BS: Cheese

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: EBarnacle
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 12:40 PM

As both Lady Hillary and I are lactose intolerant, we mostly eat aged [spoken properly in two syllables--a ged] cheeses. Our current favorite is Manchego sheep's, not the cows', cheese. When I played in Richard III, I made it a point to supply the cast with a good double Gloucester in his honor.
Drifting slightly, we make our own skyr as a spread to go with lox--heavenly. We use commercial skyr as a starter for the yogurt/skyr.
I have found that the heretical use of matzoh goes well vice Carr's wafer. Same product, different presenation.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 01:07 PM

Want to hear my cheese jokes?

No?

Hard luck...

What cheese to you use to lure a grizzly?

Camembert

How do you smuggle cheese out of Wales?

Caerphilly

What cheese can you disguise a horse with?

Mascarpone


Mwahahaha

:D tG

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Senoufou
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 01:18 PM

It's interesting how certain ethnicities and populations are lactose intolerant. In addition to East Asians and the Chinese, large numbers of Africans cannot digest milk or milk products. Yet Fulani, Masai and Tuareg among others have herded cows for millennia and milk/cheese are the mainstay of their diet.
My husband had serious calcium deficiency when I met him, with soft, fragile bones, loose teeth and the beginnings of rickets. Luckily, he tolerates milk well, and I stuffed cheese down him until it was coming out of his ears!
His tribe, the Senoufou, became herders in Northern Ivory Coast, but many of them cannot tolerate milk. After several years in UK he has grown 5cm taller and is as strong as an ox. He had X-rays and treatment for his spongy bones, and thankfully is now in very good shape.
I rather think we were meant to meet; a calcium-deficient man and a cheese-aholic!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 01:41 PM

I was raised on a provincial west country factory council estate..
some things are still deeply culturally embedded in my psyche....

Branston Pickle.. there.. said it..

No apologies for my lack of epicurean culinary sophistication..

Strong tangy mature cheddar and Branston sandwiches, and a tin of Heinz tomato soup... yeah...!!!!! 😎


[of course the bread does have to be wholemeal these days.. a nod to higher education and the influence of middle class girlfriends of past decades..]

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 01:42 PM

I doubt whether there's enough lactose left in any cheese to annoy the lactose-intolerant. As you say, aged cheeses are even safer, but I'd be brave and try a bit of everything!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Senoufou
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 01:58 PM

Oooh I love Branston Pickle!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 02:14 PM

..even though I'm from such a 'primitive' background, I must give a shout of respect to my Nan's home made pickled onions..
my mum's were almost as good..

not tasted such a fine pickled onion since the 1970s..

Any onion bought in a jar is a pale imitation of the pickled onions I was raised on...

In my 30s I was an accomplished photographic / darkroom technician..

I knew my chemicals and how to prepare them..

At home I had all the requisite equipment, I had the transferrable skills..
so why not apply them, and make my own pickled onions ready for xmas.

It was pre internet, so I found a vintage recipe from somewhere [wish I could remember..???]
and stayed up all night brewing and jarring the onions..

Many weeks later, I was amazed and how good a job I'd done..
They were nearly the same as my childhood onions..

But I rested on that accomplishment, for whatever reasons or personality failings, never to be repeated again...


Bugger.. I fancy a good strong dark pickled onion.....🤔

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Senoufou
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 02:38 PM

That's interesting Steve about there not being much lactose in cheese.
At least it's full of calcium, which was the main issue.
He does adore that ghastly evaporated milk in his tea (grooo) and pours gallons of cream over his rhubarb crumble, so I'm pretty sure he can tolerate lactose.

Ooooh, pickled onions. As Girl Guides we always bought sixpenn'orth of chips on the way home, and a penny pickled onion. Sheer bliss...

Oh this thread is tormenting me something shocking! (drools...)

And I did like those cheese jokes!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 02:58 PM

..right.. given it was about 25 years ago, and my memory is perishing and withering..

I have vague recollection that the recipe called for the vinegar and spices concoction to be heated up, or even boiled..
and that our entire home reeked for days afterwards..

If that's not a false memory, then I was probably not allowed to ever make my own pickles at home again...???? 😞

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 05:10 PM

Mrs Gnome makes a fine pickled onion and occasionally turns the skill to pickled eggs as well. Dark brown and tasty. I would send you some if we had any left over PFR. And if it was allowed to send dangerous substances by post.

:D tG

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: ranger1
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 06:28 PM

American "cheese" is not really cheese. The American Dairy Council refers to it as "cheese food product".

I love cheese. Cheddar, gouda, brie (mmm, brie!), mozzarella, Jarlsberg, parmesan, ricotta, paneer. Its all good. Not so fond of the moldy ones, though.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 06:47 PM

And what of parmigiano reggiano! I love Italian grub and I always keep a good stock of parmesan. I haven't got enough money to try all the different ones but I've settled for M&S parmesan, from the Canossa dairy which is 2000 feet above sea level. It's slightly softer than most parmesan and has a touch of sweetness. I love it!

What is utterly wrong is the dismal tub of ready-grated parmesan. This cheese should be grated fresh over whatever dish requires it. As a matter of fact, I wasn't happy with my old grater so I've just invested in a Microplane fine grater that is a pleasure to use. I know a chap in Bude who rarely used parmesan but who had owned the same tub of the grated abomination for ELEVEN YEARS!!! He told me that it still tasted fine. NO IT DIDN'T!!!

I was in Siracusa in Sicily in September and I found a shop that sold ricotta salata dead cheap in vacuum packs. Three of them now reside in me fridge. It's quite a hard cheese, eminently grateable, very salty and tangy, that is the only cheese to have with Pasta Alla Norma, the one with aubergines, tomatoes, garlic and basil (no onions for chrissake!). I'm currently looking for other ways to use it. It's very hard to find in the UK.

I use parmesan in omelettes, for making several varieties of pesto, in risottos and on several pasta dishes (though never with fish). The rinds always go into tomato sauces or ragus. But I also eat it secretly once Mrs Steve has gone to bed. A finger or two of parmesan just before bed gives you sweet dreams!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Nov 16 - 11:18 PM

Today we were in the midst of preparing Thanksgiving dinner and needing a little mid-afternoon pick-me-up. I pulled out a roll of Trader Joe's fresh mozzarella and a bowl of my ripe home-grown tomatoes (all picked last weekend before our first frost). My daughter set up a plate of alternating thick wedges of tomatoes and robust slices of the soft cheese, all drizzled over with a good Balsamic vinegar and virgin olive oil. What an amazing combination. I wish I hadn't put all of the basil in the freezer, a leaf of that between tomato and cheese and we'd have all died and gone to heaven.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 04:24 AM

slight thread drift for UK catters - on the weekend I bought a jar of Pan Yan pickle from a 90 year old English-born jam-maker. She & her son raved about it & as I don't like jam but do like pickles I bought it & looked it up on google when I got home.

I hadn't realised it was a lost product (taken off the market some years back & the only recipe lost in a fire, so eventually reconstructed by fans after a jar with label was found in a shed!) & a wonderful memory to many people.

I've just tried a bit from the jar & it's sweeter than I thought it would be (DUH! pickle is not pickles!) & will make a delicious finish to my dinner with a spot of cheese. Maybe my Ash Brie, or my yummy Iberica cow, sheep & goat cheese ...

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 06:04 AM

Up here, it's more likely to be oatcakes with your cheese:yummy!
Nice crunchy extra mature cheddar from Aldi which is my husband's favourite.
I like blue cheeses too, Stilton, Shropshire Blue, St Agur, Gorgonzola, Dolcelatte piccante, Strathdon Blue, even the concocted Cambozola.
As wax-covered truckles go, the Arran cheeses range, about 8 different varietes, are all nice.
And for other hard continentals' yes Comte is great, closely followed by Gruyere.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 06:23 AM

That is almost an insalata caprese, Acme. The original doesn't have balsamic vinegar, but that is an interesting idea. I suppose you had to make up for the lack of basil! Don't you yanks keep a pot of it on your windowsills? I have three varieties of extra virgin olive oil but only the very best goes on my salads, an expensive Tuscan one from M&S in my case (the bottle lasts a long time). I find that just a tiny pinch of salt adds a nice touch of savour to such dishes as the mozzarella isn't salty. Try adding slices of avocado to make a tricolore salad (the three colours of the Italian flag). It does cry out for basil! If you eat enough of that, you don't need much else!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 09:27 AM

I make a five-fruit chutney that goes beautifully with old Cheddar in a cheese sandwich. The bread does have to be home-made whole wheat for the full effect ... I realize that I'm in serious danger of becoming a food snob. Tant pis.

Next year, Himself retires from the Canadian Army and we're leaving Ottawa for Stratford, the seat of Perth County in southwestern Ontario. I've lived in Ottawa for three-quarters of my life, but the thing that bothers me most about moving -- apart from whole stressful moving house thing -- is finding a decent Italian grocery that sells Parmigiano Reggiano at a price I can accept. And buffalo mozzarella! Insalata caprese is one of life's finest things, in my admittedly arrogant opinion.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 09:49 AM

Admittedly, the buffalo goes well in caprese, but so does good old Galbani ordinaire!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Raggytash
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 10:43 AM

If you can get hold of Lincolnshire Poacher do so, it is a superb cheese. Poachers Imp is a matured version of the same. Both are strong cheese,s which I would not hestitate to recommend.

My last lot of homemade Blue Stilton was, even though I say it myself, sublime. It's a lot of work to make cheese at home but with one exception has been very good.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Raggytash
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 10:50 AM

I recall I once had a German cheese, I think from Bavaria which was named Weisslacker (check spelling) The aroma was bloody awful but the taste was simply heavenly.

The stench of the cheese, kept in the cellar, permiated every room in our large four storey house. After one night it was hung outside the back door.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Senoufou
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 11:59 AM

My father used to sing a funny song when we were small:

"You put it on the table when the dinner party comes.
You put it on the table and it eats up all the crumbs.
Gorgonzola! Gorgonzola!
Three cheers for the green white and blue!"

He said it was referring to the fact that Gorgonzola cheese is full of maggots (not true, but we believed him at the time.)

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Senoufou
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 12:04 PM

Good heavens, I've just found the song on Youtube, sung by 'Henry Hudson's Melody Men'!! 'Gorgonzola Song'.
Feel a bit choked up listening to it.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 12:52 PM

I had a small hedge of basil in my garden, but it went with the freeze; I harvested much of it the night before, and put it in the freezer. I rearranged my sunroom plants recently, so perhaps I could coax a basil to grow in there over the winter.

I have one variety of EV olive oil, I shop at a Middle Eastern Halal market near where I work - they serve the region with a lot of their offerings so everything is fresh. I buy a 3-liter bottle of usually Lebanese EV Olive Oil at a time - decanting some into a pour-spout bottle near the sink, keeping the rest in a dark cool area in my pantry shelves. I use it for many things so go through a couple of bottles a year.

I was shopping before the big holiday and watched a couple of people pick up bricks of Velveta - probably unlike any cheese food you've ever tasted, unless you have a quirky American section in your grocery store and had a curious death wish and tried it. Cheese Whiz is another one of those food product things that is almost indescribable.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: EBarnacle
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 03:29 PM

Steve, I wish you were correct about lactose intolerance but you are not. Cheese has to be aged or otherwise treated [smoked, for example] to allow the lactose to be gone. My life has changed significantly since I have learned which cheeses will make life unpleasant for me. Yogurt acts as a probiotic if it has active cultures to digest the lactose for me. It has become a relatively minor affliction for me.

Lady Hillary's form of intolerance is more of an allergy to unaged cheeses. We are both still experimenting to find out what to enjoy and what to avoid and will probably do so for the rest of our lives. For some reason, a good brie is safe for me.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Senoufou
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 03:33 PM

Anyone tried those 'cheese strings' for children? They sound like an abomination, but perhaps I'm wrong!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Donuel
Date: 25 Nov 16 - 03:47 PM

-Know your Victim !-

Wrap a cheese, ideally Cheddar, in aluminum foil and plastic bag.
A dead old cellphone is optional for the plastic bag.

Give it to a select person going to the airport.
Upon scanning the cheese will appear as C-4

Hilarity or tragedy will ensue.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 05:10 AM

Back in the early 80s we developed a taste for Reblochon while on holiday in Savoie (had never seen it in the UK then, tho' you can get it now.) We brought a whole cheese back by train from Chamonix, all the way back to Devon. Rather smelly journey!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 05:54 AM

On holiday in the Picos de Europa in northern Spain in the late 90s we discovered some delicious local cheeses that came in small rounds, and every day at lunchtime we scoffed one with a big hunk of fresh crusty bread. We were so taken with 'em that we brought a load back home to give to everyone. But when we tried the one we'd kept for ourselves it was terrible. We heard nothing from anyone else we'd given one to! Talk about not travelling well...

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Mr Red
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 06:47 AM

Dare I introduce a note of musicality eg:

For cheese a jolly good fellow
& the one that goes
The bries and I



I'll get my coat.............

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Senoufou
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 06:51 AM

Hahahaha Mr Red!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 09:57 AM

we were 2 or 3 bands packed in the back of a mini bus touring central Europe..

I've long forgotten the joke a bass player told that cracked us all up in hysterics for several kilometres of dreary motorway..

.. but the punchline was "Cheeses of Nazareth..."....

The bottles of potent Czech home distilled spirits given to us by friendly locals might have helped the telling and reception of that cheesey joke.. 🙄

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 10:27 AM

Lincolnshire Poacher is another cheddar I've tried, but to me it ain't Wookey Hole! Every now and again I accidentally find a good Stilton, but more often I'm disappointed. The bog-standard Tesco one with the Union Jack on the wrapper used to be very good but I haven't tried it recently. You just never know with Stilton. Tried the much-vaunted Cropwell Bishop last week. I could appreciate the flavour, but the texture...it was like chewing a mouthful of clay. I find the Blacksticks blue cheeses too dry as well. Cornish Blue, made up on Bodmin Moor at Minions, is a lovely cheese, softer and milder than Stilton but beautifully balanced. Great with beer!   Cashel Blue from Ireland is very nice, but the best bit of it I ever had I bought loose off the cheese stall at Barnstaple pannier market. It looked a bit ropey and mouldy but it was a class act!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 10:31 AM

Unless it looks exceptionally diseased and crawling, I always eat the rind on cheese. I'm still here!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 02:31 PM

Ditto, Steve. But I find the black wax round a bit of Leerdammer a bit chewy...

:D tG

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 05:40 PM

Yebbut that isn't "rind," Dave!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 05:44 PM

It certainly isn't squire...

:D tG

(Doesn't work as well on the screen as it does in my head but thanks for the feed anyway :-) )

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 09:15 PM

Aha, Picos de Europa: loved the local Cabrales blue cheese: and they made into a sauce to go over steak, chicken or any other sort of meat: got the recipe from the chef in our hotel. But like clothes you buy on holiday, never quite the same charm or flavour when you get it/them home!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: LadyJean
Date: 26 Nov 16 - 09:56 PM

Pittsburgh's famous Strip District includes the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company an Italian grocery that must offer a couple of hundred varieties of cheese, from all over the world, and very reasonable prices. Allegheny Mountain Smoked Horseradish, a local product, is a favorite with my family. But just about anything they sell is going to be good. Warning, this time of year the counter will be crowded.
If you find an Amish farmstand, chances are their cheese will be pretty good too.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 27 Nov 16 - 02:36 AM

Wensleydale ? yes Sir, right I'll have some of that, no Sir, that's my name Mr Wensleydale.

from Monty Pythons Cheese Shop sketch, and

more Wensleydale Grommit ?

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 27 Nov 16 - 02:39 AM

In Gods own County, you can't have Christmas cake without Wensleydale.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Nov 16 - 08:56 AM

A lovely lady who ran a tapas bar in Potes introduced us to Cabrales in 1998. We'd already had several tapas and she wouldn't let us pay for the cheese. We washed it down with a bottle of El Coto Rioja. Happy days!

Have bought it in the UK several times since and it's never had quite the same charm about it as it had that evening. That sort of thing happens all the time!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 16 - 11:01 AM

This thread makes me miss the old Rick Fielding food threads. Such great discussion, recipes, instructions, and joy of eating.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 27 Nov 16 - 04:20 PM

I will admit that when I buy Brie I always look to seek the one nearest its sell by date. Sometimes I am even lucky enough to find it reduced because of this.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: JHW
Date: 27 Nov 16 - 05:02 PM

'Cotherstone' is a firm but light structured cheese with a fresh tang rather than strong old taste. Only made by one person in Teesdale (who had hoped to get out of it when she married but thankfully was required to continue)

Lovely one just had this year was 'Fosseway Fleece', sheep cheese (kept the wrapper). Don't know where it comes from but I bought mine in Porlock, Exmoor.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 27 Nov 16 - 05:28 PM

Out of interest and on quite a serous note, one of my family suffers from a lactose intolerance. What I read earlier seems to indicate that lactose levels in matured cheeses are low or zero. Did I read that right and does anyone have a link to medical or chemical confirmation of it?

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 27 Nov 16 - 06:02 PM

Just too many cheeses and I only know a few.

For a cheese salad sandwich, these days, I'd usually prefer a Cheshire or something similar. Same would go for a Welsh Rarebit.

The strongest cheddar you can get is, IMO, the best you can have for a cauliflower (,etc.) cheese and for cheese scones. The Snowdonia ones are nice but the stronger/extra mature or whatever of the more common brands found in supermarket (eg. Cathedral City) are OK.

A good sprinkling of parmesan really can enhance a pasta meal.

Then there's stuff I'll eat just as I like cheese. I could include a dollup of cottage cheese to go with a salad here but I'm more thinking of our own households sort of rotation of cheese and something I might have say on a cream cracker. These will include Stilton, Shropshire Blue, Gorganzola, Danish Blue, Roquefort, St Agur, Camembert (and I like the tesco's own brand unpasteurised – a bit more bite to it at the moment than that brand that got a lot of tv adverts not long ago ) brie (Somerset is nice)

For a personal indulgence, I think St Agur is really nice on a crumpet. It melts in nicely.

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Nov 16 - 06:21 PM

St Agur melted on a crumpet? Bloody typical. 11.20, Sunday night. Crumpet shop closed. DAMN!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Mr Red
Date: 28 Nov 16 - 05:07 AM

Fosse Way Fleece Sheep's Cheese - Somerset Cheese Co

or this list

there you go JHW, only £22 plus £3.25 postage!

Personally: Brie and bacon melted on a Staffordshire Oatcake - heaven. Or if you can't get the Staffs ones, Yorkshire do do a poor imitation, (speaking as a Staffordshireman)

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Nov 16 - 05:54 AM

The finest hard cheese I ever tasted that wasn't cheddar was Llangloffan, made in Pembrokeshire from raw milk by Leon Downey. We saw Leon making the cheese in 1983 and I'll always remember his hairy arm, almost up to the armpit, stirring the huge bath of milk from his own Guernseys (or were they Jerseys...)! He was very opinionated, in the right kind of way, about the defects of modern mass cheese production. He retired in 2006 but I believe his cheese is still made to the original recipe. We used to order whole cheeses by post from him in those early days, one of those coming in at under twenty quid. Bet they cost a tad more these days! The cheese, once cut, froze really well if you couldn't eat it all within a couple of weeks or so. Gorgeous stuff it was/is!

Subject: RE: BS: Cheese
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Nov 16 - 06:06 AM

When it comes to Brie, some very good ones are made in the UK these days. We used to swear by St Endellion Brie, made in Cornwall a few miles down the road, but it was inconsistent, not always in a good way (Brie that's going past it can turn bitter, but incorrect younger Bries can go the same way). To be fair, we haven't tried it for several years so I'm sure that it's still superb. Sharphams make a superb Brie if you can catch it just right. Sainsbury's Somerset Brie is very nice and not expensive. I like my Brie to flatten itself out, forcing the cheddar on to another plate. You shouldn't be cutting yourself a piece of Brie. You should be scraping it up!