The Cheese Board

[oddoneout]

Couldn't resist a breakfast contest: Le Rustique Camembert (3 days out of fridge since purchase, à gauche ) v Baron Bigod (bought yesterday and never in fridge, on right), both pasteurised:

Scores (on thin wholmeal toast): Camembert 6/10, Baron 9/10 (IMHO). A good Tunworth would be approx 8/10, though they tend to vary in ageing potential. Difficult to say whether the Baron is closer to Brie de Meaux or Camembert; estimate 40:60.

This picture has reminded me that due to childhood camping holidays in France I got used to eating brie and camembert before they got squishy. When we went into a village shop to buy ingredients for our picnic lunches the cheese would invariably be still at the crumbly stage(as demonstrated by the shopkeeper pushing a thumb in the top), presumably for us to 'ripen at home'. Without the means to store the cheese properly it would usually get eaten the same day. If a bit was leftover and started to get a bit lively my mother would have it. Her mother liked them when they were really far gone so, depending on which ferry we caught, we sometimes brought a runny(smelly!) one back for her.
I'm afraid I still prefer them at the crumbly or just very slightly beginning to soften stage...

[HighlandDougie]

was told freezing might affect the texture.

Having been presented by the lady who looks after/cleans the house in my absence with a1.8kg wedge of Beaufort in December just before returning to Scotland (made in the Tarentaise from the milk from the 140 cows belonging to the grandson of her "copain") , I cut it into more manageably-sized pieces which went into the freezer. Thawed out, the taste is unchanged but the texture of the cheese has been adversely affected by being frozen. It still eats very well - and makes great cheese sauce - but I wouldn't repeat the experiment.

[Roger Webb]

... I just want you to know that in the early 1990s your tax-payer's money paid for me to be present at various cultural goings-on in Normandy, and I had to spend a week driving between the towns and villages of Pont-l'Évêque, Livarot, and Camembert. And yes, cheeses were eaten (paid for by me, not you).

.

We live in hope that the present chancellor will spend our money as wisely......many of our trips to Normandy (and other destinations in France) were paid for by my wife's firm (a food packaging company)......we occasionally bought our own food on these trips!

[vinteuil]

I do, however, miss market shopping in France for things like cheese - we often stayed between Honfleur and Pont l'Éveque, and to buy from a stall is a revelation if one is used to supermarket shopping in this country. To be offered six or seven different Pont l'Éveques, all aux cru, and to be presented with a sliver of each on the end of a knife before your choice is made is real shopping!

... I just want you to know that in the early 1990s your tax-payer's money paid for me to be present at various cultural goings-on in Normandy, and I had to spend a week driving between the towns and villages of Pont-l'Évêque, Livarot, and Camembert. And yes, cheeses were eaten (paid for by me, not you).

.

[Keraulophone]

Couldn't resist a breakfast contest: Le Rustique Camembert (3 days out of fridge since purchase, à gauche ) v Baron Bigod (bought yesterday and never in fridge, on right), both pasteurised:

Scores (on thin wholmeal toast): Camembert 6/10, Baron 9/10 (IMHO). A good Tunworth would be approx 8/10, though they tend to vary in ageing potential. Difficult to say whether the Baron is closer to Brie de Meaux or Camembert; estimate 40:60.

[Roger Webb]

I imagine things could have have changed (here) since we left the EU but "Cheddar" (a small town in Somerset with prehistoric caves, m'lud)...........

And, according to the Tourist Board spiel 'Cheddar Gorgeous!'......

[french frank]

I suppose the cheesemakers of Somerset have little to complain about when they see New Zealand, Canadian, Australian and many more...including Finnish (!) Cheddar.

I imagine things could have have changed (here) since we left the EU but "Cheddar" (a small town in Somerset with prehistoric caves, m'lud) is not rated an AOP or DOP because 'cheddaring' is a method of manufacture and doesn't refer to the grass, terrain, climate, animals &c specific to the locality. I'm not a huge fan of adding cranberries, apricots, herbs or whatever because I like to choose what to have with my cheese on a daily basis. I can't think of having my hawthorn jelly with a sage-flavoured cheese, por ejemplo, so no jelly until that cheese is finished.

It's perfectly possible, obviously, to freeze cheese, though I went to one of our local cheesemongers and wanted to buy a Langres and an Affiné au Chablis (didn't know when I'd be able to go there again) and was told freezing might affect the texture. I ate the Langres and froze the Affiné au Chablis (they both come in near identical small wooden boxes); the texture of the Langres did seem creamier. But as I'd never had the A au C before I'm not sure what the texture is like anyway. Must repeat the experiment the other way round when the weather improves and I can get to the shop more easily.

[Pulcinella]

Worked for me, thank you, and an interesting read. On the freezing question, hard cheese such as cheddar can be grated and frozen(loose on a tray first then boxed or wrapped) and then used for cooking straight from the freezer. If it's frozen in the block it tends to be too crumbly to use easily once thawed.

That's certainly been my experience.

[oddoneout]

Not too sure how much of this article is shareable, but worth giving it a go to see if you agree.

https://www.thetimes.com/article/696...fb97b34c922a38

Worked for me, thank you, and an interesting read. On the freezing question, hard cheese such as cheddar can be grated and frozen(loose on a tray first then boxed or wrapped) and then used for cooking straight from the freezer. If it's frozen in the block it tends to be too crumbly to use easily once thawed.

[Pulcinella]

Not too sure how much of this article is shareable, but worth giving it a go to see if you agree.

https://www.thetimes.com/article/696f5295-990d-432c-8b0b-f523d0aa04b6?shareToken=f2721feb05c317d8fafb97b34c922a38

[cloughie]

We bought some Gouda with Pesto, a strong green colour and delicious. Afraid I don't know if it's Dutch or made in the UK, recommended either way.

Gouda with cumin is also very good!

[oddoneout]

We bought some Gouda with Pesto, a strong green colour and delicious. Afraid I don't know if it's Dutch or made in the UK, recommended either way.

That's a new one on me, but a quick search suggests that it is Dutch - and that there are other flavoured options as well, eg

https://dutchcheeseman.co.uk/collections/dutch-cheeses

[Roger Webb]

................... Somerset Brie being his then favourite.

I suppose the cheesemakers of Somerset have little to complain about when they see New Zealand, Canadian, Australian and many more...including Finnish (!) Cheddar. When we lived in your city, in the southern part (Southville) we were well placed to visit the centre of manufacture of the real thing, and often came back with a small truckle of Cheddar's finest. Not that it wasn't available...along with a great selection from home and abroad at a stall in St Nicholas Market, did you ever visit it?

[oddoneout]

I'm sure that's so. It's just my tendency to purism that wishes they didn't make 'British versions' of cheeses. But - on the shoulders of giants! (Erm, Lymeswold, anyone?) I remember Jeremy Corbyn - a vegetarian - saying he would be a vegan except for the fact that he couldn't give up cheese - Somerset Brie being his then favourite. But a New KId in a Block doesn't have quite the allure of a cheese with a renowned history, a Thing. And 'Brie' which isn't from ... Brie?

I didn't think a lot of Tesco's Finest Smoked Scamorza Mozarella tonight. I'm looking forward to Sunday breakfast with Gómez Moreno Manchego, black pepper Fuet and dressed olives, with fresh baguette.

I had a smoked scamorza last year courtesy of Lidl reductions after a 'Taste of Italy' promotion; it was OK mixed up with a lot of vegetables in a warm salad or added to pasta with plenty of homemade tomato sauce. Months later I tried the unsmoked version. Let's just say that the birds ate well that week and I was glad it was a 50% reduction...
Re British Brie and the like perhaps regard it as the food equivalent of 'music in the Baroque, Classical etc style'? That's how the makers describe it after all, as they are using the same methods, but the results are influenced by local factors. I'm not averse to trying a homegrown (New Kid on the block) version of something I already enjoy either - and not just cheese.
I had to smile at the Corbyn comment about not giving up cheese as that was the subject of a brief discussion in front of one of the Aldi cheese chillers when I was looking for another pack of Beacon Blue, all being in agreement that cutting down was one thing, but cutting out wasn't going to happen.

[Keraulophone]

black pepper Fuet and dressed olives, with fresh baguette.

That slim salami was a pleasant discovery in Tesco. Do give the Baron Bigod a go. Try not to think of it as a copy of anything but as a gift to our British cheeseboards. The only thing I don't like about it is the name.
Half of it's gone already.