Justin and I stay away from processed foods as much as we can, but sadly, I can not break up with cheese.  Never could I ever.  I love it too much.  So…because of my undying love for cheese, we try to only eat it as a treat (and in recipes that wouldn’t be the same without it).  We go grocery shopping every Sunday and over the last 5 months we have bought a new, different, small block of cheese from the under five dollar bin.  So every week, we try a new cheese.  This is part 3 in this series.  Read about our first five cheeses HERE and our second five cheeses HERE.  Enjoy!

Blue Castello

This brie-like blue cheese from Denmark is a distant derivative of Italian Gorgonzola but has a higher fat content and a milder flavor.  It is a perfect blue for those who like a little blue flavor without being blown away.  {info from HERE}  Blue Castello pictured in front.

 Irish Cheddar Marbled with Porter Beer

This cheese is made from pasteurized cow’s milk and is considered a vegetarian cheese because a vegetable rennet is used.  It goes without saying that a dark beer is an appropriate accompaniment.  Pebble-size curds are veined with dark-brown porter beer, creating a rich, marbled appearance.  The porter does not overwhelm the cheddar.  The fantastic looking gourmet cheese is a full-flavored and tangy cheddar with a firm texture.  {info from HERE}

Chimay Belgian Beer Cheese with Edible Rind

Chimay is a semi-soft, beer-washed cheese made in Belgium at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont.  Once produced, the cheese is regularly washed with Chimay beer.  The cheese is made from pasteurized cow’s milk and produced in a wide, flat disk format.  It has a crusty thick rind that is bright orange and tacky to the touch.  The interior paste is a deep lemon curd yellow.  Chimay’s flavor is robust and lingers long after eating.  {info from HERE}

Montegrappa

Montegrappa is an aged cow’s milk cheese from the Veneto region of Northern Italy; the cheese takes its name from a nearby mountain.  The interior of this Italian gourmet cheese is firm, dense, cheddar-like, is somewhat dry with an ivory color and an occasional small eye.  It smells faintly of brown butter and has a really nice flavor of toasted walnuts.  Montegrappa is a great cheese to melt in a fondue or shaved over a salad.  {info from HERE}

Mammoth Cheddar

Mammoth Cheddar is a very old traditional style of cheese.  It is usually a 74 lb. wheel that is cellar cured. Native molds are grown on the surface of the cheese and then cured for 10 months.  The flavor is very fresh and delicious with some fruity afternotes.  This cheese won 3rd Place at the 2009 American Cheese Society Competition.  {info from HERE}

“Nothing says holidays…like a cheese log.”
- Ellen DeGeneres

Justin and I stay away from processed foods as much as we can, but sadly, I can not break up with cheese.  Never could I ever.  I love it too much.  So…because of my undying love for cheese, we try to only eat it as a treat (and in recipes that wouldn’t be the same without it).  We go grocery shopping every Sunday and over the last 20 weeks we have bought a new, different, small block of cheese from the under five dollar bin.  So every week, we try a new cheese.   Cheese.com has 670 cheeses in their database and we’ve tried a total of 30 (including Swiss, Provolone, Parmesan, etc.) so only 640 more to go!  I took some great shots of our different cheeses and thought I would share them here.  Here are the first five.  Who knew that cheese could be so pretty?

Cotswold Cheese

Cotswold is a Double Gloucester with chopped onions and chives blended into the cheese. Cotswold is a region in Southwestern England.  It is a smooth, cheddar-like cheese with chives and onions. In the pub it is usually served with toast or rustic bread.  {info from here}

St. Andre Triple Cream with Edible Rind

Deserving of its reputation as “the heavenly cheese,” St. André is a pasteurized cow’s milk cheese, covered with a satiny, edible rind.  Soft-ripened, the downy white outer layer offers a complex counterpoint to the wildly rich and silky center.  As dense as pure butter and with the richest of flavors, the tongue-pleasing salty tang derives from the ocean air blowing through the pastures of the Normandy coast.  {info from here}

Soignon Bucheron

This popular soft-ripened goat cheese is produced by Soignon — maker of the best-selling goat cheeses in France — a 100-year-old dairy cooperative located in Deux-Sevres, France’s famed goat cheese region.  Lightly tangy, mild and pleasant with sweet caramel notes, the texture is soft and creamy under the rind, with a flaky core.  {info from here}

Parrano Holland Gouda

Parrano is the unforgettable cheese with a distinctly Italian temperament.  It has the alluring nutty flavor of a fine-aged Parmesan with the versatility of a young Dutch Gouda.  Aged to perfection, Parrano tastes buttery and nutty and is perfect as a snack…on its own…or added to any of your favorite recipes.  {info from here}

German Tilsit Cheese

Tilsit, also called Tilsiter, was the invention of Dutch immigrants to the town of Tilsit in East Prussia, now Lithuania.  Since then it has been widely copied and is made all over Germany.  This German gourmet cheese has a washed thin brownish rind and creamy yellow paste, very similar in appearance to Danish Havarti, with its irregular holes and bread-like appearance. The texture is very springy and elastic but fairly moist. Tilsit has a little bit of an aroma and warm earthy flavor.  {info from here}

The average American eats 32 lb / 14.5 kg of cheese per year.

{source}