Sunday, August 16, 2009

Polder Gold Dutch Goat Gouda

(Henri Willig) Polder Gold (Polder Blanc) Dutch Goat Gouda
Comes from: goats
Purchased at: Rouse's
$13.67/lb

The problem with working nights is that you get home, and you feel utterly ridiculous because c'mon, you've been at work 12-plus hours, and you should just go to bed, and then you end up eating anyway, because you need to stay awake to surf the internet for fifteen minutes. And what you end up eating depends entirely on what you brought to the hospital last night to eat during your shift, and then you never got a chance.

Sometimes, that something is goat gouda.

So this cheese. At extreme room temperature -- which is probably the name of the blandest metal band ever, like, EXTREME a comfortable 72 degrees -- anyway, when kept at room temperature for approximately 13 hours, this cheese develops only the slightest oil-sheen, and it still tastes good. It would be better slightly (slightly!) chilled, probably, but it's a pretty solid goat cheese all the same. Hooray, Rouse's! Sometimes. Who knew?

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Président Brie and Gusto Antica Taleggio Raw Milk

Président® 7 oz Plain Foil Brie Wedge [no, seriously, that's what the website calls it]
Comes from: cows
Purchased at: Wal-Mart
$3.98 (or $28.14/lb)

I don't have a photo, but it used to be in that foil there.

Meh. You know, I needed brie, and this brie was there, and not ridiculously expensive, and it wasn't bad, exactly, but it just wasn't very flavorful or very creamy. Part of that is my fault; I mean, I ate it, quickly, bite-by-bite, when I had a minute in the ER, and it was just out of the fridge, but then, it never did melt well. I dunno, I expect brie to melt after a while.

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Gusto Antica Taleggio Raw Milk
Comes from: cows
Purchased at: Whole Foods
$16.99/lb

A lesson in unintended consequences:

The purchase and consumption of a not-great cheese will sometimes lead to the purchase and (I assume) consumption of some cheeses that cost significantly more. Wait, WTF? I just did the math up there and at least some of the Whole Foods cheeses cost less, ouncewise, than the Wal-Mart brie. WEIRD.
Anyway.

I liked this cheese. I mean, not my favorite ever-ever, but it was pretty good, or maybe it's just breaking the cheese-fast after far too long (or a week and a half, whatever). At first bite it's so smooth the only taste my mind can come up with is "plasticy," which is wrong because it's good, so maybe I mean... astringent? Then the salt kicks in when you squish it against your hard palate, and it's almost bacony, and then when you swallow there's the aftertaste, which is just pungent, like foot cheese but milder. The rind is crunchy, sandy almost, but that's pleasant too. It's very soft, melty if you leave it out of the fridge for a bit (or, um, bike with it for twenty minutes through 85-degree heat and then eat it more or less immediately).