Cheese Based Question aimed at Colonials.

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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Not sure if I should post it here, but a British cheese won the title World Champion Cheese at the 30th Annual World Cheese Awards.

Cornish Kern made by Lynher Dairies Cheese Company.

Congratulations !
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,665
McBride, BC
Congratulations to Lynher Dairies.
British and Italian cheeses here don't last a day in our city stores.
Cause for celebration when my partner skims up a few pieces.

What I like best is the astounding variety.
I like them all but weak flavors and weak odors aren't good.

The Canadian equivalents have been dumbed down to bland.
You can tell. Just try a bite of each, unlabelled.

One exception is the Emma brand.
Their Brie looks really ugly and shriveled.
#1 on my plate.
 

Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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Toddy:
I saw a program about what happened with the Russian food industry (and supply) when the embargo started recently.
They interviewed Russian food manufacturers and growers.
All said the same - they love the embargo!
They have started making all the French/Italian/European cheeses in Russia. They claimed the quality is such, that when the embargo is gone they will gear up and export to Europe, and undercut the other European manufacturers.

Maybe they make a decent Cheddar too.

Bland taste of North American cheese = short maturing.
Robson V, try and store US or Canuck cheese yourself for several months.
Try a Cheddar. Mature for additional 6 months and tell us what you think!

I buy mainly European cheeses. Ridiculously expensive here. around 15-20 USD per pound.
For fun and as an experiment, I have started maturing US made Camembert, Brie, Grana (Parmesan) and Cheddar.
Storing it cold.
I do not expect 100% identical taste, just an improvement.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
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McBride, BC
Not so. Those cheeses, by those names, are all made in Canada. And in the USA, I suspect.
Having declared that, I can say thet, for the most part, there's a world of difference between the originals
and the "stuff" made here. Canadian cheddar is very good as is cheese made by Emma.
I have a Emma Brie in the kitchen, ripened to perfection, to be examined in detail before supper!
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
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Florida
.......Bland taste of North American cheese = short maturing.
Robson V, try and store US or Canuck cheese yourself for several months.
Try a Cheddar. Mature for additional 6 months and tell us what you think!.....

Unless frozen, a cheddar (and any other cheese) will mildew and mold after 6 months Florida; even in the fridge.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Janne. Camembert, Brie, Pamesan and Cheddar are not made in the USA: they are made in Europe. If you are buying cheese with these names made in the US, you are being swindled.
The best cheddars are made in Vermont. The second best are made in New York State. :)
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,665
McBride, BC
Canadian aged cheddar ranks with the best of the British. The name is no more or less a description of a stage
in the curds and whey part of cheese making. I've done it, you all should too, to understand what's going on.
I know how to put a rind on a cheese. No big deal but tedious.

I expect we won't cut into out class hard cheese until the end of January.
Christmas company and I'd like to plate some for a treat.

Be a winner to get the bragging rights if you think what you make is so great.

USask Dairy drills holes in the blocks which then get a 6 month soak in red wine.
Dad used to bring home bags of the plugs for us kids.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,966
4,616
S. Lanarkshire
Unless frozen, a cheddar (and any other cheese) will mildew and mold after 6 months Florida; even in the fridge.

Do you get waxed truckles Santaman2000?
It's a very old way of keeping cheese sound for a very long time.
Tengu's the person to ask about it; she's on a really tight budget and supermarket sell offs can be very good buys if one can make use of them. I believe she waxes good cheese to make it last a lot longer and keep in good condition.

M
 
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Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,966
4,616
S. Lanarkshire
Do you mean the Edam type ?
We get waxed truckles of everything from cheddar to Wensleydale, and at this time of year an enormous variety of 'flavoured' cheeses....with things like chopped apricots, cranberries, chives, etc., added, too.
It's a good way of stopping moulds and drying out of the cheeses.
I don't know if it'd work in your humid heat though.

M
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
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Wiltshire
I got a lump of the Kern for my uncle, -who loves cheese but not that foriegn muck.

But, you get lots of Camabert and Brie made in Cornwall these days.

I like smoked cheddar and Yarlberg.

I have waxed cheeses lumps, on occiasion. Store in a cool dry place. It works very well PROVIDED YOU MAKE SURE OF 100% coverage.

You can buy food grade wax but I just reuse babybel packing.
 

Nomad64

Full Member
Nov 21, 2015
1,072
593
UK
Having grown up (or more accurately - lived there until I was 18 ;)) a couple of miles from where God’s own cheese originates, I found this recent BBC radio programme quite interesting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jby2p

I was aware of how the generic “Cheddar” produced as part of the war effort killed off (until recently) many of the British regional cheeses and local variations of them but there was a lot of other interesting stuff in the programme.

A few years ago, I spent a fair bit of time in South Africa and was surprised and disappointed by the lack of decent local cheeses. Despite the Anglo-Dutch ancestry of most of the white population, there did not seem to be much of an artisan cheese industry. Individual farms and areas prided themselves on sausage and biltong recipes but there did not seem to be an equivalent for cheese.

For the benefit (or torment) of those benighted souls deprived of the opportunity to enjoy decent cheese, a few years ago “Cheddarvision” which provided 24/7 viewing of a slowly maturing cheese.

https://deepbluesky.com/news/-/cheddarvision-tv-cheese-tv_179/

:)
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Brie and Camembert should be perfect to age as they are already protected by mould. The US cheddar I will age is already wax coated. The Grana (they call it Parmesan) comes sealed in vacuum, thick plastic. Might take one wedge and dip in bees wax.

I will store them in my wine area, it has 54 F and the humidity is controlled.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,294
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Janne. Camembert, Brie, Pamesan and Cheddar are not made in the USA: they are made in Europe. If you are buying cheese with these names made in the US, you are being swindled.

Well, I got swindled when we first moved to Cayman, I thought the those were made in Europe. Took me a while to realize that the US, like China, does not care about other countries intellectual property.
The most aged Cheddars are equal to UK medium strength Cheddar.


The products are good if you like those unripe and mild. Me, I like my cheese to jump out run around the kitchen when I open the fridge, and assault my nostrils!

What we have here, I rate Coastal cheddar the highest, then Waitrose strength 6.
Then Irish, NZ, Australian. Then comes US.
I believe it is mainly about aging.
(I am talking about mainstream, factory made stuff. The Artisan made cheeses are a different story)
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,294
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Janne. Camembert, Brie, Pamesan and Cheddar are not made in the USA: they are made in Europe. If you are buying cheese with these names made in the US, you are being swindled.

Well, I got swindled when we first moved to Cayman, I thought the those were made in Europe. Took me a while to realize that the US, like China, does not care about other countries intellectual property.
The most aged Cheddars are equal to UK medium strength Cheddar.


The products are good if you like those unripe and mild. Me, I like my cheese to jump out run around the kitchen when I open the fridge, and assault my nostrils!

What we have here, I rate Coastal cheddar the highest, then Waitrose strength 6.
Then Irish, NZ, Australian. Then comes US.
I believe it is mainly about aging.
(I am talking about mainstream, factory made stuff. The Artisan made cheeses are a different story)
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,665
McBride, BC
Brie and Camembert are not "protected" by mold. The mold that you see is essential to the age-ripening process
which makes those cheeses what they are. Bought an Emma (Canadian) Brie yesterday which deserved
to be eaten with a spoon. Aroma and flavor excellent.

The raw cheeses are inoculated then wrapped then put away to develop. You can carve the
moldy rind off a Brie and add it to your own for 4 months.
 

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