Went out for a cuppa today cause the rain wasn't stopping and popped into one of our local grocery stores. They had a huge display of cheeses and were handing out samples. I think if you asked me if I was I'd honestly have to say 'no' but there are some cheeses that I could eat all day with white extra old sharp Canadian cheddar being one of them. I quite like most cheeses and do prefer cheese with distinct strong tastes. I like cheese cold, with pickles and crackers and spicey meats. Anybody a cheese connoisseur?
@Islandlife I am with you there IL except for one thing. I think cheeses should be allowed to come up to room temperature to get the full flavour.
I'm not much of a cheese lover myself. I just like mild chedder cheese melted on toast. I rarely have any other type. My husband on the other hand eats all, and every, kind of cheese he can get his hands on and teeth into. Our 'fridge usually smells as though a year old pair of dirty socks is hiding in it He says they smell lovely and I say they make me feel
I am not a cheese fanatic. Can take it or leave it which is a good thing, because it's very calorie dense and I'm constantly watching my intake. I don't stir it into my eggs or put it on salads. Don't put it on spaghetti either, which makes me a bit of a freak, at least around these parts. I do like a bit of fresh parmesan sprinkled on my veggies in place of salt (I'll often eat just a plate of veggies for lunch.) When I occasionally have a hankering for a cheesy type snack, I want the gourmet types of cheeses...brie or camembert, usually with smoked oysters and wheat thins. When I indulge, I go whole hog!!
Love cheese! Aged sharp cheddar is one of my favorites, as well as smoked Gouda. Havarti is great, and I cook with the "lesser" cheeses like Swiss and Monterrey Jack from the grocery store. Around here anything other than pimento cheese spread is pretty exotic, so when we vacation I always seek out either a cheese shop or a grocery that looks promising. Edible souvenirs!
I like a good sharp cheddar but I REALLY LOVE Blue Cheese!!!!! Any type with the possible exception of Stilton, that is a little powerful for me. And there are so many I have not seen available here but Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Danish Blue so far are my favorite.
I should add I do like Parmesan cheese grated onto a Caesar salad (forgot about that one) but I'm also like Ronni in that I do not 'cook' cheese into my food. When I was staring at the cheese display looking at all the different varieties and the person behind the display was asking which was my favourite and how did I like to eat this one and that one and with what other food I was thinking to myself I like Sharp old cheddar cheese sliced cold OR grilled between two slices of bread but otherwise I have no sense of only eating this type of cheese with a sweet pickle whist eating that kind of cheese with an olive or another kids of cheese with salami & crackers etc. Was thinking I really wasn't a connoisseur.....so many cheeses and so little time to savour and appreciate them all.
Oh yes, Parmesan Reggiano sliced super thin on top of pasta or a green salad is about as close to heaven as I'll ever get! My favorite snack is Kalamata olives, thin slices of baguette, and a good hearty cheese. Who needs lunch?
Our only cheese shop is the local Wal-Mart so buying a good one is out of the question. They all come wrapped in tin foil. So I stick with aged sharp cheddar..good Kosher dills,,hard salami with peppercorns or something similar, and plain saltines. And add a good dark beer with that please. Oh,,,you mean I am not placing an order ? Darn !
Even though I make pickles I don't eat them, I have not had salami with or without peppercorns, but I do like plain saltines....but none of which I eat with cheese. Okay, I might use a Club Cracker for eating Brie but basically I just eat the cheese. Blue cheese I eat on burgers and salads, some baked potatoes and again just plain.
Aged,(stinky) extra sharp provolone, @ room temp. on slices of Granny Smith apples is my favorite. Bleu cheese on chilled celery stalks is another keeper.
Limburger on dark rye with an onion slice! It is an acquired taste. Blue cheese of any variety, on anything (well almost). Cheese curds, deep fried and dipped in Blue Cheese dressing. Aged Swiss on rye Triscuits and a good salty dill pickle. Smoked Gouda with a dense wheat bread and a good Pinot Noir. Provolone, Mozzarella, Ricotta, Parmesan, and Romano in stuffed shells. Thinly sliced apples spritzed with lemon juice and extra sharp white cheddar, use the apple slice instead of a cracker. Mozzarella sticks battered with Italian bread crumbs, herbs and spices, deep fried and then dipped in a good Marinara............well, you get the idea, I like me some cheese.
Hey there Island. We here in the Netherlands are big cheese-lovers, in fact my bride is what is known throughout this land as a "Kaaskop". Kaaskop literally means, "cheesehead", and Cheeseheads are people who were born or grew up in the city of Alkmaar. It still has the most famous cheesemarket in the country (more so than Gouda or Edam) and has a lively cheese market. In fact her father used to be a cheese carrier on that market square. During the summer months this market takes place on fridays and is an enormous draw for tourists. In fact, I believe that I have posted pics on here in the past.The thread that I wrote is called, "A Day Off", and it is a pictorial essay of a day out in Alkmaar. Perhaps you would find it interesting. Many folks have seen this already, but you probably haven not. The Link: http://www.gardenstew.com/threads/a-day-off.20038/#post-179758 I would not call myself a connoisseur, but we Dutch do know our local cheeses and some cheeses from other parts in Europe. In fact when I was younger, I used to work in a storage house in my town unloading cheeses from the truck, loading them into a hopper and then sending them up a small elevator (sort of like a dumb-waiter). The boss was not wild about me posing with tourists that would walk by, but we all did that from time to time. The cheese storing houses are all in the harbour area, so of course the tourists that would inevitably walk by were curious. They wanted to have a picture taken by the hopper holding cheeses, or with me. It was fun. Enjoy the link, and your cheeses.
Ten years I worked for KLM airlines back in the late 70's early 80's. Whenever someone was going across the pond everyone's hands were up to bring back cheese.
