Cheese of the week: Cheddar with Carmalized Onion Marmalade

Name: Cheddar with Carmalized Onion Marmalade

Brand: Somerdale

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

Country/Region of Origin: Taunton, Somerset, UK

Price in Iowa: $14.10/pound

Milk: pasteurized cow

Processing: cheddar processing with the addition of carmelized onion marmalade and other spices.

Texture: firm

Color: ochre

Rind: none on piece

Aroma: sweet cream, fruity, mild dairy

Taste: smoky, fried onion, sharp dairy, tart and piquant backnotes

Mouth feel: A nice, firm cheddar.
 
Notes: I love this cheese!  I love this cheese!  I love this cheese!  With the number of cheeses that I eat every month, I rarely go back to the store for seconds.  I would buy this cheese every week, if I could.  BUT, I can't.  It's a seasonal selection, released in the Fall season, and is only available through Christmas.  I actually bought my local organic co-op out of this cheese (but I don't care, because it's that good).  Hopefully, it's still early enough to get some more.


The onion marmalade does not add a sweetness to the cheddar.  The sweetness is coming from the cheese itself.  The marmalade does add wonderful smoky and spice flavors that are unexpected and fantastic.  I have eaten this cheese plain, shredded over salad, melted over fish, melted inside a burger (a la a Jucy Lucy).  If I find more, I'm going to try it over chili and then make a variant of French Onion soup.




www.somerdale.co.uk

Cheese of the week: Casa de Mendevil Velho

Name: Casa de Mendevil Velho

Brand: none listed

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

Country/Region of Origin: Portugal in the Vila Nova de Famalicão

Price in Iowa: $22.50/pound

Milk: pasteurized cow

Processing: 60 days of aging, rind rubbed with paprika

Texture: firm

Color: Straw yellow to caramel-colored

Rind: Washed (rubbed with paprika and olive oil)

Aroma: Spice, smoke and dairy

Taste: Smoky, meaty, gamey, dairy, woody

Mouth feel: Chewy and squeaky paste
 
Notes: This is a neat cheese.  The older it gets, the more the smoky spice of the paprika invades the paste.  This reduces the stronger dairy flavors of this farm cheese.  I must have gotten a particular well-aged cheese, because the entire paste was perfused with smoky, woody flavors.  If you can find this cheese, you have to try it.  It is delicious and unique.

Cheese of the week: Fair Oaks Sweet Swiss

Name: Fair Oaks Sweet Swiss

Brand: Fair Oaks

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

Country/Region of Origin: Indiana

Price in Iowa: $8.45/pound

Milk: cow milk and cream

Processing: milk and cream heated, mixed with rennet and cream cheese cultures

Texture: semi-firm

Color:  Golden

Rind: Natural basket-weave

Aroma: Cream and beefy undertones

Taste: sharp, nutty, piquant, smooth dairy

Mouth feel: warm, creamy, melts in your mouth
 
Notes: More buttery and creamy than sweet, but still a nice warm cheese.  It lacks the bite of a strong swiss cheese, which might be a positive note for some cheese lovers.  Still, this wonderful cheese has a complex flavor profile and the paste has a creamy, rich texture.

Libation of the Week: Jamun nectar

Name: Jamun Nectar

 

Brand: Deep

Place of Purchase: Pamell Grocery in Ames, IA

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Country/Region of Origin: India

Tasting Conditions: Chilled

Price in Iowa: $2.69

Description: a thick, mauve nectar

Flavors:Sweet, flowery, perfume, astringent, rich

Mouth-feel: Clean and fresh

Aroma: Incredibly complex.  There are floral notes, but there is also a spiciness to it that is unique.  It immediately reminded my of certain Indian sauces and desserts.

Notes: The jamun or jambul or jaam tree is native to the Indian subcontinent.  There are tons of legends and traditions associated with this fruit.  The most famous legend is that these fruits are what Lord Rama subsisted on during his exile to the wilderness.  Aside from the wonderful aroma and flavor of this juice, it supposedly has a million health benefits.  I think what I want to do is cook with it.  Perhaps in a marinade?

Libation of the Week: Inca Kola

Name: Inca Kola "the Golden Kola"

 

Brand: Coca Cola Co.

Place of Purchase: Pamell Grocery in Ames, IA

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Country/Region of Origin: Peru

Tasting Conditions: Chilled and bottled

Price in Iowa: $1.69

Description: a frothy, golden brew

Flavors: Cream, vanilla, mediciney undertones

Mouth-feel: Bubbly

Aroma: Vanilla and fruity

Notes: I was trying the falafel gyro at the Pamell Grocery when I spotted this drink in the cooler.  There were plenty of new fruit juices from India to try, but this attractive cola drink caught my eye.  I took my first sip before I started eating my sandwich (which was delicious, but very, very garlicy).  The first hit was cream soda: light, frothy and cream-flavored.  My second sip revealed some of the more astringent and medicinal tones.  I found out later that the cola was flavored with Lemon Verbena, which probably created this flavor profile.  I enjoyed it with my meal, but to me it was just a unique cream soda.  In Peru and other parts of South America, it is the number one soft drink, pushing out Coke and Pepsi.  So, if you get the chance, try an Inca Golden Kola.

Cheese of the week: Morbier cheese

Name: Morbier Cheese

Brand: none listed

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

Country/Region of Origin: France

Price in Iowa: $11.50/pound

Milk: raw cow

Processing: 60 days of aging, egg added to the cheese

Texture: soft

Color: Straw yellow with a thin line of ash through the center of the cheese.

Rind: Natural basket-weave

Aroma: pungent, strong dairy, brie

Taste: creamy with mild brie flavors

Mouth feel: custard-like and lucious
 
Notes: This cheese is very, very stinky.  It will get on your hands and get in your breath.  I'd already suggest pairing this cheese with fruit, perhaps even citrus, or a fruity white wine.  The flavor, on the other hand, is mild and buttery.  There is still the pungency, but it is milder than the aroma.  The paste has the consistency of firm custard, which yields itself as it is warmed by your mouth.  A key feature of this cheese is the line of ash running through the center of the cheese.  This is an artisan feature now, but before it represented a stopping point in the cheese pouring.  When the cheesemaker was stopping for the evening, he would use a thin layer of vegetable ash to preserve the fresh cheese.  Then, he would pour again the next day to finish off the round.  This left a thin line of ash, which is now added to maintain tradition. 

Cheese of the week: Humboldt Fog

Name: Humboldt Fog

Brand: Cypress Grove

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

Country/Region of Origin: 

Price in Iowa: $22.57/pound

Milk: pasteurized goat

Processing: a ripened goat cheese with a vegetable ash rind

Texture: soft

Color: Bone-white to gray

Rind: Natural with a layer of edible vegetable ash

Aroma: strong dairy

Taste: tangy with strong brie flavors

Mouth feel: soft and lucious
 
Notes: I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this ash covered cheese.  But it was delicious, with a long lasting tang and a dense creaminess that a bovine cheese could never accomplish.