405314 Fri May 25 21:27:32 -0700 2007 5 8 Midwest 0 2603554 Disclaimer: I do not make cheese. I am not a cheese expert. I do like eating cheese, almost as much as Wallace. Ok, maybe more. I've read that one of the problems with proper cheese in the USA is that our retailers are generally forced by health regulations to wrap it in airtight plastic wrap. Cheese is a living product of fermentation and requires oxygen to stay alive. So the plastic kills it. The antidote is at the St. Paul farmer's market most Saturday's. The Trade Lake sheep cheese woman brings her product in loose wax paper wrapping so it's not dead and decaying. It's not cheap, she charges $10 per chunk. But it's good. For best results, always let cheese warm up to close to room temp. Otherwise, the cheese lady at the market says "you're wasting your money." Fri May 25 21:27:32 -0700 2007 27956 JimGrinsfelder 1 2603740 I don't think I've been to the St. Paul Farmers Market yet this season. I will have to go this weekend and look for the cheese lady. ~TDQ Sat May 26 00:10:57 -0700 2007 2603554 12005 The Dairy Queen 1 2604121 Max Mccalman's The Cheese Plate opened my eyes to this "oh duh" information several years ago and I have had far better cheese ever since: http://www.amazon.com/Cheese-Plate-Max-Mccalman/dp/0609604961 In Europe we've seen special tupperware containers for cheese that allow it to breath but keep out (or attempt to) fridge odors. I've not seen the device in the US yet, though next time we're over there we're bringing some back. Surdyk's will wrap any cheese in paper you request and it feels like they've been wrapping more and more cheese in this manner without request over the past year (just warming the market up to the idea I suppose). Sat May 26 08:51:37 -0700 2007 2603554 59069 Foureyes137 2 2604135 I shop at Surdyk's a lot, and the only cheese that I buy that gets handed to me in plastic is my grated parm. I never request paper, but that's all I've been handed for I don't know how long, now. They store most cheeses wrapped in plastic, though, until you buy your chunk off the block. I don't know if there is a way around that or not. If I could only get them to re-stock their ricotta salata. Does the cheese lady at the STP Farmers Market carry it? If so, I will definately take a trip across the river for that. Sat May 26 08:58:28 -0700 2007 2604121 88555 pgokey 3 2610579 My biggest gripe with the shrink-wrap used by so many places for cheese is that it leaves a plasticky flavor on the cheese that I have paid big bucks for. This is unpleasant as well as unhealthy. Lund's seems to use a less sticky, less reactive wrap that is closer to cellophane, that doesn't seem to leave a plastic taste on the cheese. I buy old-style glass refrigerator dishes at either antique stores or the newer variety at the Wedge and keep my cheese in those- they breathe more than the Tupperware does. Tue May 29 11:33:29 -0700 2007 2604135 11890 faith 2 2613229 In the Netherlands they have special paper bags to keep cheese in. And in France they are usually wrapped in a special lined paper. I'll be in Paris later this week. I'm going to look for those tupper-like cheese containers. Wed May 30 08:46:19 -0700 2007 2604121 13136 Loren3