The Cheese Thread

[Icky_Thoomp]

Hi all,

From reading SSW's Alien Penis Salad thread, I thought that we need a cheese thread to let other ZGeekers know about good cheese and more importantly where to get it.

Being from a Macedonian background, I <3 feta cheese, especially the Bulgarian variety. Makes everything taste better. If you find the Bulgarian too tart, try the Danish feta - much smoother.

Places to buy - I pretty much know the southern suburbs of Wollongong. For the best prices, go to the deli across the road from Tosti Cellars, Wentworth St Port Kembla. There is also a good deli/fruit market in Unanderra, just apart from the new Woolies. There is also a place on Swan St near the cemetery that does good smallgoods too.

At a pinch, Woolies in Wollongong is passable as is the Coles at Warrawong. But they are last resorts.

In other cheeses, I don't mind the kashkaval, a kinda hard cheese that is awesome with pickles and crackers. Cubed bits of Spam on the side = Heaven. :D

________________
List of ZGeek certified cheese goodness purveyors -

The Milawa Cheese Company (Milawa Vic.) - Lygon St, Carlton
http://mozzarellashop.co.uk/
Glorious Food, David Jones, Melbourne
Vic Market on a Saturday Morning
Little dairy just outside of Neerim, Victoria


Favourite cheeses (in order of posting) -

King Island double brie
Jarlsberg
King Island brie Blue
Gorgonzola
Chevre
"Milawa Blue" gorgonzola
Vintage Cheddars
Smoked Dutch Gouda
Leicester
King Island "Roaring Forties"
Roquefort (from unpasteurised milk!! Eek!)
Brillat savarin - french triple cream cheese . 75% fat cows milk
D'affinoise - french double cream 60 % fat cows milk
valdheon - spanish blue 45 % fat mix of cow and sheeps milk
tallegio - soft italian cheese 50 % fat cows milk
Parmesan
Jackie havarti
Buffalo mozzarella
meunster
Coon cheddar (we don't discriminate in the Cheese Thread)
Parmigiano Reggiano

[Buffy]

I'm a fan of the King Island double brie. Mmmm.
Jarlsberg sliced thinly for sandwhiches is the win! Feta in salads is also yum :)

[JessicaDV8]

I went grocery shopping yesterday and there was no camembert, so I threw my cart across the fucking gourmet aisle. I camembert it.

[Benwah]

Anyone into Blue cheese? King Island blue BRIE cheese best of your soft eating cheese with the stink you know and love from Blue cheese, a real 'once a year' treat.

[JessicaDV8]

I like blue cheese too. I'm over brie.

[sun_god]

I don't think there's been a King Island cheese I haven't liked.

I discovered Gorgonzola the other week and it was good. Not sure where it was from but was one of the best blue cheeses I have tried.

[dwarfthrower]

I like chevre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevre) as an alternative to feta in salads etc. The Milawa Cheese Company (http://www.milawacheese.com.au/) (Milawa Vic.) makes an excellent one rolled in the ashes of burnt grapevines. They also do plain and cajun spices varieties. You might be able to get these in specialty shops in Sydney, they have their own store in Lygon St Carlton.

Edit: Their "Milawa Blue" is a gorgonzola that will knock your socks off. (In fact the smell acutely resembles my socks)

[sun_god]

Ode on the Mammoth Cheese Weighing Over 7,000 Pounds
By James McIntyre (1827-1906)

We have seen thee, queen of cheese,
Lying quietly at your ease,
Gently fanned by evening breeze,
Thy fair form no flies dare seize.

All gaily dressed soon you'll go
To the great Provincial show,
To be admired by many a beau
In the city of Toronto.

Cows numerous as a swarm of bees,
Or as the leaves upon the trees,
It did require to make thee please,
And stand unrivalled, queen of cheese.

May you not receive a scar as
We have heard that Mr. Harris
Intends to send you off as far as
The great world's show at Paris.

Of the youth beware of these,
For some of them might rudely squeeze
And bite your cheek, then songs or glees
We could not sing, oh! queen of cheese.

We'rt thou suspended from balloon,
You'd cast a shade even at noon,
Folks would think it was the moon
About to fall and crush them soon.

[Tigress]

I LOVE cheese. If I had to pick one food to survive on for the rest of my life it would be cheese.

I like Jarlsberg, Vintage Cheddars, Smoked Dutch Gouda, Leicester, I'm with Buffy on the King Island Double Brie and King Island also do a delicious Smoked Camembert...

Damn you all - I'm going to have to get some cheese on the way home now because I just remembered that we are out!

[pliskin]

i too, love cheese.
the king island " roaring forties" is a very nice danish style blue cheese, very creamy with a lovely aroma.
i also love the fact, they have statred allowing roquefort cheese back into australia. unpasturised cheeses FTW.
if u live in sydney, and love cheeses, i urge u to go to simon johnson .they have a lovely range of imported cheeses, from around the world.
few of my favorites are-

Brillat savarin - french triple cream cheese . 75% fat cows milk
D'affinoise - french double cream 60 % fat cows milk
valdheon - spanish blue 45 % fat mix of cow and sheeps milk
tallegio - soft italian cheese 50 % fat cows milk

ive also found the food hall at the bottom of myers has a larger cheese selection. they are just more expensive .

what saddens me, is we pay a premium price in this counrty for cheese, for what at most, is an inferior product!
coon tasty chesse: is a misnomer! its bland as all hell.
u may as well eat the fucking packaging if u buy pre-sliced kratf singles. yet these are 2 of the most poluar selling cheese products on the market.
the scary thing is , a lot of people wouldnt know a good cheese if it just up and scared their fucking nose off .ie STILTONS.( i do love a nice stinky cheese) hehehehe

the french , regard -good cheese/good wine/ good crusty bread : as the holy trinity of food. the simple things in life often being the best!

[Sutter]

I want in on this thread. Cheese!

[Benwah]

Cheese is just cheese but! I wish people would stop being all wanky about it, we've been making it for hundreds of years, it's cultured milk with salt and other flavours added, just buy it and eat it and STFU about the 'magic' of cheese! heh. snobs.

Blue Cheese
Hard Cheese
Soft Cheese
Smoked Cheese

Everyone has a favourite, get over it!

[FatherShark]

Anyone into Blue cheese?

Very much so - I think it goes particularly well with dry crackers and a nice lager.

[Benwah]

Very much so - I think it goes particularly well with dry crackers and a nice lager.

Thats what I'm talking about, get the cheese, stick it in your mouth, eat it, tastes good.

I like parmasian cheese, that stuff stinks but is great on toast with mushys and tomato paste, yeah!

[sun_god]

Cheese is just cheese but! I wish people would stop being all wanky about it, we've been making it for hundreds of years, it's cultured milk with salt and other flavours added, just buy it and eat it and STFU about the 'magic' of cheese! heh. snobs.

Blue Cheese
Hard Cheese
Soft Cheese
Smoked Cheese

Everyone has a favourite, get over it!

If cheese is just cheese then find a different thread. This thread is for people to share about cheeses they love and to help others find some great new cheeses. So please STFU.

[Benwah]

If cheese is just cheese then find a different thread. This thread is for people to share about cheeses they love and to help others find some great new cheeses. So please STFU.

What you mean like I did in my first post? get over it mate, just irritates me when people get all snobby and yuppy about something so simple.

I love cheese and I think this is a great thread I just didn't want it to head into 'my cheese is better than you cheese you useless peasent' kinda thing which is where I saw it going anyway back on topic.

I dig a good Edam cheese, nice and mild and doesn't overpower other flavours.

[pliskin]

Cheese is just cheese but! I wish people would stop being all wanky about it, we've been making it for hundreds of years, it's cultured milk with salt and other flavours added, just buy it and eat it and STFU about the 'magic' of cheese! heh. snobs.
Everyone has a favourite, get over it!

i thought the idea was for people to use this thread, for the appreciation of cheese.

by your own reasoning" cheese is just cheese" im guessing u dont see a difference between brands of beer either..
just because u seem to have no discernable taste, doenst mean the same for everyone else.!

oh , i think cheese has been around a lot longer than a few hundred yrs.

[Benwah]

Touchy bunch ain't ya. see my previous post, hope it provides some clarity.

okay, thousands of years, happy?

"Origins
The exact origins of cheesemaking are unknown, and estimates range from around 8000 BCE (when sheep were domesticated) to around 3000 BCE. Credit for the discovery most likely goes to nomadic Turkic tribes in Central Asia, around the same time that they developed yogurt, or to people in the Middle East. A common tale about the discovery of cheese tells of an Arab nomad carrying milk across the desert in a container made from an animal's stomach, only to discover the milk had been separated into curd and whey by the rennet from the stomach."

[dozer]

kraft singles are tops, and who can go past coon........but seriously

jackie havarti and buffalo mozzarella 4tw.

http://mozzarellashop.co.uk/

[pliskin]

oh toes, i got neg repped from benwah-wah-wah-wah-wah.
cheese is serious bussiness, it seems.
im not tryig to be snobbish. im trying to get other people to think about and appreciate cheese.
thru my job , i just have a great appreciatoin of food, not just cheese
i know what i like/prefer, and if i make suggestions , then thats it, a suggestion!
doesnt mean u have to agree with me.
benwah even says he likes a good blue cheese. never was it my intention to provoke .
oh well..........
any1 else have a particular style of cheese they like??

[Icky_Thoomp]

Hello kiddies,

Thanks for all of the lovely responses. Benwah - play nice now, hear? :D

Seems to be a lot of blue cheese fans. Groovy. Where do you guys prefer to get your fix from?

When I was in the Hunter last year, we got a fromage thing from a little cheese-making place that was dynamite with crackers. Best thing ever. I can still taste it.... Yummmmm.....

There is nothing, though, quite like feta cheese with fresh-baked bread and ajvar/paprika relish. Fuck me but its the best.

Pliskin - the holy trinity sounds about right! Now if only I wasn't on the wagon and could partake in a nice red tonight.... :D

[Jen]

As far as sandwiches go, meunster is my cheese of choice. For salads, feta or chevre.

[Looney_Tunes67]

The best place I have found is a little dairy just outside of Neerim here in Victoria......It is out of the way but makes some fantastic Cheeses and Yoghurts.

The other place I love going to is Food Glorious Food in David Jones in Melbourne.......Yummy....

And dont forget Vic Market on a Saturday Morning...

[dozer]

ajvar/paprika relish. Fuck me but its the best.



now you are really showing your wog status, i love that stuff, slavic relish 4tw.

[nrejones]

Put Coon cheddar in a roll, heat it under the griller until melted then put some Vegemite with it. V good eating ( and goes well with beer!)

[Holster]

The best place I have found is a little dairy just outside of Neerim here in Victoria......It is out of the way but makes some fantastic Cheeses and Yoghurts.



The Jindi place?

They have won a few awards for their cheese.

Mum lives about 10 minutes drive from there so I can get their stuff when ever I want.

[Benwah]

oh toes, i got neg repped from benwah-wah-wah-wah-wah.
cheese is serious bussiness, it seems.
im not tryig to be snobbish. im trying to get other people to think about and appreciate cheese.
thru my job , i just have a great appreciatoin of food, not just cheese
i know what i like/prefer, and if i make suggestions , then thats it, a suggestion!
doesnt mean u have to agree with me.
benwah even says he likes a good blue cheese. never was it my intention to provoke .
oh well..........
any1 else have a particular style of cheese they like??

Sorry dude, had a bad day, I know you mean well, was just having a vent.

[Canalien]

Ok ok kids, let's play nice and all be friends ok? The sot, i mean mod has spoken

I'm with you all on the King Island matter, their stuff is really nice. Haven't had one yet that I've disliked. That said, I don't really dig Blue cheeses, fairly too strong for me. But I love Parmesan, or to be picky Parmigiano Reggiano. If you haven't tried the real deal, i really recommend it, you DO notice the difference, but it can be a bit expensive to buy all the time. (for those that don't know, the difference between Parmigiano Reggiano and Parmesan is akin to the difference between Champagne and Sparkling White).

I really dig smoked cheddars, and a nice mild Red Leicester is great too.

There's a pretty decent smoked cheddar that should be available from woolies, I can't remember the exact name but I think it's something like Applebox Smoked Cheddar with Paprika. Very worth a try.

Another of my favourites that is very popular in Canada but I've only recently managed to find here is Havarti cheese.
I've yet to find any Monterey Jack cheese in Australia. If anyone knows where I can get some, let me know.

[Looney_Tunes67]

The Jindi place?

They have won a few awards for their cheese.

Mum lives about 10 minutes drive from there so I can get their stuff when ever I want.

Thats the one........Great little place...highly rcommended.....go there everytie we go away dirt bike riding to Hawthorn Creek.

[nrejones]

The best and stinkyest chesses are the ones from France made from unpasteurised milk. We usually can't legally get em here cos of import rules. If you get freindly with your local deli they might be able to hook you up.

Gorganzola is nice. My eldest brother used to work in a 5 star hotel, where he was given cheeses to take home at the end of the day. he took some Gorganz home on the train one day(in mid summer) fell asleep for 1/2 an hour and found that he'd cleared out the carriage with the smell!

[Canalien]

Speaking of clearing out...

I tried Goat's Cheese for the first time at a deli the other day. Haha, I spat it out on reflex and wanted to throw up. That stuff tastes musty... I likened it to spraying down 10 years worth of collected dust with milk and licking up the result.

[Dr_Dewey]

love it:

a soft KASSERI

Kasseri is traditional Greek cheese, of “pasta filata” type, with controlled Denomination of Origin (DOC). It is manufactured from ewe’s milk or a mixture with goat’s milk in the regions of Macedonia, Thessalia, Mitilini island and Xanthi. Kasseri is a semi-hard cheese which is consumed as table cheese or used in the preparation of pizza.

or a harder KEFALOTIRI

Kefalotiri is traditional Greek cheese with Controlled Denomination of Origin (DOC), the long history and name of which are intimately connected with the customs and dietary habits of the Greeks. It is manufactured from ewe's or goat's milk or mixture of the two in the regions of Macedonia, Sterea Hellas, Peloponissos, Thessalia, Crete island, Epirus, lonian islands and Cyclades islands. Kefalotiri is considered the ancestor of many hard Greek cheeses. It has a salty and piquant taste and a unique rich aroma which is obtained after ripening for at least 3 months. It is consumed as table cheese, grated cheese, in cheese-pastries and as saganaki (shallow-fried cheese ).

[Whiskers]

I love Hungarian fetta. I think I've said it before, but I refer to it as orgasm cheese. There is a cafe in Brighton which does a great greek (not very greek huh) salad with it, and if it wasn't for the terrible service, I'd eat it more often.

I don't eat much dairy these days (trying to be healthy and it seems to congest my skin) so when I do treat myself, I try to stick to better quality cheeses.

That said, I hate blue cheese, goats cheese, brie and camembert.

As for stuff you can get from your local supermarket, there is a great brand of cheddar, which I cannot remember the name of. The flavoured varieties are incredible. Especially the sundried tomato one. I've eaten the whole thing in one sitting before.

I miss eating like a pig. :boohoo:

[-=[BB]=-]

Hi all,
Places to buy - I pretty much know the southern suburbs of Wollongong. For the best prices, go to the deli across the road from Tosti Cellars, Wentworth St Port Kembla. There is also a good deli/fruit market in Unanderra, just apart from the new Woolies. There is also a place on Swan St near the cemetery that does good smallgoods too.

At a pinch, Woolies in Wollongong is passable as is the Coles at Warrawong. But they are last resorts.



Have you tried the Fruit market at Fairy Meadow? they have some pretty good stuff there last time I went, I wanted to buy everything in the deli and all the cheeese there :)

[Megabyte]

I love cheese. I can usually be found eating it in large chunks on it's own, whether it's the snooty-tooty kind or the ordinary block of cheddar.

I'm a big fan of the Tilba cheeses, vintage & sundried tomato being my favourites.
Brie & Camembert are good, It doesn't take long for mum & I to go through a small wheel of camembert on our own. :p

I have a second-cousin, over in England and he, from memory, runs a Cheese Factory down near Somerset and my poor great Aunt always has so much damn cheese around her house. Apparently everytime he comes over he has at least 2-3 (very, very large) wheels of different cheese types and my Aunt usually gives it away to family & friends otherwise it just ends up going bad.


But I have to say, the cheese I eat (and love) the most is Baby-Bel. :p

[Glompbot]

I love Havarti, except I managed to get some that was sour tasting, so I've kinda been scared to try it again.

I'm also a big fan of Jarlsberg or Smoked Edam.

I'm also partial to Smoked Gouda

[Sagacious]

I lovce Haloumi done on the BBQ

[Glompbot]

There's a pretty decent smoked cheddar that should be available from woolies, I can't remember the exact name but I think it's something like Applebox Smoked Cheddar with Paprika. Very worth a try.

Actually, I'm quite fond of the applebox cheeses, I get them from woolies and coles, the paprika one is the best, but they've got a few other ones with sundried tomato and one with cracked pepper.

[Canalien]

Oh you've got to try the havarti again. It's like a mix between swiss, cheddar and mozzarella.

[Glompbot]

I lovce Haloumi done on the BBQ

OMG I tried this when someone cooked it for their food at pirates birthday
it is DELICIOUS, I've never tasted something so moreish and interesting.

Oh you've got to try the havarti again. It's like a mix between swiss, cheddar and mozzarella.

I know, havarti has been my favourite since I was very young.
Its just the last time i got some it was sour... so i'm scared i'll get another sour one and will be turned off for life!

[Sagacious]

My Managing Law Clerk speaks of a dish involving eggs fried in butter and tomato juice atop chunks of feta he swears it sends your tastbuds into orgasmic overdrive.

He has been promising a practical demonstration but he says the recipe calls for the following process to be followed...

1. In a frying pan heat tomato juice
2. Melt butter into tomato juice
3. Drop chunks of fetta into hot tomato juice/butter mixture.
4. As feta begins to melt crack eggs onto fetta and into tomato juice/butter mix
5. Once eggs are poached then remove the feta with the egg on top and serve on crusty toast with lashings of butter. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Ahhh I can feel my arteries hardening as we speak.

[BtrFly]

i <3 cheese. but it makes me ill. i have to be VERY careful about how much dairy i eat. SO i love the sheep/goats cheeses...

<3 bulgarian feta, cassari, kefalograviera, and if i am going to eat cows cheese, i go for a nice brie on crackers.

no real favourite, but Jimi and i are trying to try a different cheese each week, possibly with a nice wine...

[Icky_Thoomp]

I lovce Haloumi done on the BBQ

There's a place in Wollongong called Yianni's Cafe, on Corrimal St, that does fried haloumi as an entree/starter. They have warm pita bread on the side and it is just so good.

My mum also fries hunks of cheese with scrambled eggs. Don't knock it till ya try it, I say.

This weekend will see me buy and consume about 4 kilos of cheese.... :D

[royale]

Im a huge fan of pretty much every cheese except the bland supermarket colby/edam/non-aged tasty stuff.

Personal favourites/regular fridge dwellers are
Tarago River Cheese "Shadows of Blue", its like blue-brie but a little stronger
Jindi Cheese brie
King Island roaring fourties blue
Any vintage tasty (what tastes good from the market) or Mainland Special Reserve (the best of the big companies)

If you’re a serious cheese lover in melbourne, spend a few hours in the Richmond Hill Café and Larder cheese room, they have some of the most amazing cheese from all over the world (but they tend to be pretty pricy)

[Glompbot]

I've never found any brie or camambert cheese that is anything other than tasteless

Is this how they're meant to be?

[Benwah]

Do you eat them at room temperature or still cold?

[royale]

I've never found any brie or camambert cheese that is anything other than tasteless

Is this how they're meant to be?

No but they do tend to be pretty mild (until they get a bit if time).
Make sure you get your cheese to room temperature before serving, and don't expect the cheaper brie/camemberts to have tons of flavour (although price is not necessarily an indicator of quality, King Island cheeses were much better and cheaper before Butterfields bought them for their name).