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What is your favorite type(s) of cheese?
Mine is brie, especially at room temp with honey and sliced almonds.
**Edit: I had no idea so many people would be interested in this topic; I kinda just did it for the meme.
Mine is brie, especially at room temp with honey and sliced almonds.
**Edit: I had no idea so many people would be interested in this topic; I kinda just did it for the meme.
I am not a moneyed, worldly, sophisticated fellow. I haven't been to a lot of places, nor have I bought many expensive things. Unfortunately, in my neck of the woods, you don't get a lot of options. But I never tasted a cheese I didn't like. That includes bad cheese, or "barely even cheese". Like George Costanza, I would eat a block of cheese the size of a car battery. And, if I had a choice, it would most certainly be some kind of blue cheese. The smellier the better.
Probably smoked Gouda, but I like a lot of different cheeses so it's not like I'd be happy with just my favorite. đ
There's this Italian-inspired cheese called BellaVitano that I really enjoy. It's kind of reminiscent of parmesan - crumbly texture, with a certain amount of that butyric funkiness - but also sort of tart, like cheddar, with some lighter fruit notes as well. It's a great choice for a charcuterie board or something.
My guilty pleasure, though, is havarti. Most varieties of havarti have a really simple flavor profile, just super creamy and mild, almost more milk than cheese. It's also relatively inexpensive and goes great with almost anything. I like a few slices on a big roast beef sandwich.
Havarti is my absolute favorite sandwich cheese. Sooo good on a nice turkey bacon avocado sandwich.
100% with the bellavitano. Just ridiculously good. Aside from that give me a funky bleu.
The balsamic BellaVitano is my favorite. Sweet and savory together, and such a nice texture. Also I had a sandwich with havarti for lunch just now, so you and I are best cheese friends.
Oh damn, I absolutely love cheese, so this is a tough one! But if I had to narrow it down to just the top 3 (so I don't write 6 pages worth):
Grand Crème / Triple Crème Brie. So creamy, so luxurious, so decadent.
Brie aux Truffe. All of the above + truffles. How could you not love it?
Parmigiano-Reggiano. Salty, umami packed, with a hint of funk, nuttiness, and tang. Elevates so many dishes.
I wish I could love truffleâŚ. people are always raving about it. But it tastes like plastic to me. This is probably some genetic thing, Iâm sure.
Looking at your first one, I HIGHLY recommend trying Delice de Bourgogne, if you can find it. Runny, smooth and so very very tasty. Itâs so good.
Youâre not crazy⌠https://www.tasteatlas.com/truffle-industry-is-a-big-scam
That's mostly for oil though. Brie aux Truffe is usually rather expensive because it has quite a bit of actual chopped truffle in the mascarpone layer, which you can clearly see when you cut into it. Harder to fake that.
Read the âBut I had real truffles on my plateâ section :(
No claim on whether this particular cheese has real truffle in it or not
Huh, interesting. The one I get from my local cheesemonger is a Triple Crème Brie aux Truffe imported from France, and IIRC specifically says Truffe Noir on the packaging. It's possible it uses one of those fake varieties, but for the price we pay it better damn well not. I'll have to get the specific brand and look into it some more next time I'm there. Thanks for the heads up, BTW. I thought the only fakery you had to worry about was truffle oil.
Thanks for sharing that, that was a good read. This makes me think I might just have won the genetic lottery, itâs like a super power. Iâm going to hunt down some real truffle this winter and see if that tastes better.
I don't know if I've ever had DÊlice de Bourgogne, but Château de Bourgogne is what we usually buy at our cheesemonger. And I imagine they're probably quite similar given they're both Triple Crème Brie from the same region.
Edit: Oh, apparently they're actually produced by the same cheesemaker. :P
https://thecheesegallery.ca/products/delice-de-bourgogne-cow
Iâm going to see if I can find your recommendations. I need to start a list, so many good suggestions in this thread.
Delice de Bourgogne is fabulous - incredibly creamy, mushroomy, nearly liquid, and much more interesting than the related Brie cheeses. At 75% fat content, it's spreadable like butter and tastes fantastic on slices of a good sourdough baguette.
Note: Beware of confusing Delice de Bourgogne with Ăpoisses de Bourgogne, a magnificent washed-rind stinky cheese not for the faint of heart. It's expensive and hard to get in the U.S., but highly recommended if you want to explore cheeses.
Extra sharp cheddar (10 - 15 year)
Same here. Whenever I see some ultra aged, sharp as can be cheddar, I have difficulty not purchasing it.
I brought them up on a Mac & Cheese thread recently, but Iâm reasonably convinced thereâs no better sharp cheddar than Crowleyâa unusually sharp:
https://store.crowleycheese.com/2-lb-unusually-sharp-block-waxed/
If you can ever make it to the store (Geographical crapshoot) you can find even older cheeses for even more sharpness (the aged Jersey Girl is my fave)
Top of the list of reasons why I can't be vegan... I'm an extreme cheesehead, not looking for subtlety.
Not necessarily in order of preference, but these are cheeses I'm happy to eat by themselves:
Crumbly aged Cheddars so sharp they've got spiky crystals. If I could afford it, Neil's Yard Dairy Cheddar, every day (the affordable daily cheese is Cabot Creamery Seriously Sharp). Truffles, Parmesan culture admixture, habanero, smoke - all fine, in moderation.
Huntsman, with alternating layers of cheddar and blue, is delightful.
Washed rind and blue cheeses as funky as a teenaged boy's laundry bag.
Local aged Raclette, which has an indescribable pure umami nutty savoriness that fills your mouth with joy.
Aged ComtĂŠ, Gruyere, and Beemster.
Really well-made goat cheeses - fresh chèvre is fine, but everything Cypress Grove does is magic. There's a local goat creamery, Idyll Farms, that makes killer goat Camembert and ash-rubbed cheeses.
Espresso-rubbed BellaVitano.
And now I think I need to have a little liedown to soothe my cheese excitement, or a date with a cardiologist.
Ha, I came in here to say that since I gave it up I actually donât find cheese to be that appealing anymore. I really didnât care for cheese as a kid but I acquired it in my preteens and ate a lot of it.
In general I used to prefer long aged saltier cheese varieties or very fresh kinds, especially Mexican ones like queso fresco or cotija, but also mozzarella and cream cheese. Short-aged cheese wasnât ever too appealing to me. I liked the long aged ones the best but the quality stuff is crazy expensive in the US compared to everything else. Gouda was my #1 favorite, smoked or non.
I also thought that it would be difficult to give cheese up, and to be fair it was, but only for a brief period of time. A lot of recipes that use it can omit it without too much trouble. Pizza without cheese is actually surprisingly good because it really lets the spices in the sauce stand out.
Please understand that there are plenty of vegan meals in my repertoire, I just can't give up the cheeses I love. I can make a delicious and satisfyingly savory, rich vegan "pizza", but it's definitely not the same dish as a pizza with cheese.
[I went through a round of meat, poultry, egg, and dairy elimination diets, since it turned out that a specific antibiotic used on livestock triggered arthritis and other autoimmune disease symptoms. Dairy-free was the absolute worst, and I didn't stop craving cheese for the whole six weeks. Organic dairy is generally OK for me, but I'm not sure I could give it up even if it wasn't.]
o7
This gets my vote
Sometimes there are questions posed that you just know are going to produce a novel, this is one of those. I'll start out by saying I love cheese. I think cheese is easily my main protein source, more than any meat or legume. I always find myself floored with the annual per capita consumption of meat in the US (57lbs) and wonder who on earth is pulling up that average. But when it comes to cheese, a paltry 40lbs, I know I'm one of the team lifting that average sky high! My answer for the question is an unsatisfying: it depends.
If I've got some crackers or a baguette, maybe even a little jam, then I'd snap up a little brillat savarin. It is otherworldly. Imagine Brie as a young protagonist. Kind and affable, gets on with everyone. I'm never mad when Brie is around. Ohhh, but Savarin is what you get when Brie goes through puberty, finds itself in college and comes out confident and sexy. It's punchier, deeper, and even creamier. Savarin gives you butterflies and you find yourself going to the party just in case they happen to be there.
But maybe I'm not feeling a cheese that makes my knees weak. Maybe I want a sturdy cheese. One that is best in small little planed slices. I'm talking aged Dutch Gouda. Old Amsterdam is ok and can be found globally, but the secret is that they are keeping the best stuff for themselves. I'm not sure the brand, in the Netherlands you can get these really hard blocks of the stuff with these incredible salt crystals stippling the cheese like gold ore in a cliff. It's creamy, brittle, and crunchy all at the same time. It's also transcendent, but in a different way than the savarin. It has a blunt, upfront flavor; just like the dutch personality.
But what if it's a warm summer day? Look no further than feta. Not the pop the top crumbles kind. I'm talking about the ones that come with their own swimming pools. You open the top and it might as well be wearing sun glasses as it looks back at you from the briny waters. "This bum needs a job" you think, and you puck it out and break it mercilessly in half over the cucumbers and tomato you've cut up. The briny, salty goodness mixed with the fresh veggies can make any day a holiday.
Or I'm hung over, just finished with work, or maybe just feeling lazy. The brick sized Tillamook cheddar block from Costco, that's what's getting it now. Lazy time? Raw chunks. Hang over? Grilled cheese. Post work? slicing it thick into a quesadilla. This cheese is a cheese of the people. Via la revolucion!
I want you as my new best friend. I love cheese, but cannot afford, nor justify buying more of it than I do (don't).
This whole post is a love story and I want to get in on it!
I absolutely adore any kind of pasta made with Gorgonzola cheese. It adds a creaminess that I can only explain as 'just a bit of twang.' Failing that, I could eat a brick of Extra Sharp Cheddar without blinking.
Gorgonzola is just the best. Even slightly melted on a toasted brown piece of bread with ham and onions.
I love gorgonzola. I'll eat little slices/crumbles of gorgonzola or any good blue with crackers or just by itself.
I've been to Italy and France (multiple times). I enjoy my Swiss and Dutch cheeses - readily available here - as well. But what some might not know is that Portugal has its own cheese tradition, with many delicious cheeses produced all through the country. Our best cheeses are creamy cheeses, and I'm particularly fond of AzeitĂŁo and Serra da Estrela cheeses.
We eat a lot of cheese as a people and I commonly have 4 or 5 different varieties at home. Regarding foreign cheeses, I think this thread needs more love for a proper Mozzarella di bufala.
A /proper/ one? You can have my first born for one of those. Good luck finding one, though (either the Mozzarella or the first born, but that's besides the point).
A couple of recent favorites:
Shropshire Blue - combination of blue cheese and cheddar taste-wise. Absolutely lovely.
https://www.tasteatlas.com/shropshire-blue
Laphroaig Cheddar - I don'teven like whisky, but this thing is divine. Fantastic flavour profile, I love it with wine or on lightly toasted baguette.
https://www.scotcheese.com/product/iok-laphroaig/
Mont dâOr - a little wooden box stuffed full of creamy goodness. Perfect when oven baked with some garlic and white wine too.
https://thegoodlifefrance.com/mont-dor-cheese-of-france/
Oh yes, Shropshire Blue is amazing.
Well that's going on my food bucket list.
As an ingredient to mix into other food, my favorite is powdered / granular Parmesan.
To eat straight? Kind of a toss-up between Havarti with Dill and smoked Gouda infused with Horseradish.
My very specific favourite is a waxed, extra mature cheddar called Black Bomber. It's made by Snowdonia Cheese Company, and it's fantastic. It is quite different to the "standard cheddar" you might find most anglosphere supermarkets, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a sharp flavourful cheese. It goes amazingly well with crackers, wine and a bit of dried fruit.
Out of every comment here that I've read so far, this is the one that sent me down a cheesy rabbithole. I'm not a cheddar fiend in general but this sounds amazing.
Our local Costco just started carrying it and a truffle variety. It's freaking delicious.
Ooh I'll have to check mine.
I really like the truffle variety too - just in smaller quantities. Or, theoretically smaller quantities. Practically, whatever cheese is out on the board is going to get eaten - and inevitably I will snuffle down far too much of it and feel repulsed by truffle for the following three months, and repeat.
Hahaha, I had the exact same reaction to it. It is strooooong! I think I'm going to pause on that wheel for a bit.
I love all cheeses except blue.
I have a preference for soft cheeses and stronger tastes. I think my absolute favorites are the Herve, Maroilles, and Rocamadour.
A good baguette with camembert slices and tomatoes makes for a perfect lunch, too.
Today I had a baked Brie with honey and pecans, it came from Aldi as a little holiday special buy with all of it included. Not the best Brie I've had (I have a triple creme in the fridge for another day) but super delicious with some sourdough toast sticks.
Any fun ways y'all like to serve Brie?
You're my spirit animal. Sourdough makes anything taste and feel patrician and whole.
Living in NL, I definitely have access to a lot of cheese, but even if its a 4-5 hour drive, you cannot get wheels of brie in NL.
A wheel of brie on a smoker is amazing. It comes out hot, gooey, and every cracker or baguette it touches becomes something that can only be described as heaven.
ThisâŚ. this sounds so good⌠I need to give this a try next time Iâm in France.
Emmentaler (aka swiss cheese). Goes great with anything and in every form.
The swiss one is much tastier than the austrian/german (sadly also more expensive). The best variant I found was a 2 year old cave matured. So fucking delicious.
Appenzeller cheese is the best semi-hard cheese and it's not even a competition. It comes in different varieties based how long it's been aged which affects how spicy it is. When you eat the spiciest type there's an explosion of aroma as the cheese melts away in your mouth, an unparalleled experience.
In certain contexts, I absolutely love American Cheese. The context being melted on a fresh-off-the-griddle burger. Its shockingly hard to come across American Cheese here in Canada but when a place serves it on its burger I always go in.
No in terms of real cheese, I am a big fan of Emmental. It has a strong flavour and melts well on sandwiches. Ham & Swiss is a classic combo for a reason. But if I was going to a cheese board I'd probably opt for an old Cheddar. Its classic, dependable. Also a big fan of curds and all their squeaky goodness. Oh man as I type this I also realized I love a lot of Blue cheeses too. Pungent, unique, goes well with fruit.
Also fresh buffalo mozzarella and fresh goat cheese feta top my list as non-cow cheeses I love.
Humboldt Fog, a goat cheese that looks like layer cake. It's expensive so I rarely have it, I'm so happy when I do.
I love plain chevre as well, it's my favorite affordable cheese snack in the summer.
Yes. The local cheese in Humboldt County California can be excellent. Oregon also has good cheese.
I'm super basic.. A nice pepper jack does it for me.
A local grocery store has Jalapeno, Habanero and Carolina Reaper infused Monterey Jack cheese slices. They're amazing for grilled cheese.
Delice de Bourgogne - my French favorite. Big flavor, runny and I can keep on eating it. Trader Joeâs used to sell it, not sure if they still do.
Manchego - my Spanish favorite. Hard cheese, so goodâŚ
Komijnekaas - my Dutch favorite. Itâs a hard cheese, Gouda, filled with cumin seeds. Itâs so very nice.
There are many many more since Iâm totally addicted to cheese, but these are the first I can think of.
Fried halloumi ( hellim ), I love them with eggs and fresh bread. But they are extremely salty so you have to be careful with portion.
Yes! I came here to say grilled halloumi. I even like it raw. I love it. Have you ever tried something like this?
I don't eat tomatoes but I could try toasting them with green peppers or pepper flakes.
By the way how vinegars supposed to taste like, especially balsamic, my family loves adding them to salads and other stuff but it just makes nauseous without much taste at all.
I'm just about finished Dan Saladino's Eating to Extinction, and he dedicated an entire section to cheese! I don't think I have a favorite, but thanks to that book I now want to try cheeses not made with starter cultures but instead with native molds. The descriptions Saladino provides in his book are mouth watering to say the least.
Harbison at the moment. Funky, creamy, earthy perfection
That sounds lovely. The Bayley Hazen Blue is delightful as well, if you're a blue cheese fan.
Also a good choice!
Everyone's made some amazing choices already - for a slightly odder one, I had a local mozzarella that was not a "fresh" mozzarella but was a freshly made block of mozzarella. And it was the absolute best block I've ever had.
Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar is deliciously sharp.
Marin French Cheese Co. makes a great Brie that is perfect for eating on its own or using to make baked brie.
I eat my weight in Parmigiano Reggiano, specifically La Traversetolese since thatâs what my local store carries. Costco has a decent one too. Iâm a sucker for real DOP regardless of brand.
I love an aged Gouda, specifically the one year De Graffstrom.
It warms my heart to see a shout-out to Tillamook Extra Sharp.
I grew up in the Portland area, which meant Tillamook was just THE cheese around. I think Tillamook Medium might actually be my archetypal cheese; as in, when I conceptualize "cheese," it's the inevitable mental image that forms.
When I was a kid, I knew we were living high on the hog when we sprang for the red-label sharp for mac and cheese night. It meant somebody's tax refund came in.
It wasn't until I was a young man on a trip to NYC that I realized that not everyone in the world was so lucky. I went into a grocery store and saw a brick of sharp Tillamook cheddar selling for more than twice what we paid back home. I still have trouble contextualizing what has always been just table cheese for me, but I'm glad somebody else enjoys it as much as I do.
A friend of mine who lives in Tillamook County gave me a couple of small bricks of 12-year aged Tillamook cheddar for Christmas last year. If you're able to find it, I heartily recommend it. It's got a bit of a funk to it in all the best ways.
Sorry it took me so long to reply; I remember seeing the notification then must have forgotten before having a chance to read the entire comment. Itâs definitely one of the more expensive cheeses here, so funny to hear that itâs a table cheese there! Everything Iâve had from them is delicious; Iâll have to keep an eye out for that 12 year. Thanks!
This is the one I was referring to, by the way
Oh thatâs amazing! Thanks so much!
Any kind of Asiago, I know I know... nothing special.
But I'm simple man, when we visit fam in Italy we bring back half a wheel of old Asiago en some young one as well and tears those up!
specially the old one just goes with everything, from toast, soup or rice with beans and minced meat in a wrap.. It's just excellent simple cheese.
Edit: Ă h! When visiting fam in the Netherlands I go for a local cumin cheese. half-belegen of course ...
Because jong or jong-belegen with cumin is missing taste and to old with cumin is just ... meh.
Ooh, excellent question. I like most types of cheeses, I think, but tend to enjoy the less stinky ones. Anything soft, or just not too crumbly. I do very much enjoy Manchego, since it has a nice nutty kind of flavour to it, but mostly I like the softer or more rubbery stuff like Edam, Gouda or Mozzarella. I'd be stoked to try some Halloumi too, maybe see how it melts and spreads. But Manchego is tight, tho.
Burger? Cheddar
Pasta? Parmeggiano Regiano (or Grana Padano or similar)
Just as a good snack? Gorgonzola-type or brie-type or camembert-type.
I also like Leerdammer or similar tasting cheese when I want something to just eat with a buttered bun.
I can't just pick one! I'm sourcing 8 different cheeses for my wedding cheeseboard, but here are a few of my top picks:
A good quality smoked cheddar. Have it on top of rosemary crackers, it's eye opening!
Pecorino Fresco - a really delicious young pecorino cheese made by an Italian chap, Mario Olianas, who now lives in Yorkshire. Fresh, citrussy flavour.
Montagnolo Affine - German triple crĂŠme cheese with a very mild blue flavour, super indulgent.
Ribbesdale Blue - a waxed blue goat's cheese, still has that characteristic goaty funk and another mild blue flavour.
Cornish Yarg - wrapped in nettle leaves, lovely almost-crumbly texture. The garlic version is also really good.
It's absolutely mad to me in this day and age that so many cheeses are often still just made by a single family somewhere and then distributed all over the country/ world for everyone to enjoy.
Mango-ginger Stilton. I've only ever seen it at Kroger, and only rarely (they have the blueberry more often), and I grab it every time. Rich, milky-mild cheese with the sweet of mango bits and bite of ginger. It's magnificent.
Also a fan of the espresso bellavitano a bunch of folks have mentioned, Dubliner, and pretty much any kind of gouda.
Tulum and fried halloumi.
Halloumi, for sure. Do you want a literal, cheese steak? Because that's the kind of incredible, ridiculous bullshit you can treat yourself to with the magic of halloumi.
For some reason I just canât get into it. Itâs way too salty for me and the texture just doesnât do it for me. Any way Iâve just been using it the wrong way?
Nah, it's gonna be pretty salty no matter what you do. The texture can kinda change a bit depending how and for how long you cook it, but it'll always have a bit of spongeyness - if that's what you don't enjoy then there's probably not much else to do with it
Fwiw, I like to sautee it with oil, garlic, onions, and peppers, and an herb like basil or oregano. Slicing and baking it can produce some different texture if you haven't given that a try.
Itâs pretty salty no matter what, but soaking it in a bowl of water on the counter for a bit can help some.
My first thought was "American Cheese is good". I know, it's not even half cheese, but it's still good. đ¤Ł
Ok, I like a lot of cheeses, but of the real cheeses... Tillamook's Colby Jack. It works for everything, melts easy with a mild creamy flavor that doesn't overpower other food but is still tasty alone. đ¤¤
Cheese I dislike the most: Blue or really any mold cheeses - I can't understand how anyone likes that stuff. Though, guess that applies to Kim Chi and Fermented Fish so maybe I just lack the tastebuds to appreciate such food?
You beat me to it. I love it for carbonara's or over pasta or just eating chunks of it straight.
Slovakian KorbĂĄÄik.
Looks awesome, I need to try this! I hope I can find it in my area.
The trouble is that manufacturing it not to spoil too early will bring the taste closer to boring cheeses. Smoked variants compensate for this somewhat, but the very best is fresh. It's hard to get your hands on it outside Slovakia. Even in Prague, where it's immensely popular, it's still 50:50 hit or miss.
More saltier variants go rather well with beer, by the way.
Im gonna probably get a lot of hate for this but its so close i cant call a winner between Velveeta and frito canned mild or jalapeĂąo cheddar.
Sure i enjoy most real cheese, i used to keep a kitchen torch just to toast various slices of cheddar. Ill mix Velveeta with tons of cheese, it is the perfect melting base. Mix some mozzarella or swiss in for a stretchy creamy melt, cheddar for deep flavors.
The other is just my favorite dipping cheese, pretzels, breadsticks, pizza crusts. Hot cheetos. Cheesesteaks.
I love cheese and I certainly do buy "fancy" cheeses to have with crackers or meat or something once in a while, but I keep finding myself coming back to aged cheddar. I love gouda, havarti, pepper jack, and all sorts of cheeses, but almost nothing beats a good quality aged cheddar for me. That said, the king of all cheeses for me is mozzarella. It's a total cop-out, but you can just do so much with it and pizza is one of my favorite foods. That said, I don't usually just eat a chunk of mozz like I might with cheddar.
Unpopular opinion, but I have an affinity with American cheese. Tastes great on a burger, and on a sandwich with some bologna. It's not a kind of cheese to put out on its own or anything, but I find I use it a lot more than other cheese. IF I had to pick a independent cheese to eat on crackers or something, I'd go with a habanero jack cheese.
This reminds me of the fact that some people, notably many Hawaiians, love spam. Similarly large numbers of people love marmite.
You can have all the American cheese as far as I am concerned, but hopefully we can be friends.
I love the Merlot BelleVitano cheese, it's kinda expensive but it's super creamy in your mouth but with a very fruity, slightly bitter flavor as well that I like, and the skin is edible and gives off the fruity flavor even stronger.
I was just eating a small wedge of it (still like $5 tho, it's expensive) while playing bf1 one day and I recommended it in game to people because I loved it.
As for like normal cheese, my favorite is aged swiss, loved it since I was a kid even though my dad hates swiss lol.
Buy yourself some Midnight Moon. Actually buy a ton. Never stop buying it.
Really basic answer but Parmigiano Reggiano if eating by itself. Pecorino Romano if on pasta.
Ones made of milk đ¤¤