#13 Crozier Blue (as a blue cheese foam)

This was an accident - I swear I didn't mean to eat cheese, it just happened.

I was innocently out for dinner when the Grilled Fig with Jamon and Blue Cheese Foam caught my eye from across the bar.

It was lust at first sight. 

And how could I resist this perfectly balanced trio of sweet figs (on tenor sax), salty jamon (playing sleazy piano) and sitting deep in the background, the blue cheese (on double bass).



The foam was beautifully airy. It had been cooked up with a bay leaf, given a bit of thyme and (the chef's words, not mine) some chemicals, hmm.

Here you can just make out the foam as it rushed towards my plate.




The identity of the blue cheese was a mystery, revealed by solid detective work from the waiter who asked the chef. He visited our table hefting a whopping great wheel of cheese that I had never set eyes on before (so its in the blog). Unfortunately he left with the cheese.


Crozier blue cheese is made by Jane and Louis Grubb, Farmhouse Cheesemakers. Its Irish (made in Tipperary) and is said to be the only sheep's cheese made in Eire. Can't wait to taste it in its un-foamed state.



andits
Is cheese is good

#12 Pleasant Ridge Valley

This is the first time I've had the pleasure of tasting a cheese from the USA. Pleasant Ridge Valley is from Uplands Cheese Company from Wisconsin, land of milk and... well, cheese. If you check out their website you'll see the Uplands crew really know how to show a cow a good time (google up rotational grazing some time and you'll see what I mean - don't worry its workplace safe).

Pleasant Ridge Valley is one of two cheeses made by Uplands in the style of aged cheeses from alpine Europe (think Gruyere, I'm not sure how one" thinks Gruyere" but give it a red hot go anyway). It's made with unpasteurised cow's milk (apparently if it's aged long enough then it gets past any regulatory issues) and regularly washed with brine until maturity. Mmmm brine.

In 2010 it won "best in show" at the American Cheese Society awards. Personally I can't hear the phrase "Best in Show" without thinking of the movie directed by Spinal Tap Director, Christopher Guest. Let's be thankful they had the good sense to work with dogs instead of cheese, which, of course acts appallingly and fares badly under studio lighting.




The cheese that won best in show (did it go all the way to eleven?), Pleasant Ridge Valley, has a thin brown rind encompassing a deep yellow hard inner with a slight (but not unpleasant) musty/earthy aroma. The texture is dry (dryer than Gouda) and you get a crystal-like sensation on the palate. The flavour is intense leaning a little towards caramel, but not leaning so far that it might fall and make a mess - like a drunk who should have really stopped at that last drink and thought better of wearing high heels.

Another winner from Bill's Farm who have very nicely mentioned my blog on their website - I hope their act of kindness doesn't lose them customers.

Is cheese is good

I didn't know I was a Turophile

I didn't know I was a turophile did you? But according to the best sources on the web, a turophile is a fancier of cheese and ooh er, I do fancy a bit of cheese (Sorry, just contemplating a reboot of the 'Carry On' films. Does 'Carry on Wensleydale' work at any level?).
I stumbled upon his completely useless word along the way to discovering this little beauty. As a policy analyst by day and turophile by night, I love a good framework almost as much as I like a good bit o' cheese (well not really).
And here it is - the ultimate cheese tasting framework. I hereby solemnly vow to refer to ultimate cheese taste framework (occasionally and loosely) in future blogs.

#11 Fleur De Maquis

#11 Fleur de maquis

The home of Napoleon produces a very special kind of cheese and then gives it a poetic sounding name Leur de maquis. Lovely sounding isn't it?

But the translation is "flower of the maquis" - the maquis being undergrowth native to Corsica, bristling with brigands, guerrilla fighters and sheep, all waiting to make some very nice cheese.

Fleur de maquis was a rather amazing looking cheese - Before you look at the photo just centimetres below, close your eyes for a moment. Now imagine slipping into a white mohair jumper as you stand at the top of a grassy knoll (but not in Dallas OK). Now roll down that hill like you're a kid again. Oh shit! The grassy knoll has been freshly mowed and some idiot forgot to attach the grass catcher to the mower!!! 

And that, cheeselovers - is exactly what this astounding cheese looked like.Fleur de maquis is Corsican sheep cheese rolled in rosemary and juniper berries. The cheese looks a little like a ricotta and smells incredibly herbaceous.

The taste was that fresh, clean and slightly sour flavour of a fresh sheep  cheese and the texture was creamy combined with the roughage of the dried, herb coat. I have to admit that I couldn't taste the juniper berries but then I wouldn't be sure what to make of a cheese that tastes like Gin. But the rosemary was a winner, a herb long associated with remembrance - it certainly contributed to a very memorable cheese loved by all at the table.

#10 Le mini chevrot

#10 Le mini Chevrot

A bit of French cheese after the Australia fest at the end of last month

The cheese is from the Poitou-Charentes area in south western France.
Goat cheese is a specialty of this area and is fact (according to one random
source on the interweb) a third of French goats call this region home.
Apparently its the area where the French turned back the Moors - but kept their goats.

Le mini chevrot came to us as two small discs (it was a two for one deal at the market) that looked like a pair of mini brains on a plate, which, if you had mispent your youth in the same way I did, immediately brought to mind the Steve Martin classic - "The Man with Two Brains"

The knife revealed  a butter-yellow layer beneath the pale rind and then a white inner core. This was no longer an absurd 80s comedy - it was a delicious cheese.

Le mini chevrot was perfectly ripe - soft but a long way from liquid. The flavour - typically goaty, pungent and salty. A damn fine cheese.

Le mini chevrot was sourced from my regular cheesemongers of choice, Bill's Farm at Queen Victoria Market.

#9 Tarago River Gippsland Brie

The Tarago River Cheese Company is best known for its Shadows of Blue, a blue vein cheese so seductive it woos the most faint-hearted of palates. They have a number of other choice blues and a stand up washed rind too (Jensen's Red).

This was my first encounter with their Brie, which was the only cow's milk cheese on our Australia Day platter. Our wedge was still firm but just starting to soften (no straw or spoon required) and the flavour was rich and very buttery. Definitely one of the better Australian Bries on the market.

Time for a quick challenge "check in":

• Required strike rate - 1.92 cheeses per week
• Current strike rate - 1.38 cheeses per week
• Verdict - must eat more cheese

Is cheese is good

#8 Milawa Tomme

This was my pick of the platter deserving a 4 out of 5 kraft singles for quality (someone told me I should numerically rate the cheeses - we'll see if it works).
Tomme was the darkest cheese on our Australia Day Platter reflecting a
decent bit of ageing. Tomme was a little
pungent, but pleasantly so. Overall, it was a semi-hard slice of salty, goaty, goodness.

Tomme is an Alpine cheese style from France and Switzerland. Through forensic internet research I have now established that this cheese was in fact the inspiration for early 80s dance band (and Talking Heads spinoff)  "The Tom Tom Club".
Unfortunately EU "designation of origin" regulations required the band to shorten their original name (the Tomme Tomme Club), remove all published references and create a fictional "origin story" on their Wikipedia entry.
If you listen very hard to the Tomme Tomme Club's hit Genius of Love you can hear a number of cunningly, veiled references to this very fine goats milk cheese.







Is cheese is good