Cheese Fest

Archive for the ‘Hard’ Category

Sussex Mansion

Mmmmm tasty!

Though nothing outstanding in its own right, this Cheddar like cheese, tastes at least as good as the proper Cheddar cheese made in the gorge. Having said that, it’s not actually a Cheddar (by definition). It does, however, taste remarkably similar.

A delicious cheese, strong flavour that has substance, but with no acidity, yet tangy with milky overtones.

Purchased from Cheese Please, Lewes.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia 2012.

(4/5)

Murcia al Vino

This very attractive looking cheese with its pale almost translucent paste and beautiful red/maroon rind promises much. Murcia al Vino Spanish made, it looks, in some ways, similar to a Manchego, but made with goat’s milk and washed in red wine. This leads to high expectations, but sadly these are not met. It has surprisingly little flavour. Slightly goaty, slightly reminiscent of Manchego, but mainly dull and tasteless like a Provolone. The only exciting bit is the rind which has a slightly perfumed flavour.

Purchased from Tesco.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2012.

(1/5)

 

Ribblesdale Blue Goat

This Yorkshire made hard goat’s milk cheese, wrapped in its dark green wax coating, with brilliant white paste and dusty sage green veins, is immediately visually striking. Ribblesdale Blue Goat On first tasting, there is a subtle goatiness and a smooth creamy texture with the fresh flavour that some goat’s cheese have. As the goatiness quickly fades, it makes way for a distinct blueness, that is again subtle and delicate. Its complex mix and broad range of flavours are unusual but pleasing, as they do not compete but compliment one another in an extremely satisfying manner. Sat atop a Cornish Wafer and eaten with a glass of crisp white wine, this cheese is a truly delightful experience. UPDATE – Be aware! – This cheese is better when young. If it gets too old, it can turn to the dark side. It loses it’s beautiful subtleties, becomes extremely overpoweringly blue in flavour with the throat attacking Cabrales effect.

Purchased from Cheese Please, Lewes.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia 2012.

(5/5)

Tommes De Savoie

A smallish round wheel with a hard white and grey mouldy rind. According to our sources  ”Tommes de Savoie” is made by a wide variety of producers covering a large area of France close to the Italian border. It varies considerably depending upon where it is made and what time of year.

Tommes, is a generic name for a cheese made from the skimmed milk left after the cream has been removed to make butter. As a result, they are relatively low in fat.
Its pale yellow paste is rubbery in texture with small amorphous holes in it.

It has quite a pungent aroma with a strong ammonia smell on the rind. Reminiscent of other alpine cheeses with satisfying farmyard flavour. Very similar to Fontina in taste, though not as strong, with a slight bitterness with creaminess of Morbier.

Purchased from Brighton Sausage Co.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia

(4/5)

Smoked Wedmore

Made in Somerset, Wedmore is based on a similar recipe to Caerphilly. This cheese, on first glance, with a thin layer of chives running though its centre, is visually reminiscent of a Morbier, but slightly paler.It has quite a delicate flavour which is subtly enhanced by the occasional hint of chives and the light smokiness of this particular version.

Purchased from Field & Forrest Delicatessen, Lindfield.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia.

(3/5)

Manchego

A hard whitish sheep’s milk cheese, coated in a synthetic waxy inedible rind.

This Spanish cheese becomes almost translucent, from the outside in, as it ages so it is easy to see whether it is worth buying. Ideally, you want to look for a translucent edge about 1cm (3/8″) deep.

Biting into manchego is deeply satisfying. The slight crunchiness of the lactic acid crystals together with its firm almost wax-like texture can be quite sensual. The flavour is rich, robust, slightly nutty and embodies the essence of what you expect a cheese to be.

Great just to nibble on whilst sipping a glass of wine, but also very good melted in a warmed ciabatta with tomato, onion and olives.

This cheese is an old favourite of ours and a yard-stick by which others are judged.

Purchased from any supermarket (the quality is fairly reliable).

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia.

(5/5)

Mature Goat Gouda

Similar to its namesake, but this hard cheese is almost white in appearance.

On first bite this cheese releases a pleasant goaty flavour, which soon dissipates to reveal the flavour of a good vintage gouda with the pleasing slight crunchiness of lactic acid crystals.

All in all a pleasant cheese. Something a little different, worth considering for the cheeseboard.

Purchased from Waitrose cheese counter.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia.

(3.5/5)

Wookie Hole Cave Aged Farmhouse Cheddar

When we tried this in the souvenir shop at Wookie Hole, the cheese had a very strong and distinct “old damp stone” flavour. However, the piece we purchased and took home, had none of this quality.

It was somewhat dissappointing. It tasted like cheddar, good cheddar, but with not a trace of that cave aged taste we had been expecting. The cheese also came with no rind or the usually expected colour variation through the slice that one would normally expect from a “real” cheddar. Though it tasted strong, but not acid with a slight trace of lactic acid crystals, it just did not seem to be authentic.

We suspect that the samples handed out in the shop are not from the same source as the cheese on the shelves.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia 2012

(2/5)