Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Cheese of the week: Cocoa Cardona


Name: Cocoa Cardona

Brand: Carr Valley

Place of Purchase: Wheatsfield Co-op in Ames, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: USA/Wisconsin

Price in Iowa: $19.10/lb

Milk: pasteurized goat milk

Processing: Original Spanish-style goat cheese, rubbed with cocoa powder and black pepper, aged eight months

Texture: Semi-Firm

Color: pale cream

Rind: Natural, with cocoa powder rubbed all over it

Aroma: mild diary with fruity notes

Taste: sharp diary, with complex, slightly bitter/spicy floral afternotes

Mouth feel: warm, firm, slightly dry cheese

Notes: This Cardona from Carr Valley was very different than the Sweet Vanilla Cardona. For one, there was no added sugar. I didn't detect as much of the sharp dairy flavors in the Vanilla. The cocoa and black pepper did add quite a kick to the cheese. I'm not sure how that sort of dry rind rub can work flavors all the way into the center of the cheese, but those bitter, spicy, floral flavors were ubiquitous throughout the cheese. The piece of cheese that I bought had the rind removed. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not, but I would have eaten a small piece of the rind (I always do, unless I am warned NOT to). Granted, a mouthful of pepper and unsweetened cocoa would probably have tasted terrible.

This is a good cheese, an exotic addition to a cheese tray. However, for flavor I would prefer the sweeter dessert Vanilla Cardona, over the Cocoa. That's personal palate preference. If you're more into savory/spicy flavors, then the Cocoa Cardona may please.

No comments:

Post a Comment