L'Ami du Chambertin $11 or so at Grapevine. Cow's milk cheese from the Burgundy area. This washed rind cheese is in the Epoisses family. Le Chambertin is a vineyard in the Côtes de Nuits area of the northern Côtes d'Or in Burgundy. This cheese has been around since the mid-fifties. The crust is wrinkled and orange. The paste inside is creamy, fine, and delicate. A farmer took over a creamery that had been abandoned after World War II. It was only recently made available in the U.S. The milk comes only from farms in the region. The cheese is made like any other for the first week or so. Then, once it is formed, it is washed daily with a mixture of water and Marc de Bourgogne liqueur for four weeks. Its aging time after the washing depends on personal preference. Read more about it (in French) at http://www.bourgogne-recettes.com/region/from4.html. I was looking around for an Epoisses type of cheese to go with a Chambolle-Musigny Burgundy. It is supposed to be good with Chambertin wine, but it went with the other Burgundy just fine. Grapevine had just gotten this little stinker in. It comes in a small chipwood box with calligraphy lettering. Raw milk. It may be aged under 60 days and just slipped by. The rind is wrinkly and sticky. On the inside, it is creamy and gooey towards the edges, but not quite room temperature, the heart is fluffy. It almost reminded me of a Brie. It definitely has a barnyardy, woody, earthy flavor. Spicy, but not too much. Thick and creamy. This is a luscious cheese. It needs to come to room temperature to let out all the flavors, but if it sits out too long, it turns a dark yellow color and gets almost rubbery.
La Leyenda with Brandy $15.99 lb. at Whole Foods, $4.96 for a decent slab. This is made from raw sheep's milk, aged one year. This cheese has been rubbed with oil and fine herbs, then soaked in Solera brandy for 4-5 days. This looks like a Manchego and tastes like one, too, except that it has a stronger sheep flavor due to the raw milk and also is heavily herbed. I taste a lot of rosemary that penetrates the entire cheese. The rind looks like the inside icing of carrot cake, but with brown instead of orange flecks. The outside is sticky like carrot cake icing. It is salty, nutty, and creamy textured. I am not sure why the rind is white and creamy.
La Tur,
Alta Langa Fresh cheese from Italy. $31.95
lb. at Central Market. $5.99 lb.
for a decent square/circle. I can't tell what this shape is supposed to be.
This is
goat, cow and sheep. On the label,
it has a picture of a medieval cheese counter.
I had to get a napkin just to walk around Central Market with it in my
hand. Patrick says that he is not
too much into cheese that you have to drink.
It is cold, clammy, and mushy. It
looks like it comes in a cupcake holder, but the cupcake holder has been
dissolved by the wet cheese. It is
a little larger than the palm of my hand. There
is no texture. Just viscosity.
It is cream-colored. It is
runny on the outside, and very curdy on the inside.
It’s like eating cottage cheese mixed with brie.
It probably was supposed to be consumed more at the curd stage, but it is
good like this. I like it, even
though it does taste a little bit like a tire at first.
It is really goaty. I
don’t think a lot of party people would like it.
It is not good with white wine. Very
salty, tiny bit bitter, but not much at all.
This was the most disgusting looking cheese according to Patrick.
It was, in fact, the ugliest cheese that Central Market had.
You do practically need to eat it with a spoon.
My friend Peggy was brave and tried it, but she wasn’t into it.
I tried this cheese a second time and it was firmer and younger, with a flakier interior. I think I actually liked it a little better runny and old, but people at the party enjoyed it. The first bite scared them, but they got used to it, or maybe they just wanted to show off. It has a very young, lactic flavor that is almost metallic and bitter at first, but the light barnyard animal aftertaste is really good, as is the texture.
Believe it or not, I tried this weird cheese a third time. It was $31.99 at Grapevine, and $9.99 for a cupcake of it. It was past its date by three weeks, but I have never seen this cheese looking perfect anywhere in town. At least this time it was more in its original mold shape, though the rind was really wrinkled up and toughened on top. It also has a strong odor. Towards the rind it is extremely runny and musty, but in the center, it is tangy, salty, and exciting. This cheese is very vegetal. It has some white mold on the rind. This is really an ugly cheese, but it is addictive. Oh, and lovely -- I just looked at the bottom and part of what I ate was the cupcake wrapper!
I thought I should try La Tur again, even though I never was dissatisfied with it, since Janet Fletcher, author of "The Cheese Course: Enjoying the World's Best Cheeses at Your Table" wrote me about my review. Janet writes for the San Francisco Chronicle. Her cheese column can be found at http://www.sfgate.com. She said that I had not had a properly tended-to or properly aged La Tur, which I suspected.
I have tried this cheese a fourth time! This time, again, it was at Grapevine. It was $31.97 lb. and $9.99 for a cupcake sized piece, which is 5 oz. I don't see a sell-by date on the label like I usually do. This cheese, again, is wet on the bottom and is smelly. Later, it will age and become all squishy. It has a delicate, lightly wrinkled skin that is a greenish-cream color. There is a light dusting of white mold on the outside. The texture inside is exquisite. It almost seems too young, but it has a lovely Chèvre flakiness, but more dense. It is still creamy and spreadable. The flavor is outstanding. It is light, tangy, salty, milky, but then also earthy on the finish. The finish is long and luscious. I love the mouthfeel almost as much as the taste. I cannot stop eating this. This is by far the best La Tur I have ever had, thought the rim of the top is starting to toughen. I also enjoyed the runny paste of the older, flabbier La Turs, but this tastes and feels like what this cheese should be -- creamy, rustic, delicate, and full of character. Even with its goaty farm taste, people who are squeamish would still like this.
I had to have this cheese for the 5th time. I can't quit buying it, and it's expensive! It's $10 a pop. I got it at Grapevine when it was still fairly fresh, but let it age a couple of weeks. It stunk up my fridge really bad. Even when I opened the freezer, I could smell that funky animal scent. Its flavor was not nearly as strong as its smell, and it seemed to smell less once it came to room temperature. I think this was the best La Tur yet. When cold, it sliced into delicate, fluffy wedges. It seemed to have some chunky curds in the center. Once it came to room temperature, which was very quick, it was soft and luscious. Bone colored. The part towards the rind had the consistency of whipped butter. It was excellent and people loved it. I tried it with an Amarone, which was nice since this cheese tastes pretty salty. It's strong, but light, just like the Amarone.
Labane 95% Fat Free by Tnuva About $3.50 for an 8 oz. tub at Pomegranate. This is part of Tnuva's Mediterranean Collection. OU-D, cholov yisroel plus two or three other hechshers that I can't read. It is only 210 calories for the entire tub. 2T is about 1 oz. and 30 calories, 2g fat, 150mg sodium, and 3g protein. This cheese is nice and fluffy and tangy with a lot of bounce. It isn't so much a yogurt as Greek yogurt is, which is overly tangy and extra soft. Labane has a definite cheese flavor, like something beyond just yogurt sourness. It tastes like it has some other cultures added in besides what yogurt has. The label just says culture plus milk and cream. It is made in Israel. Labane is usually served drizzled with olive oil and some za'atar spice blend. It is also sold with the oil and spices in the bowl, but it is good just plain like this. It is good, and also good knowing that it is so low fat. Photo of Tnuva Labane
Labneh Dry Yogurt $3.99 for a 16 oz. tub at Phoenicia Bakery. It is made of Dry Yogurt, Yeast, Pasteurized Milk, and Salt. They make it at the south location. This cheese has a wonderful texture and is a bright, snowy white. It seems very fresh. When I first tasted it, it reminded me of paint. It is extremely tart. The milk flavor is not as strong in this Labneh as it was with the Byblos Lebni below. It is not as complex, and is more expensive. Still, it is really good and I like that it's so fresh.
Landaff $4.32 at Saxelby Cheesemongers in NYC. A gorgeous yellow cheese that eats like a Cheddar or an English Caerphilly. The center is lighter yellow and shows the gentle pressing of the curds with irregular "holes," which are not like Swiss holes. Just random openings. It is tangy and nutty, a little grassy in the sense of real grass flavors with a lot of herbs and interesting things mixed in and not just an overly tangy flavor. Towards the rind, it turns a darker yellow and then right at the rind, it is almost brown and even purple/grey in some places. It is really strange. It gets oily very quickly around the edges after it sits out. It is tart, fresh, a little lemony, and definitely cheesy. This is a great cheese for somebody who likes Cheddar, but wants something that tastes more rustic and also has a softer, chewier, squishier texture. It has a natural rind with what appears to be markings of cloth binding. There is some white and grey mold, and amazingly, there are a few holes in the rind that look like the holes you see in the outside of blue cheese. I don't know if this is on purpose, but they are perfectly round. Where one little hole is, I see a clump of rind-colored mold where it went into the paste of the cheese. Did a bug make these holes? They don't seem to be in any pattern. This cheese comes from Landaff Creamery in Landaff, NH, and it is made of raw Holstein cow's milk. It is made in the Welsh style and is described by the producers as "tangy with a clean finish," and as having a buttery texture. It is cave-aged. I don't know how old it is, but it should be at least 60 days old if it is raw. Photo of Landaff
Le Lingot du Quercy from France, aged goat cheese. Les Gariottes, Alvignac, fromage artisanal, 200 mg. at the time of emballage, but I guess it had dehydrated and or gotten heavier due to all the mold. 45% mg. $7.49 at Whole Foods. Melty, with a harder moldy cream-colored crust with spots of blue mold. It is in the shape of a square log, small brick. It has a runny paste, cream-colored, old cheese, rubbery, chewy soft crust. Not too salty, good cream.
Le Maubert Carré de l'Est $7.99 for an 8 oz. or so square at Pomegranate. "Carré de l'Est" means "square of the east" in French. This is an Ermitage cheese from Lorraine. It is a square Brie type with 45% m.g. It comes in a gold package. Excellent! It is at a perfect age and softness, possibly even a little young, but with such a beautiful white rind. This is the rind that they had in mind when they made up the word "downy white" for Brie. It is tangy and mushroomy and definitely has an attitude, but is never unpleasant. There is a faint bitterness that is just part of the rind flavor. Mostly it is just savory, smoky flavors that sneak up on you. The cheese looks like it is going to be bland, but it is not. It just melts on the tongue with its meaty, milky flavors. It is even described on one website as "bacon-y." These may not sound like appropriate adjectives for a kosher cheese, but there you have it. This cheese has an excellent balance. It is certified kosher by S.A. Schlesinger of Strasbourg and is cholov shamur/yisroel and kosher for Passover. From what I understand, it is available non-kosher by this company, but they make a kosher run of it, too. Photo of Le Maubert Carré de l'Est
Lebni (aka Lebna or Lebeneh). This is a pasteurized Kefir cheese. The brand I found at the Mashala Market in Austin, Texas is Byblos, imported by Kradjian in Glendale, CA. It was only $2.29 for a 16 oz. tub. I can't remember where this Lebni came from -- possibly Palestine. It is the texture of finely whipped cream cheese, but even frothier and fluffier. It is cow's milk, bright white in color, and tangy. Basically, Lebni is yogurt that has either been hung up in a muslin cloth to drain or that has had lemon juice added to it to firm it up. It is served with olive oil and dried mint on Middle Eastern bread like pita bread or pocket bread. This cheese is delicious. It reminds me of a very firm sour cream. It is very tangy, lemony, and slightly milky. It makes my mouth pucker up. I love this cheese so much. I was upset that, for 2 tablespoons, it is 70 calories and 6g of fat. I knew it was too good to be true, but that is still low fat. It is really yogurt -- cultured grade A pasteurized milk, cream, nonfat milk, lactose reduced nonfat milk, and enzymes. I tried the Labneh above, freshly made, and I like this better. It has more of a cream flavor. It reminds me of Italian cream icing on cakes, except not sweet.
Leerdammer
$5.99 lb. at Central Market. About $3.75 for a huge slice, and I mean huge. This
cheese is a great bargain. It also looks pretty on a tray and is good with
apples and pears. It is basically a Baby Swiss type, but, in my opinion, a
little milkier-tasting than many. While it is a bit plain compared to some
cheeses, it still has a wonderful long-lasting subtle flavor that is quite
addictive. I can't keep my hands off this cheese. It is lightly sweet, milky,
and a little nutty. The mouthfeel is wonderful -- not rubbery like some of the
Emmenthals and Baby Swisses. It is milder than Jarlsberg, but has a nicer
texture.
Leyden Holland $5.39 lb. at Whole
Foods, $2.75 for a huge chunk. The
cheesemonger told us it was caraway seed, but I think it had cumin seed in it.
I had some other friends taste it, and they agreed.
Maybe it was a mixture. It
has red wax, lots of seeds. I think
that I wrote that it tastes kind of annoying.
Medium hard cheese, yellow, light brown seeds.
It tastes like mint. Creamy,
mint flavor. It is kind of
annoying. Good cheddary clean
flavor. I don’t think I liked the
seed flavor in it.
Limburger This was $3 for a brick at Phoenicia Bakery. We were too scared to eat it, it stank so bad, even in the wrapper and wrapped up in a plastic bag. It was all runny and was getting everything wet with stinky water. It ended up going bad in the fridge and molding. I felt really guilty about wasting it, but I was too scared. Years later, I bought some Bayerischer Limburger for $3.99 for a small brick. It came in a gold wrapper, 40% m.g., from Champignon. Oddly enough, it doesn't stink at all. It feels firm and bouncy like a Brie. This looks like any other washed rind cheese. It has an orange, soft rind, creamy, butter-colored paste with some holes, and a dirty aroma. It is very bitter, which I'm not wild about, even when I don't eat the rind. It's got an ammoniated, cat-pee smell and taste. It's just really meaty and spicy. Actually, when I don't eat much of the rind, it's not as bitter, though still more bitter than most washed rinds. I don't know what all the fuss was about.
Linconshire Poacher
$21.99 at Whole Foods, $5.50 for a slender slab. Mysterious cheese, especially
with such a weird name. It looks and tastes a lot like a British Cheddar.
It turns out it is made in a Cheddar
style in Britain. Unpasteurized from Holstein cow milk. It has a gorgeous,
almost transparent hard texture and a color like an aged Asiago. Looking at it
on my desk, I can see that it is just ready to flake off into thin slivers like
a piece of slate. The rind is lightly waxed (I think) and mottled -- looks like
it may have been wrapped in some cloth. Grassy aroma and flavor. Super salty
taste, almost as salty as Parmigiano-Reggiano. This cheese is absolutely
delicious with medium bodied wines, both white and red. Read more about it at
http://www.lincolnshirepoachercheese.com.
Little Friar Crema de Cabra $2.99 for a 4 oz. tube at Whole Foods. Since I'm
on a budget and needed some goat cheese to go with a Sauvignon Blanc, I picked
up this Little Friar. The label has a picture of a fat monk petting a goat. The
cheese comes in a sausage0like tube and is soft enough that I can squeeze it out
like toothpaste. It's extremely fresh and tangy, not very goaty, lemony, but
still a little lemon-like. It's from
http://www.forevercheese.com, made in Spain in the Jumilla region. A Mitica
cheese. It has that thick, gamy taste of animal milk on the finish -- not so
noticeable in a cheese, but in a milk, yes. Bottom line, it's super creamy and
lush, and although it's light, it is also irresistible. I ate almost all 4 oz.
in one sitting. Luckily, it's a lower fat cheese.
Livarot from Normandie, France.
$19.99 lb. at Central Market, $10.99 for a small wheel.
It came in a tiny little wooden container with a cute label on it.
I opened it up and the cheese was wrapped in plastic and had French
paragraphs on it. I wanted to keep
it, but we were getting married and it all got thrown away and not even read.
This cheese has been dried and “washed” with a weak salt solution.
It is red/orange on the outside, in the shape of a tall, fat Brie.
It had some red strips of paper on the sides. It is nick-named the
Colonel because of the military stripes. The
inside was soft, yet firm, with lots of curd holes.
Very nice consistency. It is
definitely stinky foot, but not too bad. People
actually ate it at the wedding, and I was surprised.
It has, after having sat out, an almost runny texture, very soft.
It is nutty, very slightly bitter, full-bodied, but not overwhelming.
I’d say it is stronger than the trappist cheese, but still very
tolerable for most Americans. It is
really really good. Patrick loved
it. It was good, and also seemed
like we got it at a good time, nice and fresh, good texture.
One of Patrick’s favorite stinky foot cheeses.