#85 Warby Red by Boosey Creek

Boosey Creek is a Victorian small cheesemaker.

Warby Red is a full, deep flavoured washed rind with a slight ammonia edge that gave it that little extra kick.

Nice!!











Is cheese is good

#84 Trou du cru by Robert Berthau

From Bourgogne in France, famous for its wines and the region that brought us Beef Bourgignon and Coq au Vin. You risk heart disease and obesity just flying in the airspace above Bourgogne, but you'd die incredibly happy.

Trou du Cru is a type of Époisses cheese first made 400 years ago. They say Napoleon was a huge fan, but it died out during the German occupation in WW2. Luckily, some years later the style was revived.

It's a washed rind cows cheese, in this case washed in the local brandy, Marc de Bourgogne. 

Purchased in a little cup cake-like paper wrapper, Trou de cru is an orange disc on the surface and inside it's a caramel-like salty pungent farmyard flavour. We were lucky enough to have a piece that was perfectly ripe.


From the Spring st cheese cellar




Is cheese is good

#83 Hochalpenkase

The only Austrian entry (so far) in the tally. And that's all I know or can discover on this one (I'm not even sure how its pronounced).

It had a slightly crumbly feel, firm but not hard.

There was a vaguely fruity flavour about this cheese, also sampled at Milk the Cow.







Is cheese is good

#82 Meredith Farm Chèvre

A local Victorian goat's milk cheese.

It was pure white and felt soft and feathery in the mouth and has a very fresh taste balanced with a slight sourness.

Also sampled at Milk the Cow.







Is cheese is good

#81 Tete de Moine

Tete de Moine (Monk's head) has been made for over 800 years in the Jura mountains that lie between France and Switzerland.

It comes as a small wheel with a golden brown rind.

Tete de Moine felt and tasted like gruyere with a smooth, firm texture with a nutty taste.








Is cheese is good

#80 Dante by Cedar Grove

Another cheese from Wisconsin USA.

Dante is made with sheep's milk in the style of Spanish Manchego. I must admit the Manchego I've sample towards amassing the ton hasn't made my socks go up and down, but this was a revelation of what ageing can do for cheese.

Dante was a deep yellow with crystal deposits.The texture was dense and crumbly and the flavour rich and caramel-like.

A knockout.


Is cheese is good

#79 Wicked blue

Wicked Blue is a Horrorcore Death Rapper. I'd like to think I have a pretty broad knowledge of music including hip hop but that particular sub-genre has escaped me to this point in time.

Wicked Blue cheese is different - it hails from Tasmania and is made by the Wicked Cheese Company (who also make cheese under the Richmond label sampled elsewhere in the ton).

Wicked blue is pretty minimalist and would please blue cheese greenhorns. Its creamy, soft, light in blueness and but still has a sharp aftertaste.



Is cheese is good

#78 Marinated Camembert

I've lost the notes on this one which was found at the Spring Street Grocer. From memory they'd marinated a french Camembert in an apple brandy or liqueur and then used breadcrumbs to dry out the surface. It was a great flavour combination of the mushroom flavour of the camembert combined with apple. My only regret was not getting the full wheel.


Is cheese is good

#77 Reypenaer VSOP

A cow's milk cheese from the Netherlands matured for a whopping two years in an open barn.

The age is there in the deep yellow tone. It has a waxy mouth feel with some crunch from the crystals developed from amino acids during the extended ageing period. The flavour was intense and has hints of nuttiness and apple.

Sampled at Milk the Cow in St Kilda.

Is cheese is good

#76 Snow White cheddar by Carr Valley Cheese Co.

Made in Wisconsin, USA by the 100 year old Carr Valley Cheese Co. This is a goat's milk cheese aged for 6 months in a cave.

Snow white was pale and firm (sounding smutty now) but not crumbly (that's sounding safer).

It's a very aromatic cheddar with a salty aftertaste.

Sadly I don't seem to have a got a photo myself but here's a couple from the interweb. From memory it's the one in the first photo but it was a big night.



Is cheese is good

#75 Pho Mai Que

Vietnam is not known for its cheese production. But a recent 3 week holiday left us looking for an example of how cheese is treated in the local kitchens.

The answer is it's treated rather poorly, beaten, slapped into bread crumbs and then deep fried.

The cheese tasted like deep fried, processed mozzarella - which is probably exactly what it was.

Apparently 'on trend' with the local young things - Pho Mai Que proved that Vietnam is a land of wonderful foods and flavours - but this was not one of them.





Is cheese is good

#74 Fourme D'Ambert

Ancient is the common description for this cheese, made since Druids and Romans walked around Gaul, drinking magic potions, eating wild boar and wondering where to get their next fix of fromage.

Fourme D'Ambert is made in Auvergne, from cows' milk and this particular variety, I am informed, was aged in a tunnel, not a cave.

The cheese is aged for a couple of months. Its a pretty mild flavoured blue with a buttery colour and lots of blue deposits.




Is cheese is good

#73 Les Saminois

Can't find anythng online about this cheese - pity I'd like to know more. It's an aged cheese made in the style of Tomme.

It had an intense golden colour, specked with white crystal deposits.

The flavour was incredibly deep with lots of caramel.




Is cheese is good

#72 Richmond Tasmanian Brie

Made by the Wicked Cheese company in Tasmania from cows' milk.

If you live for oozy, lush, rich and buttery Brie then this will tick all your boxes.

If you prefer something stronger then go elsewhere.








Is cheese is good

#71 Ashgrove cheddar style double Gloucester

Ashgrove Cheese's Double Gloucester style Cheddar is made in Tasmania from cows' milk.

The cheese is aged 18 months and shows it in its golden looks, crumbly texture and strong earthy flavour.

A beauty.

Is cheese is good

#70 Red hill mountain goat blue

Red Hill do some great cheeses and have made a significant contribution to the ton of cheese tally.

The Mountain Goat Blue has a firm but creamy texture. The flavour is complex and highly aromatic - its a bit nutty and has hints of lemon.

While this one was bought in Melbourne, it's well worth visiting the cheesery and sampling their curds on site among the gum trees.

Is cheese is good

#68 Mimolette

Mimolette is a cow's milk cheese from France produced through inter-species cooperation.

Yes, little cheese mites are introduced producing the grey pitted rind and enhance the flavour.

Mimolette has recently experienced some controversy in the USA where there were attempts to ban its import due to insect phobias (and no doubt a local industry with elements that don't like the competition from cheese imports).

The colour was deep orange which combined with the rough grey rind made this cheese look much like a canteloupe.

The texture was both waxy and creamy and the flavour was rich caramel like with a little nuttiness thrown in for good measure.

Another sampled from Milk the Cow.

Is cheese is good

#67 Rogue River Smokey Blue

Rogue River Creamery has been making cheese in Oregon for over 80 years.

Their Smoky Blue is smoked over hazel nuts shells and it has a a hint of apple to it as well as the obvious smokiness (which works  well by the way). The texture is smooth creamy.

We sampled this one at Milk the Cow.

Is cheese is good

# 69 Ocelli Testundi Barolo

Italian made from a blend of sheeps and goats milk and covered in wine grapes.

Another great accidental invention in food history - the story goes that some cheese was hidden from thieves in the bottom of a wine barrel and forgotten. When it was discovered it was damn good. 

Not for the weak knee-ed - it's firm but moist. You can smell and taste the grapes, adding complexity to a sharp, slightly nutty flavoured chees. I loved it

Thanks to the Two Tall Chefs at the Cheese Shop - and Shane.




Is cheese is good

#66 Highland blue

A cheese of indeterminate origin - I can't even pin down the continent.

This is either from Whitestone cheeses in New Zealand or Back Forty Artisan Cheese in Canada - perhaps its actually from the Scottish highlands. I give up

Its a salty, mild but still full flavoured cheese with a creamy soft texture and minimal blue colouring.

Yum






Is cheese is good

#65 Nevat

Nevat is a goats cheese from Catalonia.

The snow white colour is the basis of its name (Nevat is apparently Catalonian for snow).

It has a bloomy rind, a creamy outer but the less ripe inner core was still a little chalky.

The texture and flavour is very light and fresh with a touch of yoghurt and unmistakable goatyness.





Is cheese is good

Crozier Blue (technically a repeat of #13)

OK - tricky. Technically I can't count this as I sampled it earlier this year as a foam. But it's worth adding to the blog (if not the tally) to give it a proper review.

Crozier cheese (from Tipperary) apparently kick started the Irish artisan cheese industry and is now exported around the world.

This blue is made from ewes milk. It's a complex one - both sharp and kind of sweet with a great aftertaste.

A top blue that would beat many of the big reputation French equivalents.

Is cheese is good

#64 Granny's blue by red hill

And another from Red Hill sourced from the fine cow's milk of Fish Creek. Granny's blue is a crumbly little number with a sharp, earthy smell. I'd place it at the mild end of the flavour spectrum.





Is cheese is good

#63 Red hill merricks mist

From Red Hill Cheeses, based on the Mornington Peninsular this is a classic Brie style cheese made from organic cows milk sourced from Fish Creek. The flavour is intensely buttery.





Is cheese is good

#62 Hoch Ybrig

The cheese was much easier on the tongue than my efforts to pronounce its name. Hoch Ybrig, sounds like something uttered by a drunken Scottish soccer fan passed out under the table of a Glasgow pub.
But it aint. It's a Swiss cows' milk aged cheese made since the 1980s and exported by Swiss Affineur, Rolf Beeler.
Hoch Ybrig is washed in a brine that includes white wine and aged between 8 & 12 months.
It has an earthy brown rind and is very dry with a nutty, caramel flavour.
This was purchased by a workmate with damn fine taste from the Spring Street Grocer's cheese cellar.
Is cheese is good

#58 Pecorino Romano

This is antique cheese. Just look at that photo and the deep rich golden colours of a beautifully aged cheese. And it's been made since the days of the Roman Empire.
Our piece was dry and crumbly with a flavour of rich, salty, caramel (and slightly nutty too). Made in Sardinia from sheep's milk its aged 5-8 months. One variety of pecorino (Casu marzu - not this one) is made using fly larvae. Maybe a future addition to the tally???



Is cheese is good

#57 Charleston Brie by Woodside Cheese Wrights

Woodside cheese wrights from South Australia have featured a few times in the ton of cheese tally, their Charleston Brie (made from Jersey Cow's milk) is another example of a great Australian cheese.

Mushroomy and buttery fully ripe inside - it oozed but wasn't runny. The rind was breaking down and developed yellow streaks.





Is cheese is good

#60 Colston Bassett Stilton

"England has need of thee, and so have I"
G. K. Chesterton - Sonnet to a Stilton cheese
Stilton, just like its French and Italian cousins, Roquefort and Gorgonzola, is made by adding blue mould and then piercing the cheese to let in the oxygen required for the blue veins to develop.
Only five dairies are licensed to make Stilton, the classic English blue. And (of course) none are in the village of Stilton.
Colston Bassett (which, let's face it, would have been a much more long winded name for a cheese) is a village in Nottinghamshire.
http://colstonbassettdairy.co.uk/cheeses/index.html
Colston Bassett Stilton is a sharp, creamy and lemony old thing with a brown rind. Made from cow's milk - its not particularly blue.








Is cheese is good

# 61 Jackson's Track by Old Telegraph Road

Jackson's Track is a cow's milk cheese with a bloomy, white rind that, in this sample, was just breaking out a little. Its perfectly ripe, pale, yellow interior was very buttery with a little hint of cauliflower.
From the two tall chefs at the cheese shop.








Is cheese is good

#59 Hagenbutten-Kase by Rolf Beeler

First a little bit about Rolf Beeler, an Affineur (French for "bloke what ages cheese") from Switzerland who champions small artisan cheese producers. This guy is responsible for many of the great imported mountain cheeses available in Australia.
Now the cheese - yes it has the word butt in it. But that's really unimportant.
The Hagenbutten-Kase has a creamy gruyere-like aroma and is speckled with rose hips. It has an amazing looking rind - dark, thick, speckled and mouldy and inside its marked with specks of orange through the pale yellow interior. The flavour was caramel and nutty.


Is cheese is good

#56 Saint Nectaire

Saint Nectaire is a cow's milk washed rind made in the central French region of Auvergne.

Another one to grace our table on Bastille Day, the Saint Nectaire was universally declared a winner by adults and kids alike.

An orange coloured rind has a little of the ammonia aroma you'd expect from a washed rind, but its very subtle. The Saint Nectaire was delicious and slightly fruity balanced with a touch of salt.

If you've never been convinced of washed rind cheeses because of their pungency then give this one a go. It doesn't have the sheer punch of many in this type but it still packs in the flavour.

From memory this was picked up from the French Shop at the Queen Vic Market.





Is cheese is good

#55 Crottin de Chavignol

Crottin de Chavignol is a goat's milk cheese from the Loire Valley in France where it's been made for over 400 years.

This was one of three french cheeses we picked up for the home celebrations of Bastille Day.

It was a lovely little barrel about 10cm across surrounded in a pale yellow, rippled rind. The centre was still a little chalky and the flavour was earthy.






Is cheese is good

Very excited with the news that the Spring St Grocer has opened its cheese cellar this weekend. Hard to resist that temptation when its less than a 5 minute walk from work.

Is Cheese is Good!!!!

#54 Klundi by Lochelian

Klundi, by Shepparton cheese makers, Lochelian, is made in the style of Cheshire cheese.

I'm new to Cheshire cheese. According to the font of omniscience, wikipedia, Cheshire is both the oldest and most popular cheese in England.

Also, along with limes and Roger the cabin boy, a bit of Cheshire was mandatory on English naval vessels in the 18th century.

Klundi was crumbly, salty, pale and delicious with paste.




Is cheese is good

#53 Bruce's Blue by Lochelian

A cheese named Bruce has to be good, surely.

It's like Monty python's Cheese Shop sketch and their Australian Philosophy Department met at an Engineers Uni ball and spent the night making sweet cheese.

Bruce's Blue is named after its maker using the same mould used in making gorgonzola.

It's surface-ripened so the outside is heavily veined and might be a bit threatening to the less adventurous. But for those with the courage to venture forward, the inside is less blue, and has a smooth and creamy feel.

Bruce's Blue is sweet at front of palate and sharp at back end.




Is cheese is good

#52 Wanghu Soft by Lochelian

A new producer (to me) from near the Victorian town of Shepparton.

The Wanghu soft is a great looking cheese, I love the grid lines running across the rind. Its a classic, intensely buttery Brie. It oozed but was still slightly chalky towards the centre.

This one sourced from the extremely knowledgeable Two Tall Chefs at the Cheese Shop in North Carlton.Check 'em out on the facebook.








Is cheese is good

#51 Cloth Matured Cheddar by Ashgrove Cheese

A Tasmanian produced cloth covered cheddar. The Ashgrove was sharp and earthy to taste with a texture that fell mid way between waxy and crumbly.

I'll confess that I like but don't love cheddar. If offered a choice I'd take a brie or washed rind over a cheddar any day.

But Cheddar is undoubtedly cheese - so it's good. Here's a couple of factoids I've learned about cheddar.

1. Cheddar plays it both ways - its both verb and noun. The cheese takes its name from the process of cheddaring when the curd is cut up extra small and the maximum level of liquid is drained giving it that crumbly texture.

2. The cloth binding protects the cheese and lets it breath so the rind is formed. You won't get the same rind or flavour in a wax covered cheddar.







Is cheese is good