Thursday, 14 November 2013

#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

Red Hill Cheese - Mountain Goat Blue

#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



Friday, 8 November 2013

# 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.




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#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






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#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.





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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.

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#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.





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Thursday, 7 November 2013

#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