Sunday, March 22, 2020

Product Review Blitz II

Hang on to your horses! This is my second product review blitz and it's a long one! Preview: J&L Grubb Cashel Blue cheese, Da Vinci Herbed Gouda, Rambol Gourmandise Kirsch cheese, Clawson Blue Stilton cheese, Casaro Pecorino Romano, Champignon Rougette Bavarian Red, Mitica Taleggio, Père Double Cream Brie, Clawson White Stilton with Lemon Peel, Capricorn French-Type Goat Milk Cheese, Carr Valley Cheese Bread Cheese, Emmi Appenzeller cheese, Luigi Guffanti Robiola Due Latti cheese, Sartori Black Pepper BellaVitano cheese, Sartori Balsamic Vinagrette BellaVitano cheese, Sartori Raspberry BellaVitano cheese, Sartori Peppermint BellaVitano cheese, Sartori MontAmoré cheese, Bucky Badger Combo Cheddar Cheese Curd, Henri Hutin Belletoile cheese, Crave Brothers Les Frères cheese Old Croc Extra Sharp Cheddar, Schmidhauser Tomme Crayeuse cheese, Beemster Graskaas cheese, Mitica Caña de Cabra cheese, Igor Gorgonzola Piccante cheese, Fiorucci Sopressata Dry Salame, Doritos Dinamita chips, Doritos Jacked Ranch-Dipped Hot Wings chips, Doritos Jacked Enchilada Supreme chips, Doritos Jacked Smoky Chipotle BBQ chips, Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips, Stacy's Multigrain Pita Chips Combos Buffalo Blue Cheese and Pretzel, La Panzanella Sesame Mini Croccantini, La Panzanella Whole Wheat Croccantini, La Panzanella Black Pepper Mini Croccantini, Mediterranean Snacks Sea Salt Lentil Crackers Lays Cheesy Garlic Bread chips, and Lays Pico de Gallo chips.


J&L Grubb: Cashel Blue. This cheese is named after the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary, Ireland, which is nearby the pastures where the cows are grazed.[1][2] This cheese was fairly creamy. The blue veins in the cheese weren't very extensive, which was rather misleading. The blue was actually stronger than the Gorgonzola Piccante (see the review below), which means it was too much for my taste. In fact, it was so intense it tasted kind of bitter. I won't be having this again.


Da Vinci: Herbed Gouda. The cheese was nice and creamy. The herbs were pretty intense—to the point that I couldn't taste the Gouda, just the herbs. Leann compared eating this cheese with crackers to eating bread and dipping oil with spices. This cheese would go well cubed on a platter, but it was a little too intense to eat more than a few bites of. I didn't have any fruit to eat with it, which might have balanced it out a little more.


Rambol: Gourmandise Kirsch. When I bought this cheese I didn't realize that kirsch was a cherry-flavored schnaps. Even though the cheese is from France they chose to call the alcohol by its German name (kirsch). In France it would properly be called an eau de vie. And in the Netherlands it would be called a brandywine (which is where we get our word brandy). It is made by melting Cheddar and Gruyère [3], adding cream and emulsifiers, and then adding in the kirsch and stirring until the alcohol evaporates off. (This is important for me since, as a Latter-day Saint, I abstain from consuming alcohol.[4]) What is left is a soft, spreadable cheese with a hint of cherry flavor.[5] Kirsch is sometimes added to fondue, so perhaps that was what inspired the creation of this cheese. The cheesemonger suggested I spread it on bread. This cheese is very smooth and creamy. It was pretty good on bread (we used Grandma Sycamore), plain or toasted, and had only a hint of the cherry flavor left. We also used it for dipping grapes and liked it that way, too. Leann wanted to try it with something salty, but all we had on hand were multigrain pita chips (see the review below) and they were too flavorful and overpowered the cheese.


Clawson: Blue Stilton Like other blue cheeses I've tried, this cheese was creamy and intense—a little too intense to eat by itself. But I tried it on corn chips with guacamole and it was really quite good. I also tried it on the whole wheat croccantini (see the review below) with guacamole and it was still excellent. I guess the guacamole both helped to dilute the intensity of the mold, harmonized with the creaminess of the cheese, and negated the musty flavor of the whole wheat croccantini.


Casaro: Pecorino Romano. This is primarily a grating cheese, but I tried a little bite off the brick. It was sheepy and full of lactose crystals. It left a brief burning sensation on my tongue. We used it on a homemade pizza. It still tasted sheepy and didn't fully melt, so it wasn't the best cheese to use that way. And Leann said it made her tongue burn even after melting (but no longer mine). I even got my mom and my sister Ashley (who is rather a timid sort of person when it comes to food) to try it.


Champignon: Rougette Bavarian Red. This cheese is two-faced. If you eat it on fruit, the sweetness of the fruit brings out the Brie-like flavor. But instead of having the mushroom-like aftertaste of Brie, it has a bitter aftertaste similar to Morbier [6] and Tallegio (see the review below), which are also washed-rind cheeses. On the other hand, if you spread it on bread or toast it tastes almost exactly like a rich, smooth butter. And the bitter aftertaste is almost negligible. (So if you don't like a funky taste in your cheese, eat this one on bread, not fruit.) On the other hand, real butter is just as tasty and not as expensive.


Mitica: Taleggio. Leann and I first saw this cheese on Anne Burrell's show, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef. Anne was making grilled pizzas. To one of the pizzas she made on the show, she added dollops of what she said was one of her favorite cheeses: Taleggio. Like Morbier [6] and Limburger [7], this cheese has an orange rind produced by Brevibacterium linens. So it smells like gym clothes that haven't been washed all semester long. The rind is technically edible, but there's no way I personally would eat it. Under the rind the cheese is creamy. It starts out tangy and then that tanginess gives way to a mild flavor that's identical to the smell of the rind. So in one bite it goes from kind of good to not so good. Per Anne's suggestion, we tried making a pizza with it. On the pizza most of the stinkiness cooked out, but not all. So it was better on the pizza, but not quite good enough.


Père: Double Cream Brie. It was a little bit stinkier than Domaine du Village.[8] The flavor was less sweet and little bit bitter. It was also (as can be expected) not as creamy. This also meant it wasn't as soft and so we couldn't as easily dip our fruit in it. I'll be trying other brands of Brie; this one did not impress.


Clawson: White Stilton with Lemon Peel. The candied lemon peel didn't really add much flavor to the cheese (much less improving the cheese with its added flavor). In fact, it mostly just made it unpleasantly chewy. The lemon flavor was enough, though, to mask the taste of the cheese. So I still have little idea what White Stilton tastes like. I wouldn't really care to eat this cheese again, but I'm still curious about unadulterated White Stilton.


Capricorn: French-Type Goat Milk Cheese. The goaty flavor is detectable, but quite mild. The texture is reminiscent of cream cheese or Neufchâtel, but a little grainy. I started eating this log intending to stop after a few bites. But I didn't manage to reign myself in until I'd eaten over half.


Carr Valley Cheese: Bread Cheese. This is a cow-milk version of leipäjuusto.[9] This cheese tasted pretty similar to mozzarella, but it has a slight bit of stinkiness to it. We tried cutting it into 1-cm cubes, microwaving it, and eating it with honey, jam, or syrup. Leann liked the honey best and I preferred the strawberry jam. But eating the warm cheese plain was even better and it was a little bit squeaky. We also tried putting slices on a piece of French bread and broiling it until the cheese was warm and the bread was starting to toast. It was pretty good that way, too. Overall, a good cheese but not a stupendous one.


Emmi: Appenzeller. This cheese is comparable to Emmentaler (i.e., Swiss cheese) in how hard/soft it is, its texture, and its creaminess. It's also a bit stinky, but in more of a barnyard way than Emmentaler. It melts nicely, but the stinky flavor is mostly retained. I liked it in a grilled cheese sandwich with a slice of Black Forest ham.


Luigi Guffanti: Robiola Due Latti. This cheese was pretty similar in concept to Brie. It has a bloomy white rind and a gooey center. This was only a double cream (due latti means "two milks"), so it wasn't as creamy as the Domaine du Village I've tried.[8] It was also a little more set, which means it was harder to separate from the rind. (Some sources say you can eat the rind, but it had an unpleasant smell, so I didn't feel like trying.) This had the same funk as Brie, but it was a lot stronger.


Sartori: BellaVitano cheeses. We tried the black pepper, raspberry, and balsamic varieties. There is also a variety with merlot in the rind. Tastes like a cross between a mild Parmagiano Reggiano and a cheddar. The pepper rind gave the cheese a subtle pepper flavor (you can eat the rind of this cheese). The texture is more like a cheddar than a parmagiano—soft and a little creamy. The body of the cheese has little microcrystals which give it a little crunch. I liked this aspect, but I can imagine that some people would not. Leann and I will definitely buy BellaVitano cheese again.


Sartori: Peppermint BellaVitano. Around Christmas Sartori trots out a peppermint-flavored cheese. I bought it to see how the peppermint influence the flavor of the cheese. No dice. This still just tasted like every other BellaVitano I've tried (see the review above)—except maybe a little sheepy. Even when I picked off little pieces of the pink (and presumably peppermint-laden) rind and ate them I didn't detect any peppermint flavor. Even Leann, who has more fungiform papillae [10] than I do, couldn't taste a difference. So, we conclude that you can try any BellaVitano you want, they're all essentially the same.


Sartori: MontAmoré. Perhaps someone with a more distinguished palate would be able to detect (and perhaps even describe) the difference between this and Sartori's BellaVitano, but to me they were identical both in flavor and texture. Perhaps this one was a little creamier than BellaVitano, but at this point I can't be sure. I still like the crunch of the lactic acid crystals.


Bucky Badger: Combo Cheddar Cheese Curd. Growing up my family always got cheese curd from the Star Valley Cheese Factory. And it was squeaky! Unfortunately, they were bought out by Cache Valley cheese and eventually shut down. So now we can't get it. Nonetheless, their cheese curd has become my touchstone for all other cheese curds. This cheese curd was fairly good as far as taste goes (the white cheddar was a little creamier than the yellow cheddar), but we only got two squeaks out of the whole bag. Talk about disappointing!


Henri Hutin: Belletoile. A triple cream Brie-style cheese. This Brie wasn't as spectacular as the Domaine du Village.[8] It was more mushroomy and the rind was pretty flimsy, so I had to keep picking bits of it out of my mouth. I couldn't really distinguish it from the Père Double Cream Brie we tried (see the review above).


Crave Brothers: Les Frères cheese. This cheese was rather stinky and that funk made its way into the flavor of the cheese. It wasn't strong enough to prevent me from eating it, but it did turn Leann away. It wasn't that creamy, either. It wasn't that good with strawberries, but it wasn't that bad with grapes. However, I've had better soft-ripened cheeses that I would recommend over this one (e.g., Domain du Village [8]).


Old Croc: Extra Sharp Cheddar. I got this cheese for Father's Day 2013. It is made in Australia. It is a white cheddar, which I wasn't expecting. It had a strong cheddary flavor with lots of lactic acid crystals. In fact, it was strong enough, that I had to dilute it to be able to fully enjoy it. It paired well with an Italian dry salami [11] and apple slices. Despite being extra sharp, the cheese was smooth and creamy, not crumbly. If you like cheddar, especially sharp cheddar, I think you'll enjoy this cheese.


Schmidhauser: Tomme Crayeuse. The word crayeuse means "chalky" in French.[12] This cheese is pretty similar to Tallegio (see the review above), both in texture, smell, and flavor (i.e., creamy texture, barnyard smell, and funky flavor with a bit of tanginess). But, true to its name, the texture of this cheese becomes chalky in the center (and concomitantly milder). However, this wasn't enough to sufficiently set it apart from Tallegio in my mind.



Beemster: Graskaas. The word graskaas means "grass cheese" in Dutch, referring to the origin of this Gouda-style cheese. According to the cheesemakers [13], this cheese is made from the milk of Dutch cows that have (enthusiastically) fed on the first below-sea-level grasses of spring. They only make 2000 wheels and export half of these to other countries.[14] The cheese was very soft and creamy, with a few 'eyes'. The flavor was quite mild—I didn't think it tasted like a Gouda at all.


Mitica: Caña de Cabra. This cheese has a bloomy white rind, which probably means Penicillium glaucum. This gave it a slightly moldy flavor, which others call 'mushroomy'.[15] I was reminded a little of the flavor of the yellow mold in Juni.[16] The rind is edible, but tastes even more mushroomy, so consider yourself warned. The interior of the log is creamy, though not as creamy as the Domaine du Vallage [8] we tried a little while ago and had a smoother texture than chèvre.[17] It tastes more goaty in the center and this lessens as you move out towards the rind, but at the same time the mushroomy flavor increases. I tried melting some of this cheese onto some French bread and eating it drizzled with honey. Unexpectedly, this made it taste even more mushroomy, which was unpleasant.


Igor: Gorgonzola Piccante. This was saltier than other blue cheeses I've had [18] and also creamier but less 'blue'. It was actually mild enough that I could eat it without being overwhelmed (which was not the case for the other blue cheeses I've had). I wanted to try making a pizza with Gorgonzola. At the store they had both Gorgonzola Dolce and Gorgonzola Piccante. Most recipes I looked at called for Gorgonzola Dolce, but the one piece of Gorgonzola Dolce they had at the cheese island was discolored and oozy and the cheesemonger wasn't around to cut me a new piece. So I went with the Gorgonzola Piccante. On the pizza most of the 'blue' flavor boiled off, but was still present. It had a slightly grainy texture, which I liked. It wasn't fantastic (like the Gorgonzola-stuffed mushrooms I had at La Jolla Groves [19]), but I'd still like to try making a pizza with Gorgonzola Dolce.


Fiorucci: Sopressata Dry Salame. The flavor of this salame was pretty good, except that they used to many peppercorns. I don't recall finding whole peppercorns in the other salames I've tried, but if they had them they weren't so prevalent as to ruin the experience. The amount of peppercorns in this salame was unpleasant for me and fell just short of making it inedible altogether. Also, this salame was tougher and thus harder to eat.


Doritos: Dinamita. Obviously these are a response to Barcel Takis.[20] The Nacho Picoso had some nice heat to them, but the flavor itself was pretty bland. The flavor is distinctly jalapeño at first, but this quickly gives way to the heat. And heat by itself doesn't impress me that much. They weren't as crunchy as Takis, either. Quite messy on the fingers. I recommend you stick with Takis fajita flavor over these. The Chile Limón were very hot. I probably could've finished the bag in one sitting, but after a while I wouldn't have enjoyed it. The lime flavor was nice, but almost overpowered by the chile.


Doritos: Jacked chips. The bag says "Bigger. Bolder. Thicker." The chips are larger than regular Doritos chips. These were also prepared a little differently from most Doritos—they were similar to the baked Doritos varieties, which means they were less crispy (but the bag claims they're "thicker"). The Ranch-Dipped Hot Wings had a nice heat to them, but they were pretty messy. And they had a sweetness to them that was unwelcome (kind of like the Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili [21]). I think that was supposed to be the "ranch-dipped" part, but I didn't think it really tasted like ranch. I didn't particularly like it, either. The Enchilada Supreme had less heat than the Hot Wings, but it was still sweet. The Smoky Chipotle BBQ had a nice barbeque sauce flavor. But I didn't really detect any chipotle flavor.[22] I think the only reason they added chipotle to the name was because it has a little heat to it. Of the three flavors of "Jacked" Leann and I both liked this one best. But I didn't think it was so good that I'd choose it over BBQ potato chips (which are probably going to be cheaper).


Stacy's: Simply Naked Pita Chips. These have a nice crunch that isn't too much (i.e., it isn't jarring on your teeth). Chewing the pita chips does produce shards that are a little sharp and can cut up your mouth a little. The flavor itself is pretty boring. But these are nice if you pair them with something a dip (like hummus) or a cheese.


Stacy's: Multigrain Pita Chips. I thought these were just as good as the 'naked' pita chips. (see the review above). They went well with Cashel blue cheese (see the review above), but were too flavorful for the Gourmandise Kirsch cheese (see the review above).


Combos: Buffalo Blue Cheese and Pretzel. This definitely had a little kick to them from the buffalo sauce, but nothing overwhelming. The cheese in the centers of the Combos was creamy, but I didn't detect any blue flavor to them. I can understand that since the moldy flavor of blue cheese isn't appealing to most people. As it was, I thought these were pretty good and I wouldn't mind having them again.


La Panzanella: Sesame Mini Croccantini. The sesame flavor is there, but not overwhelming (as the garlic-flavored mini-croccantini were [23]). I would rank these equally with the regular-flavored croccantini for their utility in each cheeses or other snacks—or by themselves.


La Panzanella: Whole Wheat Croccantini. I've previously lauded mini croccantini from La Panzanella [24] for their crunchiness and their flavor. (I was less fond of the garlic-flavored mini croccantini [23].) For some reason Harmon's has stopped carrying mini croccantini and only carries the regular-sized croccantini. This time I bought the whole-wheat variety. These tasted kind of musty and stale. They still had a nice crunch, but the flavor left me wanting. I couldn't tell if the flavor was because of the whole wheat or because they'd gone stale, but I suspect the latter. Either way I'll be choosing other varities over this one. The croccantini were also too big to be convenient for anything and they don't break very well—they usually shatter. So I recommend you opt for the mini croccantini whenever possible.



La Panzanella: Black Pepper Mini Croccantini. These had the hard crunch that I've appreciated in other flavors of mini croccantini. I generally don't care for pepper (why would you put the same seasoning on all your food?), but it was mild enough that it worked fine with these crackers—they just had a little bite.


Mediterranean Snacks: Sea Salt Lentil Crackers. These chips have a nice crunch and a mild flavor which I thought made them perfect for pairing with cheese. I had them with Appenzeller cheese (see the review above) and thought they went well, but they were also fine to eat by themselves. Leann thought they were too 'beany'.


Lays: Cheesy Garlic Bread chips. These were almost completely awful. "Cheesy Garlic Bread" was a misnomer; these are simply garlic-flavored chips. The garlic flavor was so intense that even Leann (who loves garlic) couldn't handle them. I will never buy these again, nor eat them if they're offered to me.


Lays: Pico de Gallo chips. Based on my experience with the Cheesy Garlic Bread chips, I expected these to be cilantro-flavored, instead of pico de gallo-flavored. In that I was wrong—they weren't cilantro-flavored. But they weren't really pico de gallo-flavored, either. Despite that, I enjoyed the flavor. Maybe one of you can enlighten me as to the true flavor.


Notes:

[1] See http://www.cashelblue.com/.

[2] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashel Blue cheese.

[3] See my review of Gruyère here (scroll down).

[4] To learn more about why Latter-day Saints (commonly referred to as Mormons) abstain from coffee, tea, alcohol, and tobacco, see here and here.

[5] Rambol also makes a walnut-flavored Gourmandise. See http://iledefrancecheese.com/index.php/Gourmandise/gourmandise.html.

[6] See my review of Les 3 Comtois Morbier Cheese here.

[7] See my review of Country Castle Limburger here.

[8] See my review of Les Fromagers de Chevillon Domaine du Village here.

[9] See my review of a goat-milk 'bread cheese' (Pasture Pride Guusto) here.

[10] See http://usd-apps.usd.edu/coglab/TasteLab.html.

[11] See my review of Boar's Head Italian Dry Salame here.

[12] See http://culturecheesemag.com/node/1326.

[13] See https://www.beemster.us/en-us/the-cheeses/beemster-graskaas®/.

[14] See http://www.cheese.com/beemster-graskaas/.

[15] See http://www.mundoquesos.com/2010/09/cana-de-cabra.html (in Spanish).

[16] See my review of Mitica Juni cheese here.

[17] See my review of Shepherds Chèvre cheese here.

[18] See my reviews for Danish Blue (here) and Shropshire Blue (here).

[19] See my post Five Years.

[20] See my reviews of different Takis offerings here, here, and here.

[21] See my review of Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili chips here.

[22] A chipotle isn't a unique variety of pepper. It is simply a red jalapeño pepper that has been dried and smoked and sometimes marinated in adobo sauce. The name comes from Nāhuatl chīlli ("chili pepper") + pōctli ("smoke"), i.e., "smoked chili pepper".

[23] See my review of La Panzanella Mini Croccantini here.

[24] See my review of La Panzanella Garlic Mini Croccantini here.

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