Cheese Fest

Archive for the ‘Soft’ Category

Brillat-Savarin aux Truffes

Is it a cake? Is it a pudding? No, it’s super cheese… Brillat-Savarin aux Truffes! Aka: Brillat Truffé, Brillat aux Truffes, Brilliat-Savarin a la Truffe… to give it some of its other noms de plume. But regardless of what identity you may find it under, it’s still a super cheese.

Ordinary Brillat-Savarin is just a triple cream cheese. But whilst it may be utterly decadent creamy yumminess, it is just like pretty much any other soft, white, triple cream cheese. Explorateur, Délice de Bourgogne, Brillat-Savarin… they’re all very, very similar. Delicious, but similar.
THIS, on the other hand, takes it into a new realm of gastronomic indulgence. If Monsieur Brillat-Savarin, were to have smiled in his grave at the cheese named in his honour, this one would have him clawing his way out, just to try it.

It is a very tidy and well presented cheese. A perfect cylinder, delicately dusted in pure white mould. Cut to reveal a smooth, creamy interior with a neat grey/brown stripe running though its centre.

It has a typically soft buttery pate that smells mildly of truffle and… er… gear oil? The strong, earthy, truffle flavour is a perfect compliment to the sour, fresh taste of the cheese, dressed in the velvety, rich texture of triple cream.

This cheese is very special. A real Babette’s Feast experience.

Purchased from: La Cave à Fromage, Brighton.

Reviewed by: Nick & Olympia 2013.

(4.5/5)

Délice de Bourgogne

From Burgundy, this decadent little number is definitely not one for those on a diet. With a fat content of over 75%, this triple cream cheese will clog the arteries as it makes its way directly to the waistline… but, oooh, what a way to go! Délice de Bourgogne The soft white bloomy rind, like that of a brie, covers the almost equally white paste. It has very little smell, a bit like crème fraîche (which is not surprising because it is one of the ingredients). It is soft, creamy and spreads easily, with a smooth, silky but also very fatty texture. Very, very creamy, with an almost fresh taste, slightly lemony, but with a quite salty, buttery flavour. In some ways, it has a very slight “blue” flavour, that gets stronger as the cheese gets older. Very rich and very decadent.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2012

(3.5/5)

 

Burwash Rose

Orange/pink and sticky, with a strong smell, mildly floral, buttermilk that moves towards rotting cabbage as it ages. This cheese has been the only one to breach our (supposedly airtight) cheese confinement box. Seriously, this one could easily challenge Epoisses for the smelliest cheese in the world. Burwash Rose This Sussex cheese is unusual because it is washed in rose water.  This gives it a typically sticky orange/pink rind often associated with washed cheeses. The pate is soft and bouncy, scattered with little holes, with a lovely velvety soft smoothness. It has a flavour very similar to Livarot or Munster (though maybe not as strong), with a little bitterness, like Taleggio and very subtle floral hints. A little expensive, but very pleasant.

Produced by: The Traditional Cheese Dairy Co. Ltd., Stonegate.

Purchased from Cheese Please, Lewes.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia.

(3.5/5)

Rochebaron

We found this delightful blue cheese on a recent trip around France. We bought another one to bring home with us, but somehow it didn’t seem quite as good. Maybe, it was the fact that the one pictured, had been sitting in a warm car for a few days. Or perhaps it was a psychological effect of tasting better when you’re on holiday, picnicking under the trees.

A greenish grey ash rind about 6″ (15cm) diameter and 1″ (2.5cm) thick. Persillée (parsley), the French call this style of blue. Creamy white interior with flecks of green. Though the rind looks a little leathery, it is actually soft and pretty tasteless.

It has a lovely texture with a very mild, delicate flavour and doesn’t taste blue at all.  Not exciting, but very pleasant.

Purchased from Carrefour, Dunkerque.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia 2013.

(3.5/5)

persillée

Sussex Slipcote (Basil)

This is one of a whole range of cheeses from the High Weald Dairy on the edge of the Ashdown Forest bearing the name. Apparently, the name Slipcote means little cottage (slippe cote).  It is made to a traditional recipe that stems from the middle ages.

The one we selected for review was flavoured with basil. This was chosen, simple because we had not come across  it before.

It is a soft fresh sheep’s cheese, very pale green with little green flecks of chopped basil. There is little to no smell.

The texture is very soft and mousse like, spreading easily. It has a lemony fresh flavour with a delicate, fragrant taste of fresh basil (just what you’d expect really).

Pleasant enough, but unremarkable. A good cheese to have on a cracker as a light snack.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia 2012

(2/5)

 

 

Pavé d’Affinois

This delightful little offering was brought to our Sunday night cheesefest by Olympia’s cousin, Annabel on a recent visit.

It came in a little cardboard box, which had managed to adhere itself to the rind. As a result, the rind tore on opening, spilling it’s gooeyness on to the plate. It did, however, make for a good photo opportunity.

The name caused us a lttle confusion. Pavé is often used to descibe square slabs of French cheese, from French word for cobble or paving stone. However, there is no place called Affinois. We finally came to the conclusion that affinois is a word made up by the manufacturers to reflect its refined (affiner) ultrafiltration process.

It has pale ivory rind dusted with a bloomy white mould which smells mildy of ammonia and cow shed. The paste is gooey, almost liquid with scents of honey.

The texture is extremely decadent and the flavour very mild and a bit non-descript. However, when taken with wine, it releases the wonderful taste of honey.

Not tremendously exciting. It is labeled as “brie like”, and would make a more interesting replacement on the cheese board.

Purchased from Marks & Spencer.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia (with guest reviewer Annabel).

(2.5/5)

Stinking Bishop

Made famous by the Wallace and Gromit film “Curse of the Were-rabbit”, this is one of, sadly, few English washed rind cheeses. The practice of washing cheeses was developed by monks, which, when king Henry VIII wiped out the monasteries, also died out.

Washing cheeses enriches the flavour and has the side effect of making the cheese very smelly. (Epoisses, possibly being the most notable. Washed in brandy and banned on the Paris metro because of the resultant pungent aroma.)

Stinking Bishop cheese is washed in perry (pear cider) made from Stinking Bishop pears, the colloquial name for the Moorcroft variety. This pear was apparently grown by a Mr. Bishop, who, by some accounts, was not a particularly pleasant character.

All this aside, does it actually live up to its name? Well, yes and no. Most washed cheeses are smelly, and this is no exception, but it isn’t as overpowering as the name suggests. Even a ripe Camembert would beat it in it’s nostril assailing quality. That said, you probably wouldn’t want to sit in the car with one of these in the picnic hamper, on a hot summer day without the windows open.

Like most washed cheeses, the rind is sticky, with a pale pink/orange colouration. The texture is gooey, but has a slight “bounce” to it. The flavour is actually quite mild. Smooth and creamy with a slightly bitter after taste. It’s pleasant enough, but nothing special.

The main appeal of this cheese is the kudos of having tried it or serving it up to friends on the cheese board.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2011.

(3/5)

Vacherin Mont d’Or

Vacherin Mont d’Or is normally supplied in small, round, open topped, wooden boxes about 6 inches (15cm) diameter and wrapped in cellophane. Though bigger wheels are made, they are not particularly practical, for reasons that will become clear later. The uneven surface is a pale pinky yellow, dusted with white, yielding easily under pressure when ripe. Vacherin Mont d'Or This cheese is only available between September and March. The story goes, that it is made from milk from the same cows that normally goes into making Gruyère. However, during the winter months, the cows are brought down from their mountain pastures, put into barns for the winter and fed on hay. The result is the thicker creamier milk used to make this cheese. Breaking through the cellophane wrapping, releases a wonderful earthy aroma of pine, farmyard and mushrooms. Under the rind, the cheese itself is very gooey, almost liquid and needs to be spooned out carefully onto the chosen comestible vehicle. The texture is creamy and decadent with a smooth taste, full of subtle aromas of meadows and hay. Around the perimeter, the flavour becomes strong with the turpentine like flavour of pine sap from the spruce bark, that lines the box. This adds a wonderful edge to the character of this cheese. A traditional way of enjoying Vacherin Mont d’Or, is to make a hole in the top and pour in a spoonful of white wine. Then place the whole cheese into the oven for 20 minutes. This makes it even more liquid, into which chunks of bread can be dipped. Thereby turning it into a sort of instant fondue. Vacherin Mont d’Or is quite expensive, costing about £12 for the whole cheese, but is worth it. However, it should be noted that there is another cheese that goes by the name of Vacherin. This is not the same thing at all and is rather disappointing in comparison.

 Purchased from Cheese Please, Lewes.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2012.

(4/5)

Norfolk White Lady

With its sticky, goopy, pale ivory paste and dusty white rind, this looks very much like a traditional French Camembert. Norfolk White Lady Indeed, the the similarities go beyond, the visual. Taste wise, it has a very strong Camembert like flavour, with one major distinction, the presence of a slight goatiness that gives away its origins as a sheep’s cheese. Another difference is its lack of the unmistakable Camembert “knock you over when you open the fridge door” smell. Instead, there is little smell, with only a slight hint of ammonia from the rind.

Purchased from Bakers and Larners, Holt.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2012.

(4/5)

Pié d’Angloys

Gourmet cheeses from the supermarket can often be disappointing. The fridges they use are set at temperatures dictated by store policy rather than cheese storage ideals. Sell by dates are set way before necessary, just to be on the safe side. The result is that often supermarket cheese won’t ripen.

Pié d’Angloys seems to be immune to this supermarket abuse and ripens at around the sell by date regardless of how it’s kept.

Typical of Cistercian methods, this is wine washed cheese. The rind is sticky, a pale orange colour and dusted in flour. The inner paste is a soft ivory colour and deliciously gooey when ripe.

Like a good Camembert, it becomes very smelly as it approaches ripeness (even through unopened packaging), but the flavour is not as strong. It has a decadent, but delicate creaminess, with Camembert like pungent overtones. A truly enjoyable and reliable alternative to supermarket Camembert. Additionally, like most washed rind cheeses, it produces the wonderful perfumed flavours when eaten with wine.

Purchased from Tesco.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia 2012.

(4/5)