The Cheese Board

[vinteuil]

I'm with Alain Maréchal on this (btw, where are you, AM?) Was it Blaise Pascal who wrote: "All of humanity's troubles stem from one sole thing: man's insistence on getting everything done as quickly as possible and moving on to something else: labour saving devices, instant solutions... Jeez, slow down, will ya?"

The saddest part of the story is that later in life Elizabeth David just got bored with food, as far as her own life was concerned. Apparently lived on rich tea biscuits and nescaff. Something similar happened to Keith Floyd. Perhaps understandable : an extreme case of burn-out.

[Roger Webb]

The saddest part of the story is that later in life Elizabeth David just got bored with food, as far as her own life was concerned. Apparently lived on rich tea biscuits and nescaff. Something similar happened to Keith Floyd. Perhaps understandable : an extreme case of burn-out.

Where did you read about E D getting bored with food? She visited Bristol in 'later life' to receive a Hon. Doc. from Bristol University in 1988, and booked into the finest restaurant in the city (and my favourite), Markwick's....Judy Markwick who ran front-of-house told me Stephen had never been so nervous - his treasured possession was a letter from E D saying how much she had enjoyed the visit and praising the food (she made a return visit, so can't have been that bored!). This was especially important to Stephen as he had trained in the line of great anglo/french cooking started at the Hole in the Wall in Bath by George Perry-Smith (Floyd likewise), the tradition going back to E D who, all that came later, revered...Joyce Moulyneux at the Carved Angel, Dartmouth - with whom Stephen worked, for example, now held in high regard as an important link with Elizabeth David.....Simon Hopkinson.......Shaun Hill....John Burton Race...

This is my style of cooking and back then (I could afford it in those days!) I incorporated dining at one of the chefs' restaurants in this line as often as I could.

[HighlandDougie]

Oh dear. Serves me right for (one of) my cardinal sin(s) of being flippant. Who would have thought that instant coffee would arouse such views. I don't often these days make cakes/desserts based on coffee but have to admit to beefing up properly made espresso with a spoonful or six out of a tin of something like Nescafé Azera should coffee in liquid form be needed. Elizabeth David wasn't entirely misguided in her recommendations on a coffee cake.

[french frank]

Having finished the Roquefort I only had Ossau-Iraty and the Somerset Cheddar, aged in Wookey 'Ole, so I thought I'd do a taste comparison at lunchtime. Cheddar won on the pong and had a somewhat stronger taste. The Ossau-Iraty (ewe's milk) is paler, has a more delicate taste and is definitely no more than semi-hard, whereas the Cheddar (cow's milk) was hard and slightly crumbly. They both self-describe as 'nutty' in taste, but though I have three types of nut (almond, walnut, hazelnut) in my muesli, all with very different tastes, I couldn't detect a specific nuttiness in either cheese.

Curiously, the Cheddar, or cheddar, has a label with two circular 'badges': one says 'Designated Origin UK Protected' and the other 'Protected Designation of Origin. But it doesn't say what designation is protected. Cheddar? Protected from what? Other places, like Canada and New Zealand, from making 'Cheddar'? It also says 'Produced in the UK using milk from the UK'. So not necessarily local milk? But since Europe doesn't recognise 'cheddar' as an AOP/DOP I suppose we have to do our own thing, and have our PDOs and DOUKPs.

All that said, the Cheddar was very good, though the Co-op Côtes du Rhône didn't do either any favours. I'm inclined to try a white with the Ossau-Iraty (and the Butcombe for the Cheddar).

[Roger Webb]

...................the Cheddar (cow's milk) was hard and slightly crumbly....................... I'm inclined to try............. Butcombe for the Cheddar.....

My ideal Cheddar is crumbly, and a mature one should make the tongue itch slightly!............I said elsewhere that Butcombe was, along with Smiles my favourite local (Bristol) beer - Smiles is no more (a victim of it's own expansion really - I knew some of the original guys who worked at the brewery)...the name was still around a while back, and brewing it at Burton on Trent was tried to no avail! Butcombe I remember as a start-up, hard to imagine that Simon Whitmore was managing director of Courage Brewery before that. I used to visit people who lived in Butcombe Manor near the original sight of the brewery...all very hippyish at the time! Butcombe moved a little while ago to premises at Wrington, and I've just about lost touch with everyone from that period.....we had some pretty crazy times back then!

[french frank]

My ideal Cheddar is crumbly, and a mature one should make the tongue itch slightly!............I said elsewhere that Butcombe was, along with Smiles my favourite local (Bristol) beer [ ... ]Butcombe I remember as a start-up, hard to imagine that Simon Whitmore was managing director of Courage Brewery before that. I used to visit people who lived in Butcombe Manor near the original sight of the brewery...all very hippyish at the time! Butcombe moved a little while ago to premises at Wrington [... ]

My 'inclined to try' referred to a white wine with the Ossau-Iraty: Butcombe with Cheddar has been tried, tested and not found wanting. I'm not at all a CAMRA buff, but also have a partiality for Wadworth's 6X, though it doesn't have the geographical allure of Butcombe. I wonder if m. vinteuil approves of that one?

[vinteuil]

I ... have a partiality for Wadworth's 6X / ... / I wonder if m. vinteuil approves of that one?

... as a Devizes boy born and bred - how can I not??

[Roger Webb]

My 'inclined to try' referred to a white wine with the Ossau-Iraty: Butcombe with Cheddar has been tried, tested and not found wanting. I'm not at all a CAMRA buff, but also have a partiality for Wadworth's 6X, though it doesn't have the geographical allure of Butcombe. I wonder if m. vinteuil approves of that one?

I'm with you re. geographical integrity with many items incl. beer, and always look forward to trying local beers wherever I travel. My favourites, largely because I go to those places once a year each, are when in Suffolk it has to be Adnams...when in Sussex, Harveys of Lewes.

In the past I travelled to many parts of the country by narrowboat and always looked forward to sniffing out local beers....I'm not a CAMRA member either, but recognise the important work they have done - the movement started in the West Country after all!

Wadworth's 6x was one of the 'real ales' (before they were called that) one could find in the West Country before the revolution in beer making, otherwise it was, Courage Director's or Theakston's Old Peculiar (non geographical!).

If you like Butcombe, try and find Hook Norton 'Old Hooky' (almost local for you).

[Roger Webb]

... as a Devizes boy born and bred - how can I not??

We always rewarded ourselves with a pint in Devizes after tackling the Caen Hill flight. I didn't know you came from Devizes...very much like the town, and looked forward to seeing and hearing the 'dray' from Wadworth's.

The lock free section of the K and A east of the town is one of the most magical sections of any canal in Britain.

[oddoneout]

In the past I travelled to many parts of the country by narrowboat and always looked forward to sniffing out local beers....I'm not a CAMRA member either, but recognise the important work they have done - the movement started in the West Country after all!
If you like Butcombe, try and find Hook Norton 'Old Hooky' (almost local for you).

I see their Brewers Choice Range includes Lock Steady and Grand Union...

[Roger Webb]

I see their Brewers Choice Range includes Lock Steady and Grand Union...

Another designed to appeal to those eternally worried about their engines (most narrowboat owners) 'Piston Broke'!

[Alain Maréchal]

I'm with Alain Maréchal on this (btw, where are you, AM?) Was it Blaise Pascal who wrote: "All of humanity's troubles stem from one sole thing: man's insistence on getting everything done as quickly as possible and moving on to something else: labour saving devices, instant solutions... Jeez, slow down, will ya?"

Kind of you to notice my seeming absence, ff, but I continue to read the boards, usually without logging on. Since a certain political event my interest in the U.K. has dwindled, something the BBC has done, and is doing, nothing to discourage. I take the Trappist line, and only speak if there is something important, urgent, or interesting to communicate (I have always feared becoming like Miss Bates).

To keep this thread on track I offer a recent discovery: Gris du Périgord, but I am afraid that to my debased taste it is just another of those cheeses which resemble Coulommiers. C. de G. was correct about French cheese and politics. I am happy to be corrected, but it will never displace Fourme d'Ambert on my plate. Another horror - with cheese I usually drink whatever has been opened and remains on the table.

[oddoneout]

Another designed to appeal to those eternally worried about their engines (most narrowboat owners) 'Piston Broke'!

The result presumably of drowning your sorrows after a hefty repair bill?

[french frank]

To keep this thread on track I offer a recent discovery: Gris du Périgord, but I am afraid that to my debased taste it is just another of those cheeses which resemble Coulommiers. C. de G. was correct about French cheese and politics. I am happy to be corrected, but it will never displace Fourme d'Ambert on my plate. Another horror - with cheese I usually drink whatever has been opened and remains on the table.

Nice try, AM Quite agree about Fourme d'Ambert but I now have a bus ride or a 30-min walk to find somewhere to buy it round here. Must admit that there is a certain satisfaction in matching boisson with food, but I do mix the grapes in the same meal. But not grape and hop.