Cheese of the week: Lancashire

Name:  Lancashire

Brand: Amber Valley

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

Country/Region of Origin: England

Price in Iowa: $12.34/lb.

Milk: cow's milk

Processing: slight warming, rennet and salt added

Texture: soft

Color: butter and cream

Rind: natural

Aroma: clean dairy

Taste: buttery and salty

Mouth feel: creamy and crumbly
 
Notes:This cheese was good on its own, but this is the BEST variety of cheese for making Welsh Rarebit.  The Cardiff fondue.  The beer cheese sauce that turns toast into a meal.


So, I made some.  And it was heavenly.  Here's a recipe.  Enjoy...


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/welsh-rarebit-recipe/index.html

Fruit of the Week: Violet jelly

Name: Violet Jelly

Brand: DeMoss

Place of Purchase: DeMoss Pumpkin Farm in Ames, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: Ames, Iowa

Price in Iowa: $5.00 for 6-oz

Description: Bright purple , clear jelly.

Flavor: It tastes like citrus, apples and sweet cherry. 

Aroma: Floral and citrus.

Texture/Mouth-feel: It's jelly.  Not terrible sticky, though.  Which is kind of nice.

Notes: The farmers' markets are open now.  Not only can I stock up on my supply of sweet pepper relish, but there are more opportunities for exotic local fruits and preserves.  This violet jelly was an interesting treat.  I think that, like the geranium jelly from last month, this violet jelly is probably better with something savory.  But I could see adorning appetizers or petite fours with this amethyst-colored preserve.

Cheese of the week: St. Mary's

Name:  St. Mary's

Brand: none listed

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

Country/Region of Origin: Wisconsin milk, aged in caves in Fairbault, MN 

Price in Iowa: $13.60/lb.

Milk: grass fed cow

Processing: this is a grass-fed, cave-aged gouda

Texture: firm

Color: vanilla cream

Rind: natural

Aroma: buttery, warm dairy

Taste: umami, sharp, salty

Mouth feel: firm, moist, protein crystals
 
Notes: This cheese reminded me why I love cheese.  The buttery aroma is intoxicating, but I have found that many cheeses have a flavor profile different from their aroma.  Not this special gouda.  St. Mary's has a rich, deep nutty flavor compounded with creamy, sharp dairy notes.  Plus, the grass-fed milk offers a much more heart healthy mixture of omega-fatty acids.  If you can find this cheese, buy it!

Fruit of the Week: Dahendi

Name: Dahendi/Djengkol Bean

Brand: 

Place of Purchase: UniMart Asian Market in Ames, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: Thailand

Price in Iowa: $

Description: Yellow lozenge-shaped beans

Flavor: Salty, savory, meaty, slightly sweet

Aroma: Stale, fermented, brine, bean.

Texture/Mouth-feel: Meaty and very fibrous.

Notes: I'm not sure how to eat this nut/bean exactly.  I know that it's used as an aromatic addition to many South-Eastern Asian sauces.  My mother-in-law uses it in a dipping sauce that is way too potent for me.  Still, I took a bite of this pickled bean and chewed it.  The fibers would have to be removed in order to really enjoy this nut, which lends to the idea that it's more of a flavoring or a thickening agent.  The flavor was unique.  It was bitter, but less bitter than it would have been without the brine.  There was also a unique savory flavor, which was probably djenkolic acid.  Djenkolic acid is a non-proteinaceous amino acid found in the bean.  It has a unique flavor, and an intoxicating effect (similar to, but not as potent as the betel nut).  It is also very toxic and can lead to kidney and urinary tract disease.  

As interesting as the experience was, I think that I'll hand these beans off to my mother-in-law.  I'm not going to be snacking on these poisonous beans anytime soon.

Cheese of the week: Ros

Name: Ros

Brand: none listed

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

Country/Region of Origin: Italy

Price in Iowa: $23.90/lb.

Milk: pasteurized sheep

Processing: aged 4-6 months

Texture: firm

Color: pale straw

Rind: washed, natural

Aroma: sharp dairy

Taste: umami, rising tart aftertaste, salty

Mouth feel: firm, crumbly
 
Notes:This is a sheep milk cheese from the Basque tradition, but this particular variety is Italian.  According to my Cheese Primer, this cheese is supposed to have flavorful protein crystals, but this one doesn't.  It's still a pretty good cheese. 

 

Libations of the week: Many, many soda pops

So, once again, no fresh fruit.  No canned fruit, even.  So, I've collected a bunch of the local, unique carbonated soft drink that I could find, and I decided to write up a little blurb on each.  Free bonus, full color photos!!!

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Name: Coco Rico Coconut Soda

Brand: Coco Rico 

Place of Purchase: Ting's in Des Moines, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: Puerto Rico

Tasting Conditions: Chilled.

Price in Iowa: $0.99 for 2 liters

Description: Crystal clear soda

Flavors: Like a coconut aqua fresca, but a bit heavy with the aftertaste

Aroma:  Not much, just flowery notes

Notes: Not as coconut-y as I would have expected.  Lighter than most sodas, even though it was made with HFCS.

Name: Big Red

Brand: Big Red 

Place of Purchase: Fareway Foods in Pella, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: Waco, Texas

Tasting Conditions: Chilled.

Price in Iowa: $1.29 for 20 oz.

Description: A ruby red carbonated beverage

Flavors: It tasted like pink bubblegum to me, but the company website says that the flavors are orange and lemon oils, with vanilla.

Aroma: Citrus and strawberries

Notes: This soda was very, very sweet.  The bubblegum flavor might appeal to kids, but when I want a red cream soda I will probably look elsewhere.

Name: Sun Drop

Brand: Dr. Pepper/Snapple

Place of Purchase: Fareway Foods in Pella, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: St. Louis, MO

Tasting Conditions: Chilled.

Price in Iowa: $1.29 for 20 oz.

Description: A blazing yellow carbonated beverage

Flavors: Super sweet lemon and grapefuit

Aroma: Peppery grapefruit

Notes: This soda smelled great, but the flavor was kind of boring.  Also, the soda wasn't very fizzy.  I guess that this product is also highly-caffeinated.

Name: Mountain Dew WHITEOUT

Brand: Mountain Dew

Place of Purchase: Fareway Foods in Pella, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: Everywhere, USA

Tasting Conditions: Chilled.

Price in Iowa: $0.75 for 12 oz.

Description: A milky blue soda

Flavors: Pepper, grapefruit, cloying sweetness

Aroma: Orange blossoms

Notes:  Again, this soda smells better than it tastes.  It's just too heavy, too sweet.  I didn't check to see if it glowed in black-light, but I'll bet it does.

Name: Mountain Dew DISTORTION

Brand: Mountain Dew

Place of Purchase: Fareway Foods in Pella, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: Everywhere, USA

Tasting Conditions: Chilled.

Price in Iowa: $0.75 for 12 oz.

Description: Neon green soda

Flavors: Raw citrus, not too sweet

Aroma: Exactly like lime lollipops

Notes: This soda reminds me of Surge.  And since I can't find Surge around here, it might make a nice substitute for when I'm pulling an all-nighter.

Name: Mountain Dew TYPHOON

Brand: Mountain Dew 

Place of Purchase: Fareway Foods in Pella, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: Everywhere, USA

Tasting Conditions: Chilled.

Price in Iowa: $0.75 for 12 oz.

Description: Weird, carrot-juice-looking soda

Flavors: Baby aspirin with sugar

Aroma: Baby aspirin 

Notes: Gross.  If I liked the taste of baby aspirin, I would take it for heart health.

Cheese of the week: Mizithra

Name: Mizithra

Brand: none listed

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

Country/Region of Origin: Greece

 
Price in Iowa: $10.99/lb.

Milk: milk and whey from goats and sheep

Processing: milk and whey is boiled, then rennet is added, then the curd is placed into basket or bag to air dry

Texture: soft

Color: pale yellow

Rind: no rind

Aroma: strong dairy

Taste: umami, woody, fruity, sweet, tart

Mouth feel: crumbly and dry
 
Notes:This cheese is like a parmigiana-feta combination.  It's dry and savory, like parm, but stinky and diary like feta.  This cheese is also devoid of salt, which allows all of those natural cheesey flavors to come screaming through.  I got about half a ball, about 8 ounces, but that is a lot of cheese.  I crumbled it and ate it plain, but then I just had to try it with something else.  I tried fruit and honey, and that was good.  Then I made up some gyros and substituted the mizithra for feta.  Holee moley, that was good.  Give it a try.  Great stuff.

Fruit of the Week: Cherimoya

Name: Cherimoya

Brand: none listed, but it was organic

Place of Purchase: Wheatsfield Grocery in Ames, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: none listed, but probably Peru

 

Price in Iowa: $9.41 a pound (which was one fruit)

Description: A big, green hand-grenade, with creamy cream-colored flesh

Flavor: citrus, latex, banana, with flowery and starchy notes

Aroma: clean and fruity

Texture/Mouth-feel: Creamy, like durian or paw paw.  Like cold custard.

Notes:This fruit grows in the cold mountain air of the Andes.  It's sweet, it's creamy, it's wonderful.  Imagine growing up in the mountains of Peru, and having access to ice cream from a tree.  It had to be a wonder, which is why cherimoya is the queen of the subtropical fruits.  I don't know if this fruit is better than paw paw, but it lacks the weird onion aroma of the durian, which knocks the "king of fruits" off of his perch IMHO.  If you can find them, buy one.  It will be pricey, so share it with the ones you love.


Frieda's Fresh Cherimoya