good cheese? good cheese practice?

[coppercone2]

What are your favorite cheeses?

Preferably be specific because there are 500 versions of everything. I am not even sure how technical the names are or if its just marketing.

I think that warm double cream brie is great during the start of cold seasons.

What temperature do you like eating cheese at? Most say that room temperature is optimal, but for some things, heat is good, so long you have structural integrity.

Heated bulgarian feta is also excellent, you can toast it in a toaster oven.

Do you ever bother to actually make a cheese platter and eat cheese by itself with different side dishes? Dipping sauces? how about weird cheese sticks, not just from mozzerella. Fried brie stick? home re-melted cheese thats modified with extra ingredients? glazes?


grapes, crackers, croutons. I think a fresh rye bread goes well with cheese cut into small tiles (like dominos) ,at room temperature, with a softer cheese. Toasting it does not necessarily improve things. crispy onions topped on a heated cheese block. Dried fruits?

All I see normally is deli meats.

[SeanB]

Wrap nice slices in bacon, and fry them till the bacon is done, then eat.

[Psi]

Before I went vegan my favourite chesses were
- Any 3+ year aged 'extreme tasty' cheddar
- Castello Creamy Blue
- Pretty much any brand of official 'stilton'
- Kikorangi Blue

Cheddar I would put into/on things,  the other 3 I would just eat a piece by itself. Normally would be at fridge temp, but yeah, tastes better at room temp.

[jpanhalt]

When my mom said "cheese" she only meant one thing: parmigiano reggiano.  Even then, it needs to be tasted before buying.  That was part of my training.  I don't know the exact version I get in Cleveland.  One store on the East side has it, and I drive almost 60 miles each way to get it.  Same store, same "old man" boss for the past 25 years I have lived in the area.

More recently, I learned of Mexico "parmesan" called cotija.  It is made in Wisconsin and is only $10/#.  It is similar, but not identical.  Close enough though for a lot of uses, like salads.

Other favorite cheeses are gorgonzola, blue, brie, colby, havarti, regular gouda, large curd cottage, even American depending what it's being used for.  There is hardly a cheese I don't like.  I'll mix crumbled cheap gorgonzola (or blue) with Philadelphia spreadable cream cheese, let it rest for 24 hours refrigerated (or up to a week or so ) as a cheap substitute for cambozola as a spread for crackers.  The cheapest real cambozola I have found in Cleveland is $25/#. 

[coppercone2]

a tooth pick with a olive on a cheese with a pickle slice is good

[aeberbach]

Gjetost in sandwiches, with quality tomato slices and dutch crunch bread.

[IanB]

I'm not sure how to respond to this thread.

Cheese is tasty. Cheese is better when it is good cheese.

Signs of good cheese are that it is made in a traditional way and made from the best possible ingredients, such as raw milk if possible, at or least full fat unhomogenized milk otherwise.

There are so many varieties of cheese, it is impossible to pick what is best. It comes down to what kind of cheese you like, and also how the cheese will be used. For example, some recipes call for certain kinds of cheese, and they won't work as well with other cheeses.

Since you asked about personal favorites, one of mine is the English Coastal Cheddar available from Trader Joe's. It is a good example of real English Cheddar, and I really hope it doesn't get discontinued by TJ.

The cheese is a bit crumbly straight from the fridge, and it helps to let it reach room temperature if you wish to cut it into slices without it breaking up.

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/discover/stories/tale-of-two-cheddars

[themadhippy]

Got to be either a very mature cheddar or Stilton,and The Stilton  must  be served with a a bottle of port.

[jonpaul]

aged Switzerland Gyere, about 15 CHFR/ KG in Switzerland

Buying Kgs, easy to bring to EU, UK or USA but may require a customs déclaration, agricultural product.

Get best French bread, slice, toast,  Gruyère slices, condiment French Dijon mustard

Swiss/French heaven

j

[Overspeed]

Hello

French Conte is far better than gruyere or emmental , the one of the most elegant taste french cheese

In soft french cheese , Chaourse is a pure dream and very close to Brillat Savarin cheese

In strong taste cheese , Pont l Eleveque , Livarot or Munster are great cheese

In USA , Wisconsin  produce very nice cheese : https://www.wisconsincheese.com/ including blue cheese as the very goof Dunburton Blue

Regards
OS

[jonpaul]

In USA no cheese its horrible.

When traveling:

In Switzerland: Aged Gruyer (Surchoix)

In France: Roquefort (blue )

In USA the equiv cheeses  (eg Trader Joes) are crazy expensive and old/not genuine. 

Recipie:

 fresh French bread or a whole grain from a bakery.
lightly toast
Spread with cheese,

With gruyer perhaps a bit of Dijon mustard

Jon

[armandine2]

my last 3 cheeses, bought the other day

https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/chilled-food/cheese

were a Comte, a Red Leicester, and Double Gloucester with chives - one slice was put on sourdough last night

[Overspeed]

Hello

Wisconsin cheese makers produce very nice cheeses  , some can compete with french chesse , the problem is they are mainly available in Wisconsin only. Same in UK where there is very good local cheeses .

The problem is France is now most cheese are industrial cheese and not real county made cheese by the traditional way , a perfect exemple is the camenbert .. not cheese sale in France have just the name of camenber and are far to be a traditional camenber , Chaource is now mainly an industrial product they are are only two real Chaource real makers in France .

That the same problem with Mimolette / Boule de Lille most are industrial orange cheese with taste

Regards
OS

[nightfire]

My primary use for cheese in cooking is italian cuisine, where Pargiggiano (I like that better that Pecorino) is added to the sauce to give it a certain creamyness as in pasta Alfredo or cacio e pepe (the original roman version of the more popular mac'n'cheese in the US). Here you also have to care which quality you buy, and how to grate it. I really like graters like the Microplane ones, that do deliver some very fine slices of it, that nearly immediately dissolves into hot sauces based on pasta water with starch.

[coppercone2]

the brie like cheese that starts with a F (fromager or something) is very good, I think I decided its better then brie now.

I got a microplane last year also, it is excellent for parm. The only problem was when you make a pot of pasta you are always washing the microplane, so if you have more then 1 person that will eat from a pot regularly till its gone, get a few microplanes. I like it freshly grated.

clean microplane + pasta = fresh cut
dirty microplane + pasta = use the grated stuff in a can

I mean, if you are actually excited about doing something and delayed eating by 4 hours.

[coppercone2]

And how about cheese slicer wires? I tried, but I have been breaking alot of those wires

[nightfire]

the brie like cheese that starts with a F (fromager or something) is very good, I think I decided its better then brie now.

I got a microplane last year also, it is excellent for parm. The only problem was when you make a pot of pasta you are always washing the microplane, so if you have more then 1 person that will eat from a pot regularly till its gone, get a few microplanes. I like it freshly grated.

clean microplane + pasta = fresh cut
dirty microplane + pasta = use the grated stuff in a can

I mean, if you are actually excited about doing something and delayed eating by 4 hours.

Well, I just put my microplane clone under very hot water, dissolves the remaining cheese nearly immediately, then shake it dry, touch a bit with a towel and put the protection clip back on...

[coppercone2]

if its clean enough to put back on the shelf, I never had much luck without soap and brush

[nightfire]

I have this one: https://www.amazon.de/Winzbacher%C2%AE-Razor-Sharp-Stainless-Dishwasher-Safe-Protection/dp/B088ZTTTWY/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=3B5SH46Z18DJ3&keywords=reibe%2Bedelstahl%2Blaser&qid=1675599772&sprefix=reibe%2Bedelstahl%2Blaser%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

Works with hot water from the faucet, that comes out with some pressure- maybe the quality of  the cheese is also of concern, the Parmiggiano I get really dissolves fast.
Otherwise fill the sink with water and move if forcibly through, like a wet shaver in a puddle of water.

[nightfire]

Did this variation of a classsic cacio e pepe some time ago, here the first part of a parmiggiano is already molten an nicely coats the pasta, and some additional thin strands on top for additional flavor.
Did add some mushrooms and parsley to it to make it a bit more... chewy ;-)

Edit: PS: The pasta are Linguine from garofalo, bronze cut, so sauce sticks nicely to them and they release some starch to the pasta water which is a critical ingredient in the sauce.