Looking for interesting cheeses to try

[northwest9999]

I am an admitted cheeseaholic. I have tried various cheddars (from Australia, Ireland, UK, as well as cheddars from Vermont, Wisconsin and Oregon), swiss, emmenthaler (sp.), harvarti, jarlsberg, etc. Last week I bought some gjetost from Dean & Deluca....he recommended eating it with an apple (which turned out to be fantastic!) I also love this stilton with mango and ginger that they had.....may have been a gimmick but it was delicious. I also am addicted to Trader Joe's Wild Blueberry and Vanilla Chevre goat cheese. I would love more suggestions of cheese to try. What are some of your favorites? (And forgive my possible misspellings of some of the cheeses I mentioned).

[goodhealthgourmet]

Beemster aged goat gouda is terrific stuff for snacking. and halloumi & kefalotyri would be great ways to expand your exposure to Greek cheese beyond the standard feta.

some more unusual options:
- Boulette D'Avesnes.
- Fleur du Maquis
- Windsor Red
- Caboc
- Kugelkase

[othervoice]

We do alot of different cheeses around here, but one I've found that even the kids love is Havarti with dill. I've never been a dill fan but this is delicious. Most supermarket's have it.

[Yank]

I find it interesting that almost nobody has mentioned some of the more famous soft cheeses.

No brie,or any of the chevre.My personal favorite happens to be St Felecian.

Also, you might want to try Blue de Auvern or Blue de causses as an alternate to Roquefort.

Many people swear by eposses.

[circustance]

I've recently become obsessed with Cotswold cheese from England, which is just Double Gloucester with scallions and chives mixed in. Probably good with anything but amazing just by itself (or on crackers).

[Michelly]

A wonderfully creamy, slightly tangy cheese called Delice de Bourgigne is sometimes available at Trader Joe's, and more often at Bristol Farms (if you have one in your area) for slightly more.

[GH1618]

You're in the PNW? Have you heard of Two-Faced Blue:

http://www.culturecheesemag.com/two-f...

[TeeBeeinSD]

Gruyere. The basis of fondue, and lovely on its own.

[MrsCris]

I would like to recommend my favourite piave vecchio. It's a hard, aged Italian with lots of crystallization and a rich taste. Excellent with dried strawberries and green grapes and a nice shiraz.

[smaki]

Always in my fridge:

Pecarino Romano. A goats milk cheese. Surprised to see so many Italians grab instead of Parmigiano-Reggiano at times. Ate grated on top of spaghetti and in / on side Ceasar salad with home made dressing for lunch. I eat often with in and on everything. This hard cheese can also be sliced thin then used like a less expensive cheddar below to make an every day meal special. I buy at my local TJs for $6.49 a pound.

In my regular rotation:

Society Roquefort Blue Cheese. I buy from TJs as often best price. Has unique greenish colored mold. Has to be from a very specific region in France to be called Roquefort. This is from the right region. Aged in limestone caves. Tasty if whip into whipped cream cheese (like on celery, burgers, pear, apples, as a dip, spread, thinned with butter milk to be salad dressing, and ... ).

Tillamook blue-plastic-wrapped white medium (recently $4.99 for two pounds on sale at Albertsons). Use for things like soft tacos, omelets, sandwiches, and home made pizza.

Feta cheese sauce with Daisy sour cream and fresh lemon juice that is tasty in and on things. Great dip.

Philadelphia cooking cream - Italian cheese and herb flavor. Favorite way to use is with cooked chicken, shrimp, or beef chunks (not over cooked as all can become tough). Frozen stir fry vegetables that have water chestnuts steamed 8 minutes. Over thin spaghetti noodles cooked 8 minutes in boiling water coated in olive oil after. Topped with grated Pecorino Romano.

Parmigiano-Reggiano. While often when eat usually conclude like Pecorino Romano with no 'rind' better and lower TJs price is a far better value to me. While have to have a chunk of the "king of cheese" once in a while to know.

Dabble in many others. Do love while limit cheese intake because is fat. Moderation is key.

[caviar_and_chitlins]

Hi smaki- just a quick note- pecorino romano is a sheep's milk cheese, not a goat's milk. The word "Pecora" means sheep in italian.

cheese on!

[smaki]

caviar_and_chitlins. You rock. Thank you very much. I stand corrected and now know.

[thegforceny]

Being that you are a complete stranger, whose taste I know ZERO about, and you of mine. Nor do I know where you live and what would be available.

Rather than listing MY favorites, how about you look at these two very good sites for some ideas?

http://www.artisanalcheese.com/cheese/

http://www.murrayscheese.com/cheese_m...

[northwest9999]

Thanks for the websites. I live in the Kansas City area and there are a couple of gourmet cheese stores here as well as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Dean & Deluca. But sometimes the choices can be overwhelming, thus the requests for other peoples favorites.

[DonShirer]

There are too many great cheeses out there to list, so I'll confine myself to just a few. You like cheddar, so you might like aged Gouda from the Netherlands. Beemster makes several varieties. Since you like goat cheese, have you tried Humboldt Fog from California? Since you like swiss cheeses, you might try Hirtenkase from the Alpine region of Germany. Vermont Shepherd Sheep Milk Cheese, Rupert, and Bayley Hazen Blue are three interesting cheeses of this dairy state.
Try searching this site for other cheese-related threads. There have been quite a few good ones.

[northwest9999]

Thanks for all the info.....I will check out some of those cheeses as well as the other boards.

[master815k]

I ran across this cheese at my local cheese shop. Prima Donna. It was like a parmesan, gouda mix. I almost ate the whole block myself. YUMMM!

[northwest9999]

Sounds great!

[Steve Green]

Unie Kaas makes Parrano, which sounds like the Prima Donna mentioned above, sort of a parmesan/gouda mix. Great stuff, but even better is their Robusto, an older version of the same thing. Either are great by themselves, with apples, or on grilled cheese sandwiches.

I'll echo smaki and say that for blue, it's hard to beat Societe, especially when you can get it for $10/lb at Trader Joes, rather than $28/lb at Whole Paycheck. Pick a piece that has lots of blue veining, as that's where the flavor is.

While you're at TJ, try out their English cheddar with caramelized onions. Also, at TJ, Michelly is right about the Delice DeBourguignon -- it's a wonderful, very rich triple-cream.

For cheddar, my vote is for the 4-year Black Diamond, if you can find it (Sam's Club, if you go there).

As an aside, we really like cold Martinelli's sparkling apple juice as a complement to our room-temp cheese.

[Bacardi1]

Although I do enjoy most of the cheeses you mention, for the most part I'm not a fan of cheeses that incorporate fruit. Based on what you've said you like, have you ever tried "Gourmandise"? It's a rich creamy cheese sold by the wheel or more frequently by the wedge that comes in two flavors - walnut & kirsch (cherry). Both are very good.

[northwest9999]

Never tried Gourmandise, but I will put that on my list

[escondido123]

I too am not a fan of cheese that incorporate fruit, or much of anything else. If I were you I'd go to either Dean & DeLuca or Whole Foods and ask the cheesemonger to put together a group of cheeses for a "beginner" like you. That could lead to either a selection of very different cheeses or a variety within a certain kind of cheese such as goat, blue etc. Have a few folks over and have your own tasting.

[gordeaux]

I'm not a huge cheese person, but I swear, Cowgirl Creamery's Mt Tam is like crack.

[northwest9999]

Good to know. Thanks!