To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26765
76 messages

BS: The Aged Cheese

21 Oct 00 - 04:29 PM (#324098)
Subject: The Aged Cheese
From: McGrath of Harlow

Well it started when my wife came across a reference in a book to "aged cheese" - and since it was an American book, we wondered whether perhaps it might be that in America what in England called "mature cheese" might in America be referred to as "aged". After all, when you are talking about a cheese, nobody needs to worry about sparing its feelings, so calling it "aged" instead of "mature" might be a break from being expected to be PC all the time.

And the Mudcat is where you can find out about stuff like that - so I'd be glad if someone can say if we are correct in our surmise.

But then I started wondering about cheese and folk songs, and I asked the DT - and there are no fewer than 67 somgs there with cheese included. Which is a lot of cheese songs. Some good ones too - like this verse from a song sung by Jeannie Redpath about someone who has lost their true-love:

Oh some fell on their bended knees
Some ladies fell a-fainting
I fell tae my bread and cheese
I always wanted the main thing


Which is an admirable attitude, I think, and in keeping with the sturdy and sensiuble quakirties associated with cheese (as exemplified by Wallace and Gromit).

So if anyone would like to draw our attention to any noteworthy cheese songs...

Or other cheese related items of information worth sharing among us...


21 Oct 00 - 04:32 PM (#324102)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: McGrath of Harlow

"sensiuble quakirties" indeed - "sensible qualities" that should have been. I do try to spot the mispellings, but there's always one I see just as I punch the submit button...


21 Oct 00 - 04:37 PM (#324106)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Skipjack K8

There's this song we sing in church sometimes called

"What a friend we have in cheeses"

It's great!

Skipjack


21 Oct 00 - 06:02 PM (#324173)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Morticia

Oh the Hard Cheese of Old England.......Les Barker


21 Oct 00 - 06:24 PM (#324185)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: MK

I heard there was a family in Ireland -the Murphy family -that makes 14 different kinds of cheeses.




.........wait for it.........







Cheeses Murphy!


tah-dah-boom


21 Oct 00 - 11:54 PM (#324300)
Subject: ADD: Hymn to Cheeses (What a Food We Have...)^^^
From: raredance

McGrath I might could answer your question if I knew what "mature" cheese was. Aging of cheese over here refers to the curing time (I realize that "curing" is probably another poor choice of words because cheese is really milk that has been infected not cured). For many cheeses the aging time appears to be a constant to the variety because they are invariably all the same. But for some cheeses, notably cheddar and swiss, differeing degrees of agedness can be obtained. You might find cheddar that has been aged 6 months, a year and even longer. A younger cheddar cheese tends to be much milder and "squeakier" (a non scientific term but readily experienced by biting into it. The older it gets, the more intense the flavors (sometimes referred to as "bite") and often the more crumbly it gets and the more it stimulates the ol factory. Since the aging process for these cheeses is a continuum, I don't know where on that line it would be considered "mature". For those varieties that are all processed alike, I suppose it would be mature when that time is up. My father-in-law made a comfortable living for himself working for The Wisconsin Cheeseman, a large mail order cheese house. I, myself, am a former? cheesehead, although there is evidence to indicate that the term "mature cheesehead" is an oxymoron.

HYMN TO CHEESES

What a food we have in cheese,
Mozzarella, cheddar, Swiss,
Bleu and Limburger's sweet breezes
Lingering like a lover's kiss
Humble milk's apotheosis
Muenster, Provolone, Brie
Damn cholesterol's thrombosis
Cheese is Gouda stuff by me!

Heed the US DAiry Council
Keep the Gruyere on the shelf
Even just a tiny ounce'll
Give you Vitamin B-12
Gather, pilgrims, at the deli
Buying Edam and Havarti
Wedges moist and cold and smelly
Bring home lots and have a party.^^^

rich r


22 Oct 00 - 12:09 AM (#324303)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: rangeroger

David Bromberg refers to himself on some albums as Le Grand Fromage.

I don't know if he is aged or mature.

rr


22 Oct 00 - 12:28 AM (#324308)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Jon Freeman

Aged or mature, call it what you like but I love mature cheeses - the stronger the better although my mother swears that she one saw a stilton so mature that it started crawling across the counter of the shop in the village she grew up in - maybe that is a fraction too mature.

Jon


22 Oct 00 - 12:55 AM (#324314)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: CarolC

McGrath of Harlow,

To help you out a little bit more, in the U.S. when applying the word "aged" to cheese, it is pronounced with only one syllable. Like this...aajd, as opposed to aajed. This means that the cheese has been through a period of aging, rather than the fact that it is old.

Your friend in cheese,

Carol


22 Oct 00 - 06:56 AM (#324384)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Long Firm Freddie

Fats Domino got his thrill on Blue Brie Hill, I believe.


22 Oct 00 - 07:09 AM (#324388)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)

Rich R, that is brilliant! Is it your own? McGrath, thanks for the link. Isn't it true that old friends, like old cheese, improve with age?


22 Oct 00 - 07:24 AM (#324392)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: McGrath of Harlow

It sounds like we were right, and that Americans say aged where we'd say mature, in respect of cheese. We'd call it an aging process too, as with wine, but the product would never be called that name. Does this suggest that on the right side of the Atlantic people have more respect for cheese?

Anyway mature cheese is stronger, more flavour, and you don't need to so much of it to get a suitable effect (egin an omelette).

A bit like people.

I draw your attention to this cheesy thread, with a tasty bit of verse in it. Cracking, in fact.


22 Oct 00 - 08:22 AM (#324405)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Liz the Squeak

There was a song written in praise of the Dorset Blue Vinney, based, I think, on a work by William Barnes, dialect poet.

Blue Vinney (corruption of veiny) is a blue cheese, but made with unpasteurised milk, so the bacteria that gives it the blue veins is a different strain, giving it a different flavour. The French wanted to ban it, via the EU because it was unpasteurised, so Dorset cheese producers sent a list of French cheeses to the EU and asked for them to be banned for the same reason. As the list was into double figures, the French withdrew the request.....

Jon, if you like stinky cheese, you'll love Blue Vinney - you can get an inferior variety in Sainsburys, but the best stuff is sold in a delicatessen in Hardye's Arcade, South St, Dorchester, Dorset.

LTS


22 Oct 00 - 08:29 AM (#324410)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: CarolC

McGrath of Harlow,

Taking into consideration some of the abominations that are sold as "cheese" in this country (one of which is the variety called "American cheese"...comes already sliced and individually wrapped, tasts like vinyl), I would have to say that, for the most part, you are right. Cheese does not get much respect in this country. Another reason I'm thinking about defecting to your country.

Carol


22 Oct 00 - 08:50 AM (#324418)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: CarolC

By the way, I like "sensiuble quakirties" it has a nice ring to it.


22 Oct 00 - 11:35 AM (#324490)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: raredance

The "Hymn To Cheeses" as far as I know has no known author. The version above was printed in in a book originally called "The Prairie Home Companion Folk Song Book" by Marcia and Jon Pankake (1988). The same book was reprinted under the title "Joe's Got A Head Like A Ping Pong Ball". In the 1980's Garrison Keillor solicited contributions to his regular Department of Folk Song feature on his radio show (Greg Brown was the official or unofficial chairman of the department). People sent in lots of stuff that they remembered from their youth and the book is a collection of those songs.

rich r


22 Oct 00 - 06:05 PM (#324787)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Hotspur

Carol, I object! I'm guessing you don't live in a dairy state, b/c if you did you would find enormous respect for REAL cheese. Not, of course, American, (which if you look at the label is actually called pasturized process cheese food--sounds SO appealing) but other types...cheddar, Muenster, Colby, Swiss, mozzarella, etc. etc. Major supermarkets here in upstate NY are careful to stock New York cheddar, because a lot of people swear quite literally that they can taste the difference between a NY cheese and a Vermont (I won't even get into the supposed inferiority of Wisconsin cheese.) *grin*


22 Oct 00 - 06:13 PM (#324798)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Sorcha

Star Valley Wyoming makes "decent" cheese, but not up to NY quality, or European (English, French, Italian, etc.) I have trouble finding real Feta, let alone Bel Paese, Brie, etc. Mostly have this generic "Crystal Farms" or Kraft stuff.........uuuggghh. But, it's what we have so I live with it.

For years, my parents belonged to a Cheese of the Month club that shipped REAL imported cheese for a very reasonable price. What a treat!! Lost track of the address, tho. That's how I discovered Havarti, Gorgonzola,Stilton, etc. It WASN'T Wisconsin Cheeseman, either.


22 Oct 00 - 06:31 PM (#324820)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Jon Freeman

Carol, there is no shortage of plastic cheddar, etc. in the UK either. I tend to eat inferior but bearable cheeses as that is all the shop near me does and I am normally too lazy to go shopping at the supermarkets at the other end of town.

LTS, I don't have a Sainsburys near me but I will check ASDA out next time I am in that area and see if they have it as it has to be worth trying!. My favourite cheese from ASDA used to be what they called "Vintage New Zealand Cheddar" but I haven't seen it in a while, I suppose I could get some Shropshire Blue while I'm there...

Jon


22 Oct 00 - 07:40 PM (#324868)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Little Hawk

I don't regard cheese (or cow's milk) as real food for human beings, although I do like certain cheeses sometimes. If I eat very much of it though, I regret it, since the aftereffects are rather akin to having swallowed slow-setting cement...not good!

Canadian restaurants and their customers are utterly obsessed with cheese. They put it on almost everything. It's gross. I have said before, and I will say again...the people in this town would happily eat dog shit if it had melted cheese poured all over it in copious quantities, with a little parmesan sprinkled on top for good measure. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but you get the general idea.

I tend to stay away from dairy altogether if I can. I know this is probably disturbing to anyone who makes a living by selling such products, but I have my health to consider, and I have observed the effects of consuming dairy food quite carefully. In my case, not so good. In a dear friend's case, darn near fatal. Sorry, dairy farmers, but that's how it is with us...I'm sure there are people who love your stuff, so don't take this too personally.

So, we are constantly having to ask the local restaurant to serve us this meal, that meal and the other meal...with NO DAIRY PLEASE!

For milk I drink rice dream or soya milk. Another friend, Mike Latter, who is a fine singer-songwriter kids me by referring to it as "rice nightmare". Poor soul, he doesn't know what he's missing. It's so much better than milk that it's like comparing Green Day to Mozart (the milk being Green Day).

Here's to Rice Dream!!! Yeah!


22 Oct 00 - 08:18 PM (#324904)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: CarolC

By golly, I think I'm actually embroiled in my first real controversy here in the Mudcat. Hot dog! (I mean hot cheese...)

Little Hawk, I agree with you about dairy not being good for us over all. I do find, however, that using organic dairy products lessens the bad effects considerably. And I use them sparingly. But I do cherish a little bit of very good cheese from time to time. And I've found that the soy cheeses make me dizzy.

The only cheese I have in the house right now is feta. Last night while reading this thread, I got such a hankering for cheese, I ate a hunk of the feta straight up. Not something I would ordinarily do with feta.

Carol


22 Oct 00 - 08:29 PM (#324919)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: McGrath of Harlow

Backmin Victorian times they used to tell people that cheese was only safe if it was cooked. Of course they didn't have fridges, so maybe they had a point.

My father-in-law never eats cheese, and he was 89 today, and he is still pretty nimble.

But I can't imagine not eating cheese. If I had a choice of giving up beer or cheese...I think I might give up beer. What a horrible thought.


22 Oct 00 - 08:41 PM (#324932)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Sorcha

Feta straight up? ugh, what a horrible thought. Cheese is bad for us, tho, esp those of us with animal protein allergies or any kind of gut problems. I can't live without it though, and every time I think of "Heidi" and her grandfather, I just have to go grill thick sliced bread and top it with melted cheese.........nothing better (except MAYBE? Vegemite and toast?)


22 Oct 00 - 08:52 PM (#324940)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Jon Freeman

Not sure about Vegimite as I have never tried it but a bit of Marmite goes well with cheese on toast.

Jon


22 Oct 00 - 09:19 PM (#324970)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Hotspur

I've tried Rice Dream...it wasn't bad by any means, but it was sweet, which real (OK, cow) milk wouldn't be.

Giving up cheese...wow...far too scary a thought to contemplate.


22 Oct 00 - 09:25 PM (#324976)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Sorcha

From a person who is allergic to cow's milk, and really, all animal products: Cow milk is too sweet. I can only manage milk on a dry cereal that is supposed to be sweet. Can't drink it in a glass at all. YUCK. (Not supposed to have any, but how do you do dry cereal without liquid)

"Milk", per se, is disgusting. Spoiled milk, aka cheese, on the other hand, is wonderful. What a life........


22 Oct 00 - 11:27 PM (#325057)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: sophocleese

On Friday I finally found some Gjetost cheese! I've been looking for it for the last couple of months. Its a very sweet, almost fudge textured, caramel coloured cheese made from cow's milk and goat's milk whey slowly cooked to caramelize it. I used to eat it as a kid sometimes when a particular delicatessan had it in stock and I loved it. Two months ago it came up in conversation and I just had to have some. AAH the delight of having a craving finally fulfilled! Next I'll be wanting some Stilton.

Oh amd Little Hawk, they don't put cheese on everything in Orillia. I often get stares when I ask for blue cheese dressing to go with my fries. Its worth it though, another delightful taste.


22 Oct 00 - 11:43 PM (#325071)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: CarolC

This is a lovely thread. Thank you for starting it, McGrath of Harlow.


24 Oct 00 - 07:40 PM (#326494)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: McGrath of Harlow

I take it all cheesefriends saw this magnificent saga about cheese?


24 Oct 00 - 07:59 PM (#326517)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: GUEST,mousethief (at the library)

A friend in cheese is a friend indeed!

Alex
O..O
=o=


24 Oct 00 - 08:01 PM (#326520)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Uncle_DaveO

Just recently I saw someone's post (here at Mudcat???) that referred to "American cheese, individually sliced and plastic-wrapped to keep flavor out."

Dave Oesterreich


24 Oct 00 - 08:10 PM (#326537)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Hotspur

Yes! Yes! That's it exactly! American should NOT be considered cheese. Sludge, maybe...


24 Oct 00 - 08:11 PM (#326538)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: GUEST,mousethief

"American cheese" is dreadful stuff. Very telling that it is often marketed as "American style cheese food product." It certainly ain't cheese.

Alex
O..O
=o=


25 Oct 00 - 09:05 AM (#326890)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: McGrath of Harlow

I assume there are people in America making decent cheese? It's not that hard to do, on a small scale, I believe.


25 Oct 00 - 11:49 AM (#327001)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: GUEST,Patrish

I love extra mature cheddar toasted on decent bread with just a little touch of marmite. I love crumbly white cheese as well (Lancashire)But my favourite is Parmasan - not grated, but in graeat big chunks
I love cheese!
Patrish


25 Oct 00 - 12:01 PM (#327019)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: mousethief

> I assume there are people in America making decent cheese? It's not that hard to do, on a small scale, I believe.

Tillamook! From Tillamook County, Oregon. Best cheese in the US&A.

They don't make "American Cheese" but their cheddar wins awards all the time, and tastes good too!

Alex
O..O
=o=


25 Oct 00 - 12:28 PM (#327036)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: MMario

yes there are people making decent cheese in the US. However, most of them are the dairy equivilants of true micro-breweries - and have a limited sales area....or are exclusivly selling to up-up-up-up-scale restauraunts.


25 Oct 00 - 06:43 PM (#327305)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Hotspur

Yes, of course there are people making decent, even fantastic cheeses in the States. There seem to be a lot of them around me...no big surprise, NY is a dairy state.

Has anyone not from the Northeast heard of Heluva Good or Cabot cheeses? I'm curious b/c they're the best "mass-produced" cheeses we get that aren't imports, and I wondered if they are available in other parts of the country.


25 Oct 00 - 06:48 PM (#327311)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Little Hawk

You're right, Carol. Pretty cool thread. Have you folks read the "Queen of Cheese" poem on that other thread I launched? Sorry, still don't know how to make a "blue clicky" thing.


25 Oct 00 - 09:23 PM (#327445)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: CarolC

McGrath of Harlow did it for you Little Hawk. Look several posts up. The clickie says "this magnificant saga about cheese".

It's a cheesy poem, alright. I love it.

Carol


25 Oct 00 - 09:33 PM (#327452)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Jim Dixon

I found some lovely web sites about cheese!

Here's the text of a USDA pamphlet called How to Buy Cheese. It contains rather simple descriptions of various types of cheese.

A National Dairy Council page called Kinds Of Cheese And Cheese Products for more technical definitions.

Here you can find the winners of 2000 World Championship Cheese Contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association. The World Champion Cheese is an aged cheddar from Tasmania!


25 Oct 00 - 10:59 PM (#327495)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Troll

Sorcha, a friend of mine who is lactose intolerant (love them scientific terms) puts apple juice on his dry cereal. He says it'e quite tasty. Have you tried goats milk. Often people who cannot tolerate cows milk do very well on goats milk. Most health food stores carry it.
For those of you in England, try some of the Manx cheeses if you can find them. Druidale is quite good and so is Strong Manx.I got some cheese in Scotland last summer made from ewes milk but I can't remember the name or even where we bought it. Maybe on Orkney; they had some nice cheeses up there.

troll

p.s. Is there any possibility of getting a Spell Checker on the Forum?


25 Oct 00 - 11:48 PM (#327526)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Malcolm Douglas

Speaking of goat's milk, I once bought some truly dangerous goat cheese; I'd been living in France (Aix-en-Provence) and wanted an interesting present for my father.  Most shops denied the existence of the sort of thing I was looking for (and some surreptitiously crossed themselves as I left), but I eventually found a little Corsican place that agreed to dig some up for me.  Literally; it's a soft cheese that you put into little pots, and then bury for a year or two.  When disinterred, it's a sort of grey paste resembling Gentleman's Relish.  I bought two pots, and wrapped them in aluminium foil and several layers of plastic; nevertheless, all my clothes smelt of cheese by the time I unpacked a few days later.  I tried a little, spread on a dry biscuit, and could still taste it after 24 hours.  I never did find out what it was called, which is perhaps just as well for the sake of humanity, or at any rate those of us who are not Corsican...

Malcolm


26 Oct 00 - 12:18 AM (#327536)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Haruo

Sounds like a good kim chee!

Liland


26 Oct 00 - 12:34 AM (#327544)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Lyrical Lady

Okay you GUYS!! WHO cut the cheese.....PHEW!


26 Oct 00 - 12:45 AM (#327554)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: kimmers

Tillamook Cheese!! Alex, are you a fellow Oregonian?

Tillamook Medium Cheddar is one of our household staples. We eat very little meat, but you give us a hunk of TMC and some good grainy bread and we're in heaven. Add a few apples and some good stout... ecstasy. The last few years, I've come to appreciate the French custom of cheese as dessert.

And if I had to give up either beer or cheese? the beer would lose, hands down. But tea (English Breakfast, hot, with milk and sugar) is the one thing I could never, ever give up.

As far as the nutritional aspects: cheese has been a food in the West and in the Middle East for thousands of years. Hasn't killed us yet and it sure makes me happy. I know some folks can't digest the stuff and I feel extremely sorry for them... but I have yet to ever see anything that convinces me that cheese is bad for us in and of itself. It's high-calorie and should be eaten sparingly, but ban it from my diet? NEVER!!


26 Oct 00 - 01:54 AM (#327592)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: wysiwyg

McGrath, I think the confusion is this-- one ages the cheese. (Don't we age fine wine? To age the wine in a barrel, for example.) Technical term, a verb, to age, not quite meaning [to get old]. The cheese is not aged, it has BEEN aged. Aged cheese meaning cheese that has been aged. Example, "This cheese needs to be aged just the right length of time."

Now a mature cheese sounds like it just has grown up, gotten wise and crumbly as do we all if we are lucky. Does it follow that in your parts, one would set out as a cheesemaker to "mature the cheese"? Prolly not. What do they say though? Example, "This cheese needs to be grown the heck up." Nope, just doesn't work.

Scary thought. Can cheese have a midlife crisis or menopause?? Worse, I think-- cheese puberty???? Cheese with gray hair (I swear I've seen that)? Cheese in diapers? Seen that too, am I right parents of breastfed babies??? No that would be cheese in napkins, and we do see that too, but in our laps at table....

Cheese puberty. Or the dread pre-teen cheese. Why do these make me think of Spaw?

~S~


26 Oct 00 - 01:43 PM (#327887)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: McGrath of Harlow

I'm a bit sorry its aged with one syllable ratyher than with two - the thought on an agéd cheese being eaten by an agéd man has a poignancy all its own.

I think cheesemakers in England probably would talk about leaving a cheese to mature rather than to age - but anyway, at the end of it all, it'd be labelled in the shops as "mature". And I take it in America it'd be labelled as "aged"?

While we're on the topic, what we normally call "Lemon Curd" in England is sometimes referred to as "Lemon Cheese" - am I right in thinking that that is the normal American term for it?


26 Oct 00 - 01:54 PM (#327896)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: mousethief

Kimmers -- I live in Washington State, just to yer north. My li'l sister lives in Oregon though, with her hubby, and my godfather lives in Oregon too.

Tillamook medium cheddar is a delight. We get the sliced stuff and use it on burgers, for snacking, etc. And the bricks for mac-n-cheese, etc. We always have some in the fridge.

Now can you drive over to Tillamook for me and ask them why the heck they put artificial vanilla flavoring in their ice cream? I'd buy it if it were naturally flavored.

Alex
O..O
=o=


26 Oct 00 - 02:15 PM (#327910)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Hotspur

Hi, McGrath, Yes. Cheese that has been aged is aged cheese, never mature cheese. As for Lemon Cheese vs. Lemon Curd, I've only seen it as a British import, when it's referred to as whatever the manufacturer likes to call it. I doubt most Americans would know what either of them were.

Cheers, Hotspur


26 Oct 00 - 02:31 PM (#327919)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: mousethief

I've never had lemon cheese but lemon curd is delicious. It's a shame it's not better known on this side of the Pond.

Then again, how many Americans know what qvark or kumiss are? Do you have cottage cheese in Anglia? Sour cream? Interesting to know which things we take for granted are universal and which are more local in scope (although it's hard to think of something as "local" when it's spread across a nation as big as the USA).

Alex
O..O
=o=


26 Oct 00 - 03:46 PM (#327979)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: kimmers

I'm not much of an ice cream eater, Alex, but I'll ask them if I ever get a chance . I've taken the tour at the Tillamook cheese factory a couple of times; it's a hoot.

I've seen lemon curd in jars at the market, but never had any. I've always assumed it was a sort of lemon filling for tarts and such. Now I'll have to try it.

Good cheese availability does vary around the country here in the USA. The West Coast in general is pretty food-obsessed, and here in Oregon we make a lot of good wines and microbrewed beers. I think that helps a lot when it comes to a good selection of both domestic and imported gourmet foods, especially in recent years. When I was a kid, you could find cheddar, swiss (dreadful rubbery domestic stuff), jack cheese, and peculiar orange cheese spreads in jars. Mozzarella seemed exotic. Now I can waltz in and buy thiry different varieties if I feel like it.

And whoever mentioned that Norwegian delicacy known as gjetost... my husband introduced me to that years ago when we were first dating. He spent a year in Norway as an exchange student when he was sixteen and got addicted to the stuff. When we were married, his host parents came all the way from Norway for the wedding... with five pounds of gjetost tucked into their luggage. Yum!


26 Oct 00 - 03:56 PM (#327994)
Subject: Lyr Add: ODE ON THE MAMMOTH CHEESE (Jimmy McIntyre
From: little john cameron

ODE ON THE MAMMOTH CHEESE
Weighing over 7,000 pounds

We have seen thee, queen of cheese,
Lying quietly at your ease,
Gently fanned by evening breeze
Thy fair form no flies dare seize.

All gaily dressed soon you'll go
To the great Provincial show,
To be admired by many a beau
In the city of Toronto.

Cows numerous as a swarm of bees,
Or as the leaves upon the trees
It did require to make thee please,
And stand unrivalled, queen of cheese.

May you not receive a scar as
We have heard that Mr. Harris
Intends to send you off as far as
The great world's show at Paris.

Of the youth beware of these,
For some of them might rudely squeeze
And bite your cheek, then songs or glees
We could not sing, oh! queen of cheese.

Wert thou suspended from balloon,
You'd cast a shade even at noon,
Folks would think it was the moon
About to fall and crush them soon.

Here's anither ane o Jimmy McIntyres cheesy poems.
ljc


26 Oct 00 - 04:00 PM (#328001)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: McGrath of Harlow

No lemon curd? As well as no Marmite! And you call the stuff you spread on bread jelly I gather? Well, there's always peanut butter.

Lemon curd/lemon cheese you spread on top of butter, like you would jam (or "jelly"). And it doesn't taste anything like cheese.

Cottage Cheese - oh yes, that's a staple food, especially for people on various diets. Sour cream, no, though I've seen it in shops. And buttermilk pretty unusual in England, though not in Ireland, where it's essential.

When you say "hard cheese" to someone, it's another way of saying "Too bad" meanig, "That's your problem, and I'm not too concerned about it."


26 Oct 00 - 04:02 PM (#328007)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: little john cameron

Sorry aboot that, ah never noticed it wis posted afore. ljc


26 Oct 00 - 04:02 PM (#328009)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: mousethief

In these parts, "jelly" refers to a spread that is completely clear (no seeds, pulp, etc.). Jam and Preserves can contain pulp, seeds, etc. Unless the fruit is a citrus fruit, in which case it's marmelade.

Alex
O..O
=o=


26 Oct 00 - 04:07 PM (#328017)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: little john cameron

BTW, James McIntyre wis a scot. Born in Forres an emigrated tae Canada when he wis aboot eleven. ljc


26 Oct 00 - 04:10 PM (#328019)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Liz the Squeak

Ah, that makes jelly 'conserve' then.... and another cheese is the bit left over after a cider maker has been performing his art. The mashed up sharp cider apples are all compressed into a block by the cider press, and it gets peeled off the straw and eaten as a sort of stiff apple sauce or sharp pie filling. The block is called a cheese, because that's what the texture is like, solid, but crumbly, and incidentally, a darn sight nicer than dairy cheese....

LTS - whose grandad used to make cider for his farm workers, and being only young, I was only allowed the cheese.. took a few more years before I was allowed the final product.... mmmmm


26 Oct 00 - 09:06 PM (#328195)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Hotspur

OK, as a person who has home canned for years, I want to set the record straight on jam, jelly, etc.

JAM is made of fruit pulp as well as juice. JELLY is made of the juice only. FRUIT BUTTER is made of pureed or strained pulp and juice. PRESERVES are whole fruits (such as cherries) or uniform sized pieces in syrup. CONSERVES are like jams, only used for dessert. MARMALADE must contain at least one citrus fruit, although they can have other fruits too...my dad makes a tomato marmalade that is not to be believed!


26 Oct 00 - 10:09 PM (#328226)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Malcolm Douglas

Tomato marmalade??  Do you have the recipe, by any chance?  It sounds very peculiar to me, but my mother would certainly be interested...

Malcolm


26 Oct 00 - 10:36 PM (#328245)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: CarolC

Ok, I just did a scan of the cheese section at my local grocery store. This is a very small college town, with a fairly high number of refugees from major urban areas like Washington DC, so it's probably not typical of anything. Also, there are some very good grocery stores within about a five to ten mile drive from here that probably have a much better selection.

The usual assortment of cheddars, colbys, swiss, monterry jack, edam, gouda, mozzarella, and grated parmesan. (As well as the "processed cheese foods" mentioned in previous posts.)

The special cheese section included domestic brie and domestic gorgonzola. I also saw a French chevre, but I don't know if it's imported or not. Both sections had both solid and crumbled feta. The special section also had brick and havarti. I haven't tried any of these cheeses from this store. I'm thinking about giving the gorgonzola and the French chevre a try. Since I've never had non-domestic gorgonzola, I guess I won't know if it's any good by non-American standards.

I would rate this store's cheese section as ok. Not great, but not terrible. At least it has brie and feta. I think I'd like it better if it had more imported cheeses, though.

Carol


26 Oct 00 - 11:33 PM (#328292)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Jon Freeman

Malcolm, it sounds like your mother must be like mine... she makes jams, marmalades, jellys, chutneys, etc. All very tasty, I must add.

Jon


26 Oct 00 - 11:40 PM (#328298)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Malcolm Douglas

Also wine, out of whatever's left over.  If I know anyone who could cope with tomato marmalade, it's her!  (Mind you, I still can't imagine it...)

Malcolm


27 Oct 00 - 12:07 AM (#328316)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Jon Freeman

I don't think my mother has made wine since she moved to Norfolk but she was more keen on making wine from whatever grew in the garden when my parents had the house in Wales - cowslip wine was one of her best and she was almost a teetotaler! I enjoyed it though.

Jon


27 Oct 00 - 05:40 AM (#328405)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: McGrath of Harlow

Hotspur - I take it that's America you're writing in?

The Mudcat is global, so unless we indicate or have a georgaphical entry in the Mudcat Locator in Mudcat Reopurces - Quick Links), we might be anywhere.


27 Oct 00 - 11:23 AM (#328536)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: mousethief

And then there's varenya, (vuh-RAIN-yuh), which the Russians eat straight from tiny spoons while drinking tea. I've had homemade strawberry varenya which was out of this world, and canned cherry varenya from Ukraine which was sol-sol.

We have a great selection of cheeses at most of the larger grocery stores. I recently bought a package of crumbled Danish blue cheese for salads and it's loverly.

Alex
O..O
=o=


27 Oct 00 - 05:20 PM (#328798)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Hotspur

oops! (Hotspur smacks herself on the forehead in disbelief. Did she really pull such a blunder?) Yes, I'm writing from upstate New York. Thought I mentioned that earlier, but perhaps not. Mea culpa.

Malcolm, I do indeed have the recipe for tomato marmalade. I couldn't imagine it either, until I tried it. Then I wondered why it had taken me so long. If you (or anyone else who's interested) want to pm me with your email, I'll send it to you directly rather than cluttering up the thread which is after all, supposed to be about cheese. Thread creep...gotta love it.


27 Oct 00 - 05:50 PM (#328823)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: CarolC

Checked out the cheese section at one of the better grocery stores about eight miles from here. The selection was much better, but it was still pretty limited. You just about have to sell your first born child to afford some of the better stuff. I saw a pretty nice looking solid parmesan from Italy that cost over thirteen American dollars per pound. I don't know how that translates into non-American currency. At least the brie was imported, and not too expensive.

Carol


27 Oct 00 - 06:26 PM (#328836)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: mousethief

baked brie on crusty french bread -- heaven!

Alex
O..O
=o=


27 Oct 00 - 06:31 PM (#328841)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Greyeyes

Ever tried baking a whole camembert? Make a few holes in the surface, sprinkle over a few drops of dry white wine, put the lid back on (it needs to be the type in an individual wooden box, and you need to remove any paper)bake for about 25-30 mins in a moderate oven. Sensational!


27 Oct 00 - 07:02 PM (#328862)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: bydand

Give up cheese!
Never! But the Dr. wants my cholesterol down, or he threatens me with drugs. So....
What I reallllly would like to find is an "aged" cheddar that was called "Black Diamond". Two years old, and very sharp. That was a great "aged" cheese.
mousethief, I'll have to try the baked brie ... AFTER I have my next cholesterol check.


27 Oct 00 - 11:59 PM (#328995)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: kimmers

You can age your own cheddar, if you're patient. Buy the big bricks of 'medium', and store it in a cool place without opening for a couple of months. No, it won't mold.

'Course, I always *eat* it before it ever gets really good.

In Vancouver BC I had a Camembert omelette. Delicious!!


28 Oct 00 - 12:26 AM (#329007)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: catspaw49

Hawk's aversion to cheese and dairy shows why he is such a tight ass. Dairy products have been proven to increase flatulence by as much as 40%.

To all my wonderful English friends, I have a local source that stocks about 75 varieties of European cheeses nad I like many. For me though, its hard to beat a good, extra sharp swiss. A box of Ritz crackers, a ring of trail bologna, and a big chunk of swiss, accompanied our Sunday drives for years. BTW, Ohio makes some superb Swiss and is second in production of swiss nationwide. A fine small cheesemaker back home has a port wine swiss every Christmas and you have to be on the list to get it. There are people who actually WILL their place on the list to friends and relatives. I finally made the list about 8 years ago.......but my kids hate swiss. Maybe they'll develop a taste over the years.

Spaw


28 Oct 00 - 12:38 AM (#329017)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: kimmers

Spaw, you could always adopt a few of us. We won't take up much room... and we'll take good care of the cheese legacy.


28 Oct 00 - 02:00 AM (#329058)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Sorcha

Oh dear, here I am, stuck in the Wilds of Wyoming USA with nothing but Kraft "Imported".......

and troll, it's not a Lactose Intolerance, it is apparently an animal protein intolerance........milk, meat, eggs, etc. It is not so bad if the protein involved is already pre cooked or digested, as in cheese or yogurt. As a small child, all I could handle was soy products. Got cramps and diahrrea even with goat stuff. Still do........oh well. I eat a little of it anyway. A person can only go so long without cheese or ice cream.....


29 Oct 00 - 12:20 AM (#329553)
Subject: RE: BS: The Aged Cheese
From: Little Hawk

Lyrical Lady - Spaw, obviously. Who else?