Cheese of the week: Roth's Private Reserve

Name: Roth Kase Private Reserve

Brand: Roth Kase

Place of Purchase: Wegman's in Liverpool, NY

Country of Origin: Monroe, WI, USA

Price in New York: $9.99/lb.

Milk: Raw cow milk

Processing:  Gouda process from American cheesemakers with at least 9-months of aging

Texture: hard

Color: light orange/beige

Rind: Natural

Aroma: mild dairy, nutty

Taste: umami, earthy, nutty

Mouth-feel: Firm paste with protein crystals

Notes: I will admit that older gouda cheeses used to scare me.  The protein crystals were crunchy in something that was supposed to be smooth.  After I started this experiment, I learned that you need to take older gouda as thin slices and allow the cheese to warm in your mouth as you enjoy the release of flavors.  The warmth of your body helps to break up the protein crystals, as well.  The protein crystals are composed of amino acids which may be the source of the umami flavor.  Do not confuse these crystals with lactic acid crystals found on the surface of lower quality cheeses.

That being said, this is a fine example of an American gouda-style cheese.  It's warm and nutty and would be great for plain eating or melting.  It doesn't compare to a 5-year Dutch Gouda, but it would serve well and please many.

Cheese of the Week: Hard Chhurpi Cheese

Name: Chhurpi

Brand: None listed

Place of Purchase:

Country of Origin: Nepal

Price in New York: $1.99 for what you see here

Milk: Yak buttermilk

Processing: Cook, add acidic fruit juice, press out whey, squish under rocks, smoke over stone oven.

Texture: rock-solid

Color: Red, beige, tan, all over the map with my pieces alone.

Rind: Natural, basket-weave

Aroma: mild dairy

Taste: Strong, sour dairy

Mouth-feel: Ever lick a brick?

Notes: OK, since I started this adventure I have tried cheeses that I did not prefer.  Some cheeses I would definitely seek out again, while others I would not.  This is the first cheese that I really did not like.  I may have been expecting something sweet.  Maybe something sour?  What I got was a rock that tasted like sour milk.  Now, if I was starving in the Himalayas, I would happily suck on this protein brick until it became soft enough to swallow.  I might hit it with a hammer first, but I'd eat it to survive.  But I wouldn't like it.

Libation of the Week: Fizzy Lizzy Fruit Sodas

Name: Fizzy Lizzy Grapefruit

 

Brand: Fizzy Lizzy

Place of Purchase: Cafe Kubal in Syracuse, NY

Country/Region of Origin: Jersey City, NJ

Tasting Conditions: Chilled in the bottle

Price in New York: $1.99 for 12 oz.

Description: An all natural soda made with 60% fruit juice.

Flavor:  Lip-smacking grapefruit with a perfect fizz.  Not too sweet.

Mouth-feel: The perfect fizz.

Aroma: All grapefruit

Notes:I wish that I could find these drinks in the grocery store.  These all natural sodas come in a variety of flavors (fuji apple, yakima grape, raspberry lemon, and more).  They are made with fruit juices, carbonated water and natural colors.  The 12 ounce bottle comes in at 100-120 calories, which is about 30 to 50 calories less than the leading brand soft drink.  I wouldn't call them completely healthy, but fizzy fruit juice is something I can get behind.

Cheese of the Week: Saint Agur

Name: Saint Agur

Brand: Saint Agur is crafted by the Beauzac cheese dairy in Velay

Place of Purchase: Wegman's in Liverpool, NY

Country of Origin: USA

Price in New York: $20.49/lb.

Milk: Cow with added cream (up to 60% butterfat)

Processing: Double-cream cheese cooked and aged at least 60 days

Texture: soft

Color: bone-white with green veining

Rind: Natural, typically wrapped in foil (mine was sliced)

Aroma: mild dairy, earthy, bleu-notes

Taste: Spikey/sharp bleu notes, but not overpowering.  Cream.

Mouth-feel: Creamy and buttery

Notes: I have an extreme fondness for bleus.  I believe that my severe penicillin allergy gives these cheeses an extra tingle that other eaters might miss.  I suppose bleu cheeses are my fugu.  So be it.  This double-cream bleu is luxurious, with a consistent and creamy paste.  The 60-day aging process gives the cheese a few dairy notes to match the buttery flavors, but this cheese is mostly about the bleu.  The sharp bleu notes are precise and prickly, but not super pungent.  This isn't one of those cheeses that make you stink for the rest of the day.  As spicy as this cheese is, it has a pleasant and delicate aftertaste.

Summer is here and my teaching duties have passed.  Sorry about the extended hiatus, but I just didn't have the time or inclination to post over the past school year.  To anyone who is still reading, I apologize.  Hopefully, I can make it up to you.