The Epic Cheese Thread

[Sandry]

I can't stand it when "experts" denounce a whole category of food/drink/music/literature/art etc. - I've seen it done to German wine, to science fiction and to 20th century minimalist music. In my view it predominantly reflects the expert's narcissism, they seem to conflate "I don't like it" with "It's bad in general". They also seem to lose sight of the fact that, in such things, there is nothing to say whether it is good or not other than personal opinion, it's not like politics, science, or mathematics where there is a scale of judgement in terms of ethics, evidence or logic.

I'll agree with you on this one - goats cheese is excellent (in my opinion of course...). Eating Rocamadour goats cheese with Muscatel grapes was one of the most wonderful food experiences I've had.

I would like to thumbs up pretty much the entirety of this post. I mean, I'm not wild about classical music (as in the era, not the whole genre - I love romantic and baroque), but asserting that it isn't good would just be egotistical and stupid.

Anyhow. Also goat cheeses tend to be my favourite cheeses, as I really enjoy the strong flavour you can get from them without having to go down the For Serious Stinky Cheese route. Because I am not sophisticated enough to go that route - I just don't see the appeal, regardless of number of attempts.

[bentheimmigrant]

Raclette.

It's probably not my favourite cheese, but it's my favourite cheese experience. Sit around a table with friends, and eat delicious melted cheese on potatoes and bread for hours at a time. Throw in some spring onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and various meats (especially chorizo), and then watch it slowly melt until it's ready to scrape onto your plate.

[Soupspoon]

Right now, I have a hankering for some Somerset Brie, perhaps on some slightly warmed bread, but the brie left to stand for a tortuous (for meband my tastebuds!) half an hour.

But, darnit, I haven't got any...

[PAstrychef]

The FDA and its idiotic stance on raw milk cheeses means that I can only get pale imitations of some great cheeses such as Mimolette. When I travel overseas I always find a good cheese shop and go a bit crazy with samples.

[Nath]

I just looked this up, because I remember reading somewhere recently that the FDA does allow aged (60+ days) raw milk cheeses. Mimolette was apparently banned (well, imports were 'on hold') due to the cheese mites in the crust, but it seems to be back. Raw milk Camembert and such still seem to be off-limits, though, due to their youth.

[Neil_Boekend]

The FDA and its idiotic stance on raw milk cheeses means that I can only get pale imitations of some great cheeses such as Mimolette. When I travel overseas I always find a good cheese shop and go a bit crazy with samples.

I sometimes like to imagine there being a secret raw-milk-cheese smuggling network to get the good cheeses in the USA.

I love Roquefort.

[pogrmman]

I just looked this up, because I remember reading somewhere recently that the FDA does allow aged (60+ days) raw milk cheeses. Mimolette was apparently banned (well, imports were 'on hold') due to the cheese mites in the crust, but it seems to be back. Raw milk Camembert and such still seem to be off-limits, though, due to their youth.

Yep. I just recently had some raw milk cheeses here in the US. I had a really good Manchego that was made with raw (sheep's) milk. Also, a good Italian cheese (I forget what I was).

Probably one of my favorite cheeses is a specific triple cream soft cheese called Délice de Bourgogne.

I just wish good cheese was not so expensive. I only have it a few times a year because of the price...