Libation of the Week: Waialua Hawaiian Sodas

Name: Lilikoi, Pineapple and Mango Hawaiian Sodas

 

Brand:  Waialua Soda Works

Place of Purchase: World Market in Urbandale, IA

Country/Region of Origin: Waialua, HI

Tasting Conditions: Chilled in the bottle

Price in Iowa: $1.49 for 12 oz.

Description: Simple carbonated sodas made with natural, island ingredients

Flavors: Lilikoi: a Hawaiian passion fruit, with hints of sweet guava and tart papaya

                     Pineapple: clean, sweet pineapple and nothing else

                     Mango: spicy mango and orange flower nectar, a symphony of sweet and floral notes

Mouth-feel: Crisp and clean

Aroma:      Lilikoi: guava and passionfruit flowers

                     Pineapple: the lightest, airy notes of pineapple and summer days

                     Mango: flowery and astringent mango notes

Notes: I picked up three of these Waialua sodas from the World Market down in West Des Moines.  I will admit that I was first attracted to the hula girl artwork on the label and bottlecap.  But, I love fruit-flavored sodas.  Most of the better natural sodas come from south of the border (like Mexico's Jarritos).  These Hawaiian sodas are an especially nice addition to the beverage world because they use only natural ingredients (including pure Maui natural white cane sugar).  Because there's no high fructose corn syrup, these sodas a lighter and more airy.  The folks at Waialua Soda Works were also very careful with their formulations to make these sodas not too sweet or overpowering in flavor.  The finished product is a light, refreshing and FRUITY soda that will please everyone, young and old.  You can buy them at World Market online at sodaking.com or popsoda.com, or by using the Amazon links below.

 

Cheese of the week: Frumage Baladin

Name: Frumage Baladin

Brand: Fattorie Fiandino

 

Place of Purchase: Gateway Market in Des Moines, Iowa

Country of Origin: Italy

Price in Iowa: $16.99/lb

Milk: raw Cow

Processing: raw cow's milk is coagulated with thistle (a vegetarian rennet), pressed into rounds and washed with a Piedmont craft beer (Baladin)

Texture: semi-soft

Color: cream-yellow with holes

Rind: Washed and mold

Aroma: Earthy, malty, musty

Taste: Tart, meaty, wheaty, effervescent

Mouth feel: A meaty, soft paste

Notes: This is a nice, unique cheese.  The soft paste is luscious and flavors are like something I have never experienced.  The Chimay cheese, also washed in beer, seemed to only take up the fruity and acidic flavors.  This cheese actually has malty beer aromas and flavors.  If you can find it, grab it and share it.

The Summer of Flavored Stiltons: Lemon Stilton and Blueberry Stilton

Name:  The Fruity Stiltons

Brand:  Coombe Castle

 

Place of Purchase:  Hy Vee Foods in Ames, Iowa

Country of Origin:  England

Price in Iowa: $14.79/lb

Milk: cow

Processing: A plain stilton mixed with lemon zest./A plain stilton with added blueberries.

Texture: soft

Color: Bone white with lemon bits./Lavender with blueberry bits.

Rind: none

Aroma: Sour dairy and lemon oil./Sour dairy and blueberries.

Taste: The lemon was sour, with both from the dairy and the citrus.  The blueberry flavors were nice, but the cheese was still sour and the blueberries added  a winey, fermented flavor.

Mouth feel:  Crumbly, but moist.

Notes: Not that good.  If this cheese was paired with fruit or preserves, it might have paired well with the sour/tart flavors.  However, shouldn't the fruit have provided that element.  The end result of these cheeses are a sour, crumbly paste with a hint of fruit that might be better for Middle Eastern palates (with their sour Laban-style cheeses).

The Summer of Flavored Stiltons: Sticky Toffee Stilton

Name:  Sticky Toffee Stilton

Brand:  Coombe Castle

 

Place of Purchase:  Hy Vee Foods in Ames, Iowa

Country of Origin:  England

Price in Iowa: $14.79/lb

Milk: cow

Processing: A plain stilton mixed with toffee, dates and raisins.

Texture: soft

Color: Caramel brown with chunks

Rind: none

Aroma: Burnt sugar and clean dairy

Taste: Sweet, really sweet.  Like plain butter fudge with bits in it.

Mouth feel:  Mostly a nice, even paste.  But the raisins were really juicy.  Juicy cheese = not good eats.

Notes:  I have been avoiding the local chocolate cheeses because I don't think that cheese should try to be fudge.  Cheese can try to be custard, but not fudge.  This cheese is fudge.  It's sweet paste is tasty, but nt very cheesey.  This might make a great addition to an ice cream sundae, but it is a dessert first and a cheese second.

Cheese of the week: Petit Ardi Gasna Cheese

Name: Petit Ardi Gasna Basque Pecorino Cheese

Brand: Fromagerie Agour

 

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

Country of Origin: FRANCE

Price in Iowa: $21.62/lb

Milk: raw Sheep

Processing: My French is terrible, so this is part guesswork: small batches of milk are twice-cooked, pressed, and coated with a pimento puree.  They are then aged for 3 months.

Texture: semi-firm

Color: pale white interior with a rusty-red rind

Rind: natural coated with some kind of pepper.  The label says pimento powder, but the manufacturer's website says "purée de piment d’espelette," which I think is French for pimento puree.

Aroma: Woody and nutty

Taste:  Nutty, forest mushroom, fruity, berry notes

Mouth feel: fairly firm and a bit slippery/oily.

Notes:This cheese was another firm Basque-style cheese that I ended up grinding.  So, another week of pasta and delicious Basque cheese.  Poor me.  The flavors of the cheese are very mixed and complex.  The woody/nutty part of it comes from the raw ewe's milk and the aging process, but the pimento rub gives it a bunch of spiky, fruity flavors that dance across your palate.  I'm not sure what to pair this cheese with.  Maybe some juicy grapes or pears?  Maybe plums?  Definitely fruit.

Texts from Zombie World: Post-Apoc Treats II

Feast: A Twinkee Wiener Sandwich a la "UHF"

Original Recipe:  A split Twinkee, with an uncooked Oscar Meyer hotdog in the split, covered with American EZ-Cheese

My Presentation: A split Twinkee, with a cooked BarS Jumbo Dog, covered in Sharp Cheddar EZ-Cheese.

Cheese of the week: Idiazabal Cheese

Name: Idiazabal Spanish Sheep Cheese

Brand: none listed

 

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

Country of Origin: SPAIN

Price in Iowa: $19.98/lb

Milk: Sheep

Processing: Twice-cooked, pressed and smoked

Texture: Firm

Color: Straw-yellow

Rind: Natural, but hard and inedible

Aroma: Sweet, piquant dairy

Taste:  Nutty, warm umami, with a strong, fruity aftertaste

Mouth feel: firm, dry paste, but not crunchy

Notes: There are a few varieties of this Basque-style cheese.  The cheesemonger at the Co-op says that this is a Navarre variety, that is well-aged and smoked.  Which essentially means that this is a grinding cheese.  I tried slicing off a piece for flavor and I had to switch to a serrated blade just to do that.  The aroma, however, is a lovely bit of rich protein-filled dairy and sweet, smokey fruitiness.  The flavor is equally exotic, with a beefy, nutty foreflavor and a smashingly fruity aftertaste.  I ground what I had left for sprinkling over buttered bread or pasta.  I look forward to a week of this delectable cheese.