Types of cheeses

[Risen]

God, there are just too many damn cheeses. I'm sorry i ever started looking into the different types. What are your favorite kinds?

I'm looking for a good hard~semi hard cheese for camping/backpacking (so it'll stay fresh more easily). The cheeses i like are mild cheddar, jack/blue cheese, provolone, and mozzarella. I guess they all have that kind of sharp/tart/acidic flavor to them? I really dislike swiss cheeses, just something offputting about the flavor. Those are the only kinds I've tried, and I'm looking to see how edam, havarti, gouda, and asiago stack up in terms of flavor. Which one of those would I probably like most considering the other kinds I like? Any help is greatly appreciated .

 

[Thalassa]

I'm really a fan of gouda, as far as semi-hard cheeses go.

 

[Risen]

I'm really a fan of gouda, as far as semi-hard cheeses go.

What does it taste like?

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

You might like asiago the best considering what your other favorites are. You probably wouldn't like havarti, as it tastes a lot like Swiss cheese and it's easily the softest of these cheeses which might not be best for camping.

My choice would be either edam or gouda. I love the flavor of gouda, and edam is mild enough that any cheese lover would probably like it. Both of these also come packed in wax, which is a huge benefit when you're traveling without refrigeration.

 

[Thalassa]

What does it taste like?

kind of smooth but a little smoky...I'm not a huge fan of swiss either, so that's probably a good sign

but I do like semi-soft cheeses like brie and camembert, and also garlic and herb alouette which is actually soft enough to be spreadable

 

[NPcomplete]

I love smoked gouda. It has a smoky flavour, much like smoked sausages. I also find old cheddar to have a very intriguing sharp taste.

Havarti, as I remember it, has a quite subtle taste. I have yet to taste edam and asiago.

 

[miss fortune]

I used to work at a winery and we always had blocks of cheese sitting around from different wine tastings, so despite my dislike of eating much cheese at all (it's one of those flavors that I only like in smaller portions), my appetite tended to get the best of me and I tried all of them over the months

blue cheese tastes like mold to me and I loathe swiss (though I like havarti for some reason ), brie always tastes funny to me, I couldn't get over the smell of limburger and the flavor of geitost made me wish to die... it was awful

I don't care one way or another about most cheeses... they're cheese, so what?

I do cook with mozzarella (fresh, smoked or regular), parmesan, asiago and queso chihuahua (and at times feta or ricotta)... smoked cheeses get awesome points from me and so did some fresh cheese that an older lady made when I visited in Brazil, because it was nicely salty and I love salt

most cheeses though, I don't really care about... they're cheesy

 

[FDG]

Uh, is Asiago so popular in the US?

Uhm, what about Pecorino Romano?

 

[miss fortune]

it's getting moreso it seems... I was introduced to it as a match for wines

I see it a lot more often in the grociery store anymore though...

 

[Lark]

I've got to say there's some sort of blu cheese, the sort with the little mold blue veins in it which we always used to get each year as part of a cheese board it would be nasty by the time it was opened and tasted strongly and kind of "sweated" if you know what I mean but seeing some of it on sample at a supermarket not too long ago I was tempted to try it and it was wonderful, creamy and strong but pleasant, I bought a small square of it.

Turns out that how you store it and how quickly its eaten from when you eat it really makes the difference, I think most people are just used to chedder, like me, or something simple which you're just going to melt on a burger, tuna fish or put between slices of bread for a sandwich.

There's some variety of cheese too which in our house everyone opens from the foil and slices, even though in its cooler cabinet variety it is still pretty gooey, I found out recently that you're meant to use an oven or something to heat it and use it for dipping things into. Totally changes the taste and eating experience.

I'm not a big wine affecado at all so I've never eaten cheese with wine, I like different sorts of pickles and preserves to eat with it, can anyone make any recommendations? I only recently, about two or three years ago, found out about eating black current jam with cheeses, or at least with chedders or red leiscester (which is one of my favourites) and its wonderful. What about chutneys, what are they anyway? A kind of Indian jam?

I have tried marmite cheese lately, its like a cheddar in its texture and the flavour is alright but not particularly like the marmite spread which I dont like, I've tasted Bovril cheese, it was nice, although a bit strange to eat a beefy flavoured cheese, again hard like chedder. There was a variety of cheese from some county in england which I tried too, chedder but it was crumbly, didnt keep long, not even in the fridge and I dont think I'll get it again.

 

[FDG]

I've got to say there's some sort of blu cheese, the sort with the little mold blue veins in it which we always used to get each year as part of a cheese board it would be nasty by the time it was opened and tasted strongly and kind of "sweated" if you know what I mean but seeing some of it on sample at a supermarket not too long ago I was tempted to try it and it was wonderful, creamy and strong but pleasant, I bought a small square of it.

Turns out that how you store it and how quickly its eaten from when you eat it really makes the difference, I think most people are just used to chedder, like me, or something simple which you're just going to melt on a burger, tuna fish or put between slices of bread for a sandwich.

Gorgonzola?

 

[fecaleagle]

Havarti is probably my favorite...love it love it, especially semi-melted. It goes great on burgers. Gouda...OMGoudaa...it's very gooda..don't like the smoked version. I like to mix half gouda and half havarti, microwave them, and munch away on some yummy goodness. Also, goat cheese is good if paired right...goes great with pork. I like asiago sprinkled over a steak while it grills.

 

[Giggly]

Uh, is Asiago so popular in the US?

Uhm, what about Pecorino Romano?

Yes, both are popular here where I live and I love them, but I live in the wine region of the US so that might be why.

I have tried marmite cheese lately

I would like to try marmite.

 

[La de Longe]

Smoked gouda, smoked cheddar, smoked mozzarella...I've never had, but I bet I'd like it. The whole foods in my old neighborhood used to sell a buffalo cheddar with bits of habañero pepper that I used to throw into my easy mac. I miss those days.

:::sigh:::

 

[Giggly]

I like cow cheeses the best.

There is a hard (hard like Parmesan) yellow cheese that tastes exactly like cheddar. I bet that would keep for a long time.

 

[Sparrow]

Mexican cheese is the bomb.com, anyone try Rachero Queso Fresco?

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

I can't believe how cheesy this thread is!

 

[Sparrow]

I can't believe how cheesy this thread is!

Cheese ball!

 

[Vasilisa]

Turns out that how you store it and how quickly its eaten from when you eat it really makes the difference, I think most people are just used to chedder, like me, or something simple which you're just going to melt on a burger, tuna fish or put between slices of bread for a sandwich.

Stilton perhaps?

This may seem random, but to me its so fascinating. Market Researcher Clotaire Rapaille investigated the difference in attitudes towards cheese by French people and Americans. The French do not put cheese in the refrigerator while most Americans do store cheese there. He concluded that at base people in France consider the cheese alive, Americans consider it dead. As in, belongs in a morgue. With this information companies developed a "body bag", the ubiquitous plastic pouch so many people buy their cheese in today.

 

[Lark]

Stilton perhaps?

This may seem random, but to me its so fascinating. Market Researcher Clotaire Rapaille investigated the difference in attitudes towards cheese by French people and Americans. The French do not put cheese in the refrigerator while most Americans do store cheese there. He concluded that at base people in France consider the cheese alive, Americans consider it dead. As in, belongs in a morgue. With this information companies developed a "body bag", the ubiquitous plastic pouch so many people buy their cheese in today.

I've even been surprised with the opening of Lidal a couple of years ago in my home town in the differences not just in variety but the sorts of packaging which the cheese comes in.

Lidal's European and the individual slices of cheese range which come in a packet are better than the Kraft slices which are UK/US, Kraft slices are sort of like plasticy and almost seem like they have been melted before sealed in the individual wrapper. The German slices (I say German but it could be made in the UK, I dont know) is a plastic resealable box thing which individual slices stacked, its not the same as cheese cut from the block but its closer than the individually sealed variety.

It could be stilton that I'm talking about but the big ASDA which I got it in has a kind of Euro-Cheese "market" counter which has a real range of Cheese shot through with different sorts of blu veins and of different ages too. Some of it comes from big wax sealed circles. It does all taste differently.

I was very taken aback because I'd tried some samples expecting it to be that "sour", "rotted" taste which I associated it with and thought, well, acquired taste, some people dont like beer and whiskey but develop a taste for it, but, no, this was truly something else. I could have eaten it without anything else like crackers or bread or toasted triangles.

Got to say that I like smoked cheeses and the sort which comes in the "tube" like wrapping, its great for toast made on the open fire or in the fireplace.