Obscure but delicious cheeses

TheFuzzy · **Posted:** Sat Jun 16, 2012 9:23 pm

I love cheese. In fact, I would say that cheese has made me the man I am today. Or at least 40lbs thereof.

Our grocer now stocks a bewildering range of exotic and delicious cheeses, much to the detriment of both my wallet and my wasteline. So I thought I'd start a thread on "obscure but delicious cheeses" so that we could swap recommends of must-try cheeses which other board members might not have heard of.

I'll start.

Winnimere: gooey, small brown wheel from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont ( http://www.cellarsatjasperhill.com/inde ... Itemid=136 ), has an irrestable "bacony" flavor and is great just spread on bread.
Idiazabal, a smoked sheep cheese from the basque country, will redeem smoked cheeses for you. Great both on a sandwich and baked in a casserole.
Cowgirl Creamery's Wagon Wheel ( http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/prodinfo ... mber=WAGON ) is an asiago-like cheese which is a bit cheddary and a bit gruyerey and all tasty.

So, what are your cheese recommendations?

Tatoosh · **Posted:** Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:49 pm

If you don't know Winnimere, you must not be a fan of Wallace and Gromet.

merstar · **Joined:** Mon Mar 28, 2011 8:07 pm **Posts:** 328

Sartori Sarvecchio Parmesan: The only domestic parmesan I'll touch. I always thought the only parmesan worth eating was Parmigiano Reggiano - this one proved me wrong. It's surprisingly fantastic.
http://www.sartoricheese.com/products/r ... -parmesan/

Humbolt Fog - not obscure, by any means, but one of my favorites.
http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/chees ... t-fog.html

Cave-aged Swiss Gruyere - My absolute favorite - just the right amount of pungency and depth.

Roth Kase Moody Blue Smoked Blue Cheese - Need I say more?
http://www.rothkase.com/new.html

Kathy's Pete · **Posted:** Sun Jun 17, 2012 5:13 am

Appenzeller "Extra" - The younger "Surchoix" is more easily found in the US but Extra is a rarer find.

marygott · **Joined:** Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:34 pm **Posts:** 2011

Kathy's Pete wrote:

Appenzeller "Extra" - The younger "Surchoix" is more easily found in the US but Extra is a rarer find.

Tripping over it here. I just bought a cheese yesterday solely based on its name, Die Wilde Hilde (it rhymes in German). A wild Hilda is what everyone needs.

Mary

jim262 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:34 am

The last time I was off tilting at windmills in LaMancha, I acquired a taste for aged Manchego, and I love what Italian Fontina does for mushroom lasagna.

A fair amount of cheese making takes place nearby and fresh cheddar curd is an interesting and tasty treat on occasion.

wino · **Posted:** Sun Jun 17, 2012 8:06 am

Just returned from a week in Victoria, BC where there is some very serious cheese making going on. One of the hotspots is Salt Springs Island and their cheeses are often sold with a photo of the animal from which that specific cheese came; we really liked Alfred's cheese (who the hell is gonna name a cow Alfred????????)