Yummy cheeses
For Christmas, Jonathan and Grace sent over a package of cheeses. It was a great gift because even though I wasn't used to eating a lot of cheese in the past, lately I'm trying to get more into it. When I was young, cheese was not a big part of my diet, unless it was on top of a pizza. In fact I don't remember ever cutting a piece of cheese and having a cheese plate as part of a meal at home. That's actually the norm throughout the world since most of the world is lactose intolerant. If your a cheese lover and am not familiar with lactose intolerance, it's basically when your small intestines lack the enzyme lactase, which prohibits proper digestion of the sugar in milk products (lactose). I have discovered as an adult that cheese is delicious and not bad when consumed in moderation.
Two of the cheeses that came in the mail really stood out. One was the Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese in Wisconsin. According to their website, it recently won the 'Best of Show' award from the American Cheese Society's annual competition. It's a hard cheese and the flavor was very complex for my amateur taste buds. It's good because it's mellow and not overwhelming.
As a cheese novice, I have to say that the extra creamy cheeses and the extra pungent cheeses are the hardest ones to get acclimated. Blue cheeses fall in that category. Roelli makes a great hybrid chedder/blue cheese called Dunbarton Blue Cheese. It's a real pleasant way to be introduced to blue cheese because most of the blue cheese I've had in the past are very powerful. Since this wasn't a pure blue cheese, it's very subtle and delicious. Slash Food has more about the process and how this cheese was produced.
For any person who isn't a big cheese eater, I can highly recommend these two cheeses. They're made in Wisconsin so it ain't one of those things that localvores can ingest. But for normal folks out there, definitely give these two a try if you have a chance.
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What does your diet think of the cheese?
hungry
January 19, 2011 12:23 pm
You should eat cheese with confidence. Especially these cheeses. Aged cheese have very little lactose left in them. Some of the newer manufactured cheeses may have some lactose, but usually still very little. Either way... EAT CHEESE - WISCONSIN DEMANDS IT.
Jonathan
January 20, 2011 3:32 pm
@hungry,
my diet says don't go overkill with these things. haha. The first few weeks of a diet are easy though. It's after a couple of weeks it gets harder to stay motivated with portion control and the weight becomes harder to lose. I plan on eating EVERYTHING and just eating less of it.
@Jonathan,
Word, that's what I do! I eat it with confidence! Mmmm... I love Wisconsin!
Danny
January 21, 2011 11:39 am
My taste buds need to mature for the pungent cheeses. I'd be that person eating around the blue cheese crumbs in my Wendy's salad. Sigh...
Kimberly
February 18, 2011 1:52 am