A Schlocker who got hooked up with the Meadow Creek Dairy thanks to my post back in December very generously sent me a wheel of Appalachian Shitake/Leek.
This is good cheese. Oh MY but this is good cheese. And that’s based on samples I ate that were still cold. I’m warming up a wedge for room-temperature eating later today.
The only problem with it is that the rind itself smells like dirt. I also suspect that there’s some mold spores or something on the rind, because it triggered allergic reactions when I sniffed it. I tried eating some rind, but it tasted like dirt. I was halfway to swallowing when my hindbrain said “dude… you’re eating DIRT. Spit that out before swallowing, or I’ll tell our stomach to spit it out AFTER you swallow.”
Sandra looked at me like I was crazy. She had this “why did you even put that into your mouth in the first place?” look.
Well then. I’ll be trimming the rind away, and we’re being VERY careful to store cut bits so that the rind doesn’t contaminate the middle of the cheese. I think this wheel and I will get on just fine. It’ll get eaten, and I’ll get fed.
If you’re not into ordering cheese on the internet, Meadow Creek Dairy has a list of stores that carry their cheese. There’s one in Utah, even. Odds are, your state is covered too. You may have to drive for a bit, though.
–Howard
Woohoo!
i’m going to be in Alexandria (the first city on the linked list!) and we are going to attempt to make a chupaqueso (don’t ask me – my b/f wants to try one!) so going here to get good cheese is high on my list of “things to do”
Thanks for the link 🙂
For your first chupaquesos I recommend cheap cheese. That way if you screw up, you didn’t screw up some good cheese.
Once you’ve gotten good at it, and know what kinds of things to look for in a chupaqueso cheese, it’s okay to use fancy stuff.
Naturally none of this precludes you buying some MCD cheese for just plain eatin’.
–Howard
Amusingly enough, I just check for Florida stores.
The only one is in Sarasota.
Which is where you grew up I believe?
It’s a conspiracy Howard.
Yup. I grew up in Sarasota, and the whole time I was there I never ONCE had anything besides cheddar or Kraft Singles. Cheese-appreciation came to me later in life.
–Howard
ooo, there’s one in Princeton! I’m going there next week. Must remember to stop in and buy cheese.
hm. Nearest to me is in Austin, Texas, and although I do love a day trip, that’s a bit out of the way.
I just went to the site, and I must admit to being intrigued. The gourmand cheesehound at my house would love this as a surprise gift. So to the Internet ordering page for me!