Consolidated "Favorite cheeses / where to find?" thread
 

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Fontina (from Spain) is my favorite. Available at Trader Joes, Costco, probably most places. It would (in my uneducated opinion) be a cousin to Gouda -- which I am also very fond of :)

And, of course, everyone loves brie (soft & creamy) -- right?

So many cheeses...where to start? I'm a big fan of aged Gouda. A hard cheese, with a sharper flavor than unaged Gouda. Flexible- good on pizzas, grated on pasta, sliced with sourdough. I also like Roaring 40's blue (Australian, I think). It has a softer flavor than other blue cheeses.

If you like strong (or "stinky," as my children say) cheese, then I'd recommend Chimay. It's a semi-soft cheese made with Chimay beer. Good strong flavor, great with a crusty loaf of bread! Mmm.

Experiment and have fun!

Following Brewgal, it seemed only appropriate to mention some of the suggestions for beer and cheese pairings (beer works much better than wine with cheese).

Here are some suggestions from cookbook author Lucy Saunders.

Here's a 2005 article in the San Francisco Chronicle on the subject.

And finally, suggestions for cheeses from Fred Eckhardt, the "dean of American beer writers".

It of course would depend on the wine and food you are serving with it, but one of the ones I like that many people haven't tried (unless you have a room full of italians) is ricotta salata, solid ricotta.

Try Saint Andre--sort of Brie+ ;)

luscious with crackers and quince paste!

Try a high end grocery store
 

depending where you are, if you can find a high end / gourmet grocery shop, they should have at least one cheese expert on staff who can give you recommendations based on what they have available. Dean and DeLuca, Oakville grocery, Draegers are all good in northern California, not sure what options you'll have in Texas (Whole Foods, maybe?)?

For online sources, try www.cowgirlcreamery.com . That's what I use to send cheeses to my parents, who live in a gourmet food-deprived area in Georgia (the state, not the country).

Bob

One of the very best cheeses I have had is Delice du Bourgogne which I have only seen at Costco during the holidays. It is, apparently, not a traditional cheese from France, but a new invention. Very rich smooth, buttery with a wonderful flavor. You might still find some at your local Costco. Keeps for a month or so if unopened.

I'm a fan of smoked gouda, along with dill havarti - a softer, milder cheese.

Buy one of the cheeseboards from www.cheese-online.com , which will ship you cheese directly from France. Trust me on this, it will be the best cheese you can get. We order it frequently, and it is the most talked about and desired item at our annual law firm holiday party.

If you want recommendations for particular cheeses, feel free to PM me, or e-mail me.

But their Soiree cheeseboard (10 different cheeses) should more than satisfy for your event.

I have no affiliation with fromages.com , just a very satisfied long-time customer.

It's not traditional in the rustic sense, but was likely created in the 18th century. Not an overly new invention.

Fontina is from Italy, the Aosta Valley in the Italian corner between Switzerland and France. It has a similar texture to young Gouda (semi-hard cheese).

One of my favourites... Brie de Meaux. Some claim it is the best brie. Meaux is east of Paris, west of Reims, more or less. I also like gorgonzola, parmigiano reggiano, gruyere, cheddar, stilton... I could go on.
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13F

Mmmm, two of my favorite things... beer and cheese... "Cheese, Gromit, cheese!"

Pairing beers and cheeses can be very wonderful!

I concur that you find a small gourmet food shop or cheese specialty shop and consult the "cheese whiz" for suggestions. They will usually let you sample and help you make an interesting selection for your cheese tasting party. One of my my favorite cheeses available at most supermarkets is Parrano Originale It has the alluring, nutty flavor of a fine aged parmesan with the versatility of a young gouda.

[QUOTE=Seat13F_AC_CRJ;9024417One of my favourites... Brie de Meaux. Some claim it is the best brie. [/QUOTE]

**salivating**

Brie de Meaux is the best brie I've had - after you taste it, other bries will seem rubbery and flavorless!

If you're really looking to try some new things, I suggest Livarot or Pont l'Eveque. Even Epoisses, one of the stinkiest cheeses!

Make sure you include a variety of cheeses (different milks, different strength of flavor, different styles, etc) so you can enjoy the differences! A good cheese plate for my tastes would be: Montrachet or similar fresh goat cheese, Brie de Meaux, Livarot or other super-stinky cheese, Morbier, Gruyere or other mountain-type cheese, Forme d'Ambert or other blue.

(sorry, I can't figure out how to type the accents in FT)

I like Guiness cheddar. You may have to order some through your local cheese shop. Irish cheddar, cubed, then steeped in guiness and set so the final wheel is marbled with Guiness veins. Tastes like a nonsweet chocolate cheesecake. It's so good that the cheese shop goes through an entire wheel in less than a day.

The French do a bit of cooking with Reblochon, but I like it straight off the wheel, runny and a bit aromatic.

Think of trying to make a Tartiflette. Reblochon is required for that one.

I love La Tur. It is a soft cheese from Italy and goes very well with a little truffle honey.:) A wonderful marriage of flavors.

I'm not familiar with this ~~ where do you buy it?

murcia al vino and it never hurts to have a nice gruyere.

my new fav is Huntsman...

It's basically an English cheese: stack of alternating layers of a Double Gloucester with Stilton.

Fabulous with ginger snaps (the real thin Swedish ones) or any kind of cracker.

Yum.... OK, now I'm going to have to make a run to DiPalo's this weekend!

Norwegian gjetost. A firm, dark brown cheese made from both cow's and goat's milk. Has a caramel-like, nutty flavor. Best served in as thin a slice as you can manage.

I usually just shave off a few paper-thin slices and let them melt in my mouth, but I suppose they would go well on Wheat Thins if you actually needed something to serve it on.

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William R. Sanders
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Surfing Goat Dairy, Maui
 

"Da Feta Mo' Bettah!" when it's made on Maui at Surfing Goat Dairies.

Cheese lovers must not miss this National Award Winning line of artisan cheeses made right here at home!

http://www.surfinggoatdairy.com/products_cheeses.html

Ooh, this sounds good!

Carephilly, a Welsh semi-soft cow's milk variety:

http://www.caerphillynet.co.uk/caerphilly-cheese/

http://www.cooking.com/products/shpr...ly%2Dcheese%2F

My favorite cheese!

could not agree more !!!

Two of my faves: English Stilton, Goat Cheese Gouda

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The best cheese store I have ever found is in Southern California. The Cheese Store in Beverly Hills stocks every possible cheese one could ever wish for or dream of.

To me it tastes like caramel and goat's cheese got married and had a baby :p

I love the fruited Stilton available at Trader Joes. Our local store usually has apricot and/or cranberry. Its sweet & buttery. Goes well with a simple water cracker. They also carry an herbed goat cheese log that alway gets raves when I serve it.

You're correct. It's a cooked product, made by boiling goat's milk, cream, and whey; and the heat of cooking carmelizes the milk sugars, giving the cheese it's characteristic color and flavor. ^ ^

Never been there but Artisanal in NYC is a great place.

Seems the OP isn't very interested in cheese after all :(

Maybe the OP isn't interested, but the rest of us no doubt have benefited from the suggestions made in this thread. I for one am now experiencing a pang of cheesy "homesickness" for our 2-year sojourn in Paris, the best part of which, I think, was the cheese. (We used to tell people that although I moved to France for work, my husband moved for the cheese.)

Portions of the post that previously appeared in this space has been deleted. I would provide you with a reason why, but doing so would likely be against the TOS.

Who Cut The Cheese: a wine and specialty cheese store 1279 S. Kihei Rd., Maui, Hawai'i

http://www.whocutthecheese.net/

We enjoyed a Lemon Stilton (found @ WholeFoods) on NYE. It had a lightly candied lemon peel in the cheese, with a nice mix of sharp stilton, tangy lemon and sweetness from the candying.

We also had a sharp gouda that was nice.

A piece of a good Parmesan can give people who are less adventurous a familiar way to dive in.