Cheese #3: Celtic Vintage Irish Cheddar with Malt Whisky

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. I picked this week's cheese in honor of this day. From what I know, I have Irish heritage but would not say St. Patrick's Day is something I look forward to each year. My most fond memories of St. Patrick's Day come from my childhood when each year our family's Rat Terrier (his love for cheese is mentioned in my personal history with cheese) would "get loose" and come back after being attacked by a leprechaun, all of his white fur died green. My brother and I later figured out this was our father's attempt at getting us excited about St. Patrick's Day. Usually the dog would remain green until mid-May when the dye finally all rubbed off.

Enough is enough, let's talk about the cheese of the week. To celebrate St. Patrick's Day I picked up a wedge of Celtic Vintage Irish Cheddar with Malt Whisky from our local DeKalb Farmers Market. I prefer going into my reviews with an open mind free of others opinions but this week as I was bragging to friends about my holiday themed choice and friend said to me, "I have had that cheese from the market before and it is not very good". I am happy to say that in my own kind opinion she was incorrect. I knew I was going to love this cheese from the second I picked it up. What was there for me not to love? I am supposedly Irish, I love malt whisky, anything vintage is cool and it is all mixed together in a beautiful white cheddar.

The cheese itself gets a solid four and a half stars in my book. It is once again not as versatile as the undisputed most pot of gold worthy cheese in the world, Colby Jack, but it is still pretty darn good. It came wrapped in wax for freshness unlike many other more snobby cheeses with their own protective rind. The cheese was perfectly sharp and crumbled wonderfully when it was cut or broken the way a dry cheese should. My friend with the incorrect opinion about this cheese said she ate most of hers with apples which improved the taste. While I thought the cheese was wonderful on its own, she was correct, apples were an awesome addition, making this cheese a well rounded snack. I have only two complaints with this cheese. The first is that I had high expectations for a stronger whisky taste in the cheese and my second is that this Irish cheese has to share part of its name with the oldest most washed up team in professional basketball. As I see it if those are truly the only two issues this must be a cheese you would be lucky to find at the other side of a rainbow.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Peace, Love, and Cheese

Cheese #2: Charnwood

Loyal cheese lovers and readers this week I will be reviewing a cheese I picked up at the wonderful Dekalb Farmers Market, not far from my home. Before I delve into my post I wanted to thank everyone for the overwhelming response to last week's inaugural post. I found myself flooded with comments/suggestions about other cheeses to ponder from readers around the globe.

Charnwood

After my wife informed me early this week that I was not to eat any of the shredded cheese in our fridge as a snack, (I always thought this was a normal thing to do until I got married) I decided I would start my pondering early. I picked up a small wedge of Charnwood (Smoked De Applewood) a cheddar cheese that is not actually smoked but instead seasoned to have a smoky taste. If your first thought is "wow sounds like a fancy cheese" you are on the same page I was when I picked it up. If you have never had the pleasure of tasting Charnwood, imagine how it tastes to eat a piece of string cheese that has shared a package with a smoked meat stick (usually found near the counter at a classy gas station). You know the deliciousness of the cheese is still somewhere in that poor and helpless piece of cheese but it has been masked by the overwhelmingly cheap smoky taste. Before you start to think this post will focus only on bashing Charnwood let me tell you, Charnwood does have some positive qualities. It is a very soft and snackable cheese. It would be wonderful for any party's cheese platter except for the fact that the smoky taste may seep into the other cheeses on the plate. In comparison to the world's favorite cheese (Colby Jack), Charnwood is equally soft and would be an excellent sandwich cheese as far as texture and versatility goes in the cheese world but I am afraid that the strong smoke flavor takes away from Charnwood's ability to be a well respected cheese with many uses. I would give Charnwood a C+ for an overall grade. While it was not one of the best cheeses I have ever pondered it was tolerable and enjoying Charnwood was much easier than enjoying a night without cheese.

Charnwood

I will end this post with another quick review. On Friday night my wife and I enjoyed dinner at 246, a restaurant in Decatur, Georgia. 246 was recommended by our friends because of the many unique cheeses on their menu which can be enjoyed as an appetizer. Our dinners were delicious but I will say my favorite part of the experience was publicly pondering Taleggio, a buffalo milk cheese from their menu that was served with homemade sweet pickles and strips of toasted bread. There will be no pictures of this fancy pants cheese as I was informed taking pictures in an establishment such as 246 was probably not appropriate. Taleggio was very soft and almost spreadable like butter. The Taleggio was an off white color with a yellow rind. This cheese from the milk of a horned beast was much less intimidating than the animal that produces it. Taleggio was very creamy with an slight but not overwhelming blue after taste. I imagine that Taleggio would taste fantastic crumbled over a salad but unlike the cheese previously mentioned in this post Taleggio's taste would easily be lost in a sea of other tastes and textures. To truly enjoy Taleggio it should be the center of attention.

Please keep sending any comments or suggestions of future cheeses I should try and check back next week for another installment of pondering cheese.

Peace, Love, and Cheese