300376 Mon Jun 06 22:07:58 -0700 2005 16 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1668931 What is your favorite cheese wrapped in leaves or rolled in herbs where the coting makes a difference in taste. I recently tried a goat cheese called O'Banon from Capriole that was wrapped in bourbon soaked chestnut leaves. I don't know if it was the bourbon or the leaves, but the cheese had a wonderful flavor. I don't think the leaves wraprinng the Spanish blue called Valdeon give any special flavor. The same for a local cheese call St Pat from Cowgirl Creamery which is wrapped in nettles. It looks pretty though. In England I once had Garlic Yarg which is wrapped in wild garlic and does mildly give the cheese a flavor of garlic. Fleur Vert is a nice goat cheese with herb/juimper berry coating that has the juniper flavor. Any others to look for? Mon Jun 06 22:07:58 -0700 2005 0 rworange 1 1668934 Have you ever had a ripe St. Pat? They hardly ever are but when they are, the nettle flavor is wonderful. Tue Jun 07 00:16:14 -0700 2005 1668931 0 JudiAU 2 1668936 How long to ripen St. Pat? How do you know it is ripe? In fact, how do you ripen it? Leave it out on the counter? Tue Jun 07 02:18:40 -0700 2005 1668934 0 rworange 3 1668944 Some cheeses will ripen in the refrigerator on there own but most won't. A home refriderator is too cold. To get a ripe a cheese you need to get it ripe, which means that your cheesemonger has receive it ripe or age it themselves. Cowgirl Creamery, at the Ferry Market Building, will select a ripe cheese from the back if you like. This is imperative with their Red Hawk. If it is ripe it is astonishing, it is not ripe it is just another tripe cream. Tue Jun 07 11:07:56 -0700 2005 1668936 0 JudiAU 1 1668937 Pecorino wrapped in walnut leaves. I do not remember the Italian name right now. It is very special. I have not had it for four years. Tue Jun 07 02:24:07 -0700 2005 1668931 0 wally 1 1668940 Having just returned from France, I am *in love* with the cheese called Banon -- the model for the domestic O'Banon, according to Saveur Magazine's recent American cheese issue. French Banon is wrapped in chestnut leaves which are soaked in Marc. The resulting earthiness is a taste all its own. Tue Jun 07 09:45:36 -0700 2005 1668931 0 yumyum 2 1668986 Hi YY! I love Banon too - haven't been recently to know what their current selection, but I buy the little wrapped bundles at Formaggio.. Wed Jun 08 12:42:35 -0700 2005 1668940 0 Rubee 3 1668990 Not that they will get kicked out of my bed, but they are pasteurized. Boo. The ones from the fromageries en France are lovely little live specimens. Mmmm. Wed Jun 08 15:08:07 -0700 2005 1668986 0 yumyum 4 1668991 Hmm..any smuggling? :) Wed Jun 08 15:38:00 -0700 2005 1668990 0 Rubee 1 1668946 Brin d'amour, the Corsican sheep milk cheese wrapped in herbs. When aged, the cheese gets hard and the taste of the herbs (usually rosemary, thyme, coriander and others) seeps into the cheese. Tue Jun 07 12:35:44 -0700 2005 1668931 0 sku 1 1668947 Manchego al Romero-sheeps milk Spanish cheese covered with rosemary. Tue Jun 07 12:40:34 -0700 2005 1668931 0 petradish 1 1668950 Rogue River Blue, wrapped in grape leaves and soaked in pear brandy, is outstanding - available only in late summer from the Rogue Creamery in (or maybe just outside of) Medford, Oregon. It was voted the best blue cheese in the world in 2003 at a competition in London. I don't necessarily put much stock in those types of competitions and their awards, but it's still a very tasty cheese. Tue Jun 07 14:20:39 -0700 2005 1668931 0 FlyFish 1 1668973 I'm a big fan of brescianella (from Lombardy), which can sometimes be found coated with pommace (the bits of grape leaves, stems etc... at the bottom of a tank after wine making) or herbs. Wed Jun 08 00:00:52 -0700 2005 1668931 0 Limster 1 1668974 You are all making me really hungry - forgot about Pecarino - yummm... However, don't do what I did & fall for the wildly expensive goat cheese with flowers pressed in it - very pretty, but absolutely no reason in the world for those flowers to be there other than to jack up the price 300%! - yuck. Wed Jun 08 02:14:46 -0700 2005 1668931 0 torta basilica 2 1668975 I hope you don't mean Harley Farms that is sold at Whole Foods. If that is the one, unfortunaltely this cheese suffers from retail sale. If you can get it fresh it is just outstanding and soooo beautiful. No taste from the flowers though. I don't think you are in the Bay Area, but the harley sells their cheese at the Half Moon Bay farmers market. It is just oustanding. Whenever I've bought it elsewhere, I agree, yuck. They should pay attention to how supermarkets handle their cheese. Wed Jun 08 02:30:15 -0700 2005 1668974 0 rworange 3 1668981 Whole Foods drives me nuts. They buy lovely cheese and then mihandle it. Wed Jun 08 11:15:25 -0700 2005 1668975 0 JudiAU 3 1669012 Actually, Gelson's & Bristol Farms - I'll check for the brand next time I'm there, but I'm sure it suffers from the same type of treatment. Although, in Bristol Farm's defense, I bought a buratta on the same day as the 'sell by' date, as that was the only one, and it was very good - even 3 days later. Whew! Thu Jun 09 14:45:39 -0700 2005 1668975 0 torta basilica