Cheese comments and reviews!

In writing quirky little blurbs about various important cheeses, I have made a small selection of cheeses local to the bay area as well as international cheeses. Enjoy! Voila:

Local Cheese

Cowgirl Creamery Cheeses-

Red Hawk- With its strong, musty smell and its strong musty taste, this is one of my favorite cheeses ever. It’s a triple-cream, washed-rind, cow’s milk cheese. It is aged for six weeks and thus has a complex taste that increases with its age. Its rind is washed with a brine solution that grows a bacteria which turns the rind a nice orangey red color. The appearance of this cheese matches its taste. It is rich and fills one’s mouth with an excitingly stinky, complicated flavor. It feels as though something is GOING ON in one’s mouth when one has this cheese smeared against one’s tongue. 10/10!

Mt. Tam- Tasting this triple-cream cheese is almost like eating butter. If you eat a wedge of it alone, you will taste the creamy richness more than any real flavor. Yet, if you spread it on a piece of toast and let it melt slightly into the bread, it is rich and delightful. This cheese is rich, yet mellow. It is not so overpowering that, after consuming it, you will not be able to taste anything else. Yet, it does fill your mouth completely as you taste it. 8/10.

Redwood Hill Farm Cheeses-

Camellia- Soft and firm in the center and runny on the edges, this is a delicious, creamy goat cheese. The cheese has a complex, buttery taste. Its texture is delightful. The runny edges are the richest and most satisfying while the center is like a soft, firm cream cheese. 10/10!

California Crottin- This beautifully wrinkly cheese is dense, rich, and somewhat overpowering. Just a little bit of it fills one’s mouth with goat-y, creamy flavor. 9/10.


International Cheese

French Cheese-

Comte- A delicious grainy cheese, this French Gruyere is a cheese that one can eat a lot of at once. Unlike some richer, stinkier cheeses, in which case just a little bit goes a long way. After eating one little piece, one is driven with the desire to have the taste of it in one’s mouth again. This cheese goes well with a good baguette and fresh fruit. It is perfect to bring on a picnic. I have also eaten it in a grilled cheese sandwich, which was quite tasty as well. Yet, I am very fond of the grainy, almost crunchy taste it has when it is not melted.

Mexican Cheese-

Queso Fresco- This is generally a fresh, moist, rind-less, un-aged cheese. In Spanish, it means, simply, “fresh cheese”. It can be found in San Francisco in nearly any Market or grocery store in the Mission District. It is salty, crumbly, and somewhat addictive. In Mexican cooking, it is crumbled over soups, salads, enchiladas, tortas, and almost anything. It does not melt very well. It is a tasty fresh cheese.

Indian Cheese-

Paneer- This Indian cheese is fresh, rind-less and unaged. It is not salty and it does not melt. Unlike most cheeses, rennet is not used in the production of Paneer. It is made with a simple acid such as lemon juice or vinegar. This acid is added to hot milk to separate the curds from the whey. The curds are drained and pressed and chilled in cold water for a couple of hours. A fairly bland cheese on its own, it is delicious in spicy curries.