing them with dirty hay. After taking the Master Class at Artisanal, I definitely have some new favourite cheeses, and unfortunately I now have a docket of cheeses I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Ok, well maybe that’s a little harsh!

The Winners: My Top 10
(I’ll start at 10 and work up to the very best one!!)

10) Manchego, Spain, Sheep Milk
The Manchego was sweet, caramelly, and nutty all at once! It had a dry, grainy, crystallized texture that you could really feel between your teeth. It was actually not as strong as I had expected it to be.  mmm mmm! It was like eating candy!

9)  Fleur du Maquis, France, Sheep Milk
This sweet little wheel of smooth sheep is encrusted with herbs like rosemary, fennel seeds, juniper berries and bird’s eye chile. This cheese has such a fresh, herbal flavour that carries throughout its smell and flavour. You could really taste the terroir (where it came from) of this cheese!

8 ) Comte DOP, France, Cow Milk
Comte is a firm, pressed cheese with a claim to fame! It has been stated that one can pick out over 83 distinct flavours! Maybe my palette just isn’t refined enough, because while I tasted a glorious mix of baked bread, nuttiness, chocolate, butter and cream, I definitely didnt taste 83 things! Nevertheless, this chewy cheese is going to be fannnntastic on some toast the next time I can get my hands on it!

7) Alp Drackloch, Switzerland, Cow Milk
Alp Drackloch is a yummy, luxurious cheese that a big Swiss cow made just for me! (let me dream, ok?) This very rare cheese is made only in the summer in a very specific region of Switzerland. Like my last pick, Alp is nutty and toasty on my tongue and the strong taste lingers around for a while even after all is said and done… a great way to drag out eating cheese!

6) Sea Hive, USA, Cow Milk
When I saw this cheese on the tasting list, I was so excited! I had been reading about this honey-rubbed and salt-encrusted cheese for ages before I made it down to NYC! Sea Hive is a firm cheese that exudes a perfect sweet and salty flavour. The saltiness comes through strongly with a bit of a spicy bite. It’s so complex it makes my head spin – I had to try a few bites before I really could appreciate the whole thing!

5) Rocky Sage, New York, Goat Milk
Rocky Sage is a light, fresh goat cheese made by Coach in New York State… Coach, you say? A cheese made by a noted bag and accessory designer?? How could it be bad! I half expected the cheese to come covered in the Coach logo, but I was instead met with a cloudy white cone of smooth goat cheese. It was a tad chalky yet still crisp, herbal and even a bit spicy! Overall, it was a designer delight! (I didn’t, however, like the rind… but to each their own!)

4) Smokey Oregon Blue, Oregon, Cow Milk
Smokey Oregon by Rogue Creamery was the only blue to hit my top 10, and why, might you ask? Because every morsel of it was udder (excuse my pun!) perfection! It has a sweet and smokey smell, that translates seamlessly into the lingering taste. The smokey flavour is subtle, not overbearing and the 100% natural full cream makes each bite melt away. The whole cheese has a fudge-like quality! This is one cheese I might even drink a beer for! We were suggested to try it with a Rogue Brewery Chocolate Stout… which sounds pretty tasty, if I might say so!

3) Ossau-Iraty, France, Sheep Milk
Ossau-Iraty is a fantastic, firm, fabulous cheese! It is delectably smooth and goes down like a dream. It is nutty and fruity and sharp and sweet all at the same time, which almost seems impossible! It is a buttery concoction of ewe curds that will never get old.

2) Nettle Meadow Kunik, New York, Goat Milk
Butter. Cream. Tangy. Sweet. Smooth. Refreshing. Clear. All of these are fittingly used to describe this Triple Cream of all Triple Creams. Of every cheese we tasted, this was the most amazing creamy cheese. I can’t say I tasted it in bites, because it was so smooth there was nothing to bite down on! It slid over my taste buds and definitely left them wanting more… I had to refrain from eating my piece in just one big bite – I thought that might be rude! I truly can’t even put into words all of the wonderful things about this cheese. You’ll just have try it for yourself.

1) Gouda (Aged 4 Years), Netherlands, Cow Milk
If you love salty and sweet, like I do, than this old Gouda is just for you! It looks and tastes like caramel and butterscotch, with sugar crystals breaking through in each bite. It has a big, bold, lingering flavour that rests in your mouth like the chewy outside of a candied apple. The salt makes each taste complex and makes me want to taste it many more times! If I were ever to taste a cheese I might want to sprinkle on some ice cream, this is the one! I wonder if that would be gross?

And there you have it! 10 amazing cheeses! Next up, the ones that didn’t make my cut.