Afterthoughts

Welcome, Constant Reader, to the inaugural edition of Afterthoughts.  If all goes well, this will be a weekly column where I, Captain Cheese, recaps the week in cheese.  Along with a summary of the week's posts, Afterthoughts is where I will provide additional information and make any corrections on the EXTREMELY RARE occasion I'm wrong about something.  Afterthoughts will also be the home of Cheese In The News, where I'll give my thoughts on any cheese related news stories.

This being said, in case you missed it, here is what happened on the blog this week:

Monday:  Introductory post with a fantastic Monty Python cheese skit.

Thiursday: Gouda (4 out of 5)

Friday:  Italian Style cheese bites (just realized I didn't give this a rating.  I would give it a solid 4 out of 5 as well)

On to corrections:

As you may recall from my gouda post, I indicated that I was not a wine connoisseur.  Evidence of this can be found in the fact one of my Constant Readers, and possible future blog contributor, Miss Lebanom-nom-nom has informed me that it is actually spelled Pinot Noir and Shiraz.  Never let it be said that we don't strive for accuracy here at Cutting the Cheese.

Additional information:

Looking back on the gouda post, I see that it was not as detailed as it could have been.  So, Constant Reader, for your general knowledge and education, here are some interesting gouda facts...

-Gouda is made from cow's milk and is named after a city in the Netherlands

-The first mention of gouda dates from 1184, making it one of the world's oldest cheeses.

-In the Netherlands, cubes of gouda are often eaten as a snack served with Dutch mustard,  Older varieties are sometimes topped with sugar or apple syrup.  

Cheese in the news:

Thanks to Shredder for the following article.  To sum it up, cheese helps make you skinny and live longer.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11567702/The-secret-to-a-longer-life-and-faster-metabolism-Eating-cheese.html

Next week:

Going forward, the blog will try its best to adhere to the following schedule:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday:  Regular reviews

Curdsday:  Surprise

Friday:  Recipe day

Saturday: Afterthoughts

Sunday:  Even captains of cheese need to rest sometime.

Hope you enjoyed today's post and have a wonderful weekend.  See you Monday and, as always...

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese

Italian style cheese bites

Today's cheese comes to us, Constant Reader, as the result of a field trip.  I actually already had a cheese review ready to go for today.  I then discovered that one of my coworkers, who shall remain nameless, had never experienced the wonder that is Downtown Sobeys - Urban Fresh©®.  So, after making sure everyone had their signed permission slips, it was off to Sobeys we went.

While there, just like a magnet to another magnet, I felt myself being pulled toward the cheese section.  And I came across today's selection...

Anco Cheeses Italian Style Bites are, as the picture would indicate, round cheese bites, which makes them perfect for sharing.  So that's what we did.  The taste testing group consisted of myself (Captain Cheese), Clementine, Shredder, SanDee Hill, The White Russian and The Ar-Minion.  Here are some of the comments:

-This is pretty good.
-Ooh, me likey
-It's got a bit of a sour taste to it
-Is this goat cheese?
-It looks like goat cheese
-Does the package say it's goat cheese?
-No, the package doesn't say it's goat cheese?
-I wonder if this is goat cheese?
-What do the ingredients say about it being goat cheese?
-The ingredients do not give any indication if it goat cheese or not

So, as you can see, Constant Reader, our biggest concern was whether or not it was goat cheese.  After doing some further investigation, I can report back that (drum roll, please)  I still have no idea. What I do know at this point is that it was delicious, has red pepper, garlic, herbs and hot pepper seasoning, has a cream cheese consistency and is really good on Triscuits Low Sodium crackers.

It also comes in two other flavours (Mexican Style with red pepper, garlic, onion and spices and Provencal Style with chives, garlic and herbs).  I have not yet tried these other two but I imagine they would be equally as good.

At 4.99$ for a package of 17 bites, I think it's a reasonably good value.  If you were having a party and wanted to put this out with some other hors d'oeuvres, it would go over pretty well.  Or if you just want a snack, having two or three (or 17) of these on crackers, you can't go wrong.

And with that, I hope you all have an excellent Friday.  And remember to, above all,

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese

Gouda!

Well, things are not off to a great start, Constant Reader :(  The Captain had the intention to post every day.  However, unforeseen circumstances (they were cleaning out the cheese section at the grocery store on Monday) caused the first review to be delayed.  Not to worry, I have already purchased the next cheese to be reviewed.  But first, on to today's review...

Today's cheese is brought to you by one of Captain Cheese's coworkers, Morgans Grant (I got you, brah) and seconded by the White Russian.  His initial suggestion was to try an Applewood Smoked Cheddar.  I thought that was a little too basic for a first review and said so.  At which point, he suggested that they also had a smoked gouda.  Which brings us to today's cheese.

Bothwell Smoked Gouda is a proudly Canadian cheese from Manitoba, eh?  I enjoyed this cheese quite a bit, although the flavour was a little strong.  It's not a cheese where you would sit down with the whole package and eat in one sitting, which is probably a good thing.  

According to the Bothwell website, it's both kosher and vegetarian friendly and so it sits nicely in the middle of a Venn diagram of Jewish people and non-meat eaters.  See, it's a cheese that brings people together!

At 6.99$ for 170 grams, I thought it was a little expensive but a good value if you use it sparingly.  Sliced on top of a burger would be very good, I think,  It also has a long shelf life as it will stay fresh until July.

While I'm not much of a vino connoisseur, my research indicates that it would go well with wines like Shirza, Syrah, Pinor Noir, Merlot and Riesling.

If you're looking for something a little more substantial, it goes well with pears, as in the following recipe: http://www.bothwellcheese.com/recipe/caramelized-pear-and-bothwell-smoked-gouda-bites/. Perhaps in a future blog post, I will try the recipe and report back on the results.

Overall, I give this gouda cheese a rating of 4 out of 5.  Now, you might say to yourself, Constant Reader, 4 out of 5 what?  And that is a valid question.  I need a rating scale of some sort and welcome your suggestions in the comments below.

I hope, Constant Reader, you enjoyed today's post.  Don't forget to tell all your friends about the blog and above all...

Stay cheesy!
Captain Cheese.

One man's quest to become a cheesepert

Turophile:  A connoisseur of cheese, a cheese fancier.

Welcome!  You are bearing witness to a momentous occasion, the debut of what is sure to be a world-renowned chronicle of my adventures in the world of fromage.  But first, a warning:  I have a fondness (or should that be fondue-ness) for puns and will do my best not to milk them too much.  However, one or two might slip through.  I hope they won't be too cheesy.

For now, you can never go wrong with a little Monty Python.  This will serve as a nice introduction to the many different types of cheese available and I am hopeful that I will try most, if not all, of these in the not too distant future.

Gouda reading!

Captain Cheese

1.