Welcome to the Cheese Commandments…
We’re dangerously addicted, and we want you lot to know all about it. Every week we’ll be covering a different cheese-related theme, and we’ll jump at the first excuse to compare them with wine and, oh, all other food. If we fail to share a cheese you love – and we’ll work hard to make sure that never happens – get in touch at hannahshariatmadari@hercampus.com and we’ll get eating.
Love Life, Love Leeds, Love Cheese.
10/11/2011
‘Thou shalt avoid franchise Cheddar’
Keen’s Cheddar by Laura Evans-Booth
Firstly you’ll all have to excuse the shockingly bad photographs of this week’s cheese reactions. My phone is no match for Jenny’s beautiful SLR, however I did grab my bestie badger Rachael to get involved with our cheese tasting session. I’m sure you’ll agree she has the best cheese expressions!
For me, Cheddar is one of those cheeses that are just a bit… dull. Don’t get me wrong I do love a good cheddar, i’s so versatile, great melted on pizzas or just thrown on a cheese board and after all it is the world’s most popular cheese. I’ve eaten so much of it though I can’t help but feel like it’s one of those average cheeses, that doesn’t really tickle my pickle anymore. Though I decided to put aside my prejudices and treat myself to a nice wedge of Keen’s Cheddar from my Haworth trip with Lorna. I’ll be honest, I only wanted to go to Haworth for the cheese shop and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Keen’s is an incredible firm cheddar with a strong luxurious taste (as far as Cheddar goes) made with raw milk and animal rennet, so it’s not one for the vegetarian in your life. It’s so moreish too, I just can’t help myself. When I walk past the fridge it leaps out at me and says “Hey Laura, fancy a nibble?” who am I to deny cheese?
It’s made in Somerset where they still insist on turning the curd by hand and is matured for a minimum of 10 months, though apparently tastes at its best after 18. Keen’s Cheddar has won the “Best Cheddar” award twice at the World Cheese awards (I feel another road trip coming on). So why is it called “Keen’s” Cheddar? Well my friends, it has been made by the Keen family at Moorhayes Farm since 1899, making it fabulously British.
This is certainly a Cheddar to try and has reaffirmed the belief that Cheddar is a perfect cheese for everyone. Go buy a nice size piece and grate it over a jacket potato with a side of chunky salsa. Perfect.
Badger’s Reaction Jenny – 8/10 Lorna – 8/10 Laura – 7/10
07/11/2011
‘Thou Must Respect Rustic Cheese Above All’
Sharpham Rustic by Laura Evans-Booth
Sharpham Rustic is perhaps my favourite cheese. It’s made down south in Devon, where it is matured for 6-8 weeks before consumption. It has an almost spongy texture and develops a natural white rind during the maturation process. This cheese is not widely available in chain stores, my particular wedge came from Mollie Sharps, http://www.molliesharpsonline.
Anyway how does it taste? FREAKING AMAZING! The flavour only really seems to hit after a few nibbles, but when it does it grabs your bum and says “come away with me,” whilst you swoon into its cheesy arms, forgetting your standard Red Leicester forever. It has a smooth creamy texture which melts on your tongue, not all dissimilar in taste from a mature cheddar. To be honest Sharpham Rustic makes a pitiful cheese for melting, granted it has a texture like mozzerella once melted, but from there the flavour actually vanishes and it’s a waste. This cheese should be eaten on its own, chunks at a time, topless.
Jenny: 9/10
Laura: 10/10
Lorna: 7/10
03/11/2011
‘Thou Must Not Judge Blue Cheese’
Dolcelatte by Lorna Greville
Unfortunately, my chosen cheese for this week is neither as wonderfully English as Laura’s choice, nor as excellently difficult to pronounce as Jenny’s, on the bright side however, Dolcelatte is available at all good retailers, including the likes of Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and any other good cheese delicatessen. Another bright side is how quite simply delicious this delightful cheese is. Though it came an unhappy last place in our little competition, I will account this to a great problem in our society: racism.
Dolcelatte is a blue cheese, and we all know how the general public treats them. I implore you all to cast off any negative feelings you may have about mould in cheese and embrace it fully within your lives! This prejudice is merely due to ignorance, and we are here to rid you of that. Educate yourself with Dolcelatte, it is the perfect cheese to break down these silly barriers. With a smooth and creamy texture- to quote both Laura and Pumba; ‘slimy yet satisfying’- there is almost a sweetness to this cheese, which you’ll know is aptly reflected in the name if you‘re an Italian speaker (‘dolce’= sweet + ‘latte’= milk). Made by the largest and most popular cheese producer in Italy (easily one of the best cheese producers in the world [y’know, aside from Wensleydale, Cheddar Valley, Gloucester, Lancashire…]) there’s no surprise that this is so deliciously moreish. Dolcelatte goes excellently with fruit, particularly pears and grapes. I could not recommend it more highly for a cheese board- it’s a Christmas staple within my family home, though if you’re a little more adventurous, it’s absolutely delicious melted over a medium-rare rump steak or stirred into pasta with some wilted spinach and a dash of nutmeg.
Lorna – 9/10
Jenny – 7/10
30/10/2011
‘Thou Must Not Be Afraid To Fall In Love With Cheese Two Milleniums Old’
Ossau Iraty by Jennifer Hollander
My relationship with Ossau-Iraty began by accident. Strolling through the massive Morrisons in Kirkstall, I stopped to sample a cube of cheese on a cocktail stick – and wow! A love affair, or what non-cheese lovers might deem a dangerous addiction, was born. Ossau-Iraty is a traditional French cheese made from ewe’s milk, semi-soft with a complex and slightly nutty taste. Even its Wikipedia entry boasts about its ‘gentleness and ability to please’, which, if slightly creepy, pretty much says all you need to know.
Ossau-Iraty’s nickname is ‘farmer’s dessert’ in its French hometown, and I’d agree that this isn’t a cheese you want to combine with other tastes: a classic ‘cheeseboard cheese’, it’s a dessert in itself. We decided it was creamy, yet strong; aromatic, but not too sharp. It can be traced back almost 2,000 years, which is still not as long as the time you want to spend eating it. Wonderfully, it’s available widely, in many large UK supermarkets with a well-stocked cheese counter (Morrisons, Tesco Finest, and so forth).
Jenny: 10/10 (I would happily have given it 100, but that would defeat the entire point of our rating system)
Lorna: 7/10
Laura: 9/10