What is the best Aged Cheddar you've had?

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I wish I could understand the appeal of eating stinky foods. Is it slightly masochistic?.....like when we were kids and a tooth was coming loose, how we would wiggle it and almost enjoy the hurt......???
 
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I wish I could understand the appeal of eating stinky foods. Is it slightly masochistic?.....like when we were kids and a tooth was coming loose, how we would wiggle it and almost enjoy the hurt......???
We don't really eat stinky cheese because it's stinky. Those cheeses tend to get very flavourful without a sharp bite to them.
 
When my husband had his first breakfast in Denmark, I saw his face go funny. I asked what was the matter. He replied, "It's a vicious attack cheese! But, it's good." :LOL:

Danes talk about tying their cheese down with a string, so it won't run away. ;)
if it did make a run for it you certainly wouldn't need a bloodhound to follow the trail:LOL:!!
couldn't find any at costco.no havarti or samsoe either:mad:! great stores but i don't think that they carry anything like the range they do in the states
the search goes on,guess i'll just have to follow my nose;)!
harry
 
I wish I could understand the appeal of eating stinky foods. Is it slightly masochistic?.....like when we were kids and a tooth was coming loose, how we would wiggle it and almost enjoy the hurt......???
Stinky cheese is an acquired taste for sure, and overcoming the gag factor can be a problem the first time you try it. However, I think you'll find that once you get it past your nose and onto your palate, the flavor is nothing at all like the smell. Most stinky cheeses are actually quite mild tasting, but with a decadent richness. Nothing like what you'd expect.
 
From what I understand, stinky cheeses derive much of their odor from the same bacteria that grows between your toe, hence the phrase - "Your feet smell like cheese."

I've tried stinky cheeses, and can tolerate them..They aren't my favorite though. Of course, great cheddar never smells like feet.:LOL:

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I love aged cheddar, but can't give a brand because I go to small places in Wisconsin and get the oldest ones I can. Anyone who lives in our area (I live in NW IL, but I'm talking about SW WI) and I can name a couple of places (I'd have to look them up).
 
Balderson's 2, 3, 5, and 6yr Cheddar

Hi. Although lately I've come to like President's Choice 5-yr and 8-yr cheddars, I can't buy them unless I'm lucky enough to be in Canada (once or twice a year) But Balderson's 5 and 6-yr I can usually buy through "Canadian Favourites (dot com)" for the 300g brick. I've been buying Vermont's Cabot's "Seriously Sharp Hunter's Brand" for years, but for nice clean sharpness and crunch (tiny pockets of crystallized protein, I suppose) I've had to head North to the land of the Maple Leaf. After having Balderson's 5yr and 6yr and President's Choice 2-yr, 5-yr and 8-yr Canadian Cheddar (PC brand is part of Loblaw's Inc. Brampton Ont. thru many outlets), sadly my old Cabot's standby pales in comparison, good as it may be. I'll try Carr Valley Cheese (Wisconsin) as soon as I receive my order.. (thanks to one of the 2009 bloggers on this site)
Cabot's does offer older (Hunter's brand is 18 months) versions, but I've only read of them in Costco. I don't understand the blank looks I get from local grocers when I inquire about really sharp cheddars. Kind of like asking a butcher about plumbing, it seems.
And yes, there are plenty of nice PEOPLE in Canada. I know only about 45 of them.
 
Gee, now I'll really have to give those stinky cheeses a try, just to see if I believe what you're saying about "they don't taste like they smell".....?

Hard to believe!
 
Gee, now I'll really have to give those stinky cheeses a try, just to see if I believe what you're saying about "they don't taste like they smell".....?

Hard to believe!
Hmmm, I've never considered sharp cheddar to be stinky, but then my dad loved Limburger for its taste and we thought he was crazy.
 
So where did you meet these 45 Canadiens that you thought were nice? I have never met one that wasn't. And I am a very old lady from New England. We have lots of folks here from Canada. And until 9/11, it was considered a fun weekend to drive up to Maine and take the ferry to PEI. Which is part of Canada. :huh:
 
I've recently tried the president's Choice 8 year cheddar, and the Maple Dale 7 year cheddar. They are both very good, but not as well balanced and the Balderson, IMHO. Still, they are better than anything I can get in Michigan's UP, unless I contact a particular freind in Marquette, who has a brother in Wisconsin that has a small cheddar business. his cheddar is some of the best I've had.

But really, is there any such thing as bad cheese (that stuff made in the Meddle East with maggots crawling through it doesn't count as cheese:ohmy:). I even love a good cottage cheese.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Some years I miss it. But I look for Cabot's Reserve. It goes fast in the stores. The supply is minimal. So creamy and just a delightful flavor. :yum:
 
I tried Cabots Artisan Three Year and it was really nice. I went back for more and it was gone (which is not surprising with a limited run like that).

The last one I had was Black Diamond 5 year. It was very sharp, and a little goes a long way.

There was a 4 year old (I think it was Seriously Sharp) that we tried. Took a bite and pitched the whole thing. Sticky and seriously nasty.
 
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The two best cheddars I have come across are Mimosa from France, and an Irish 6 year aged cheddar. I don't remember the name of the Irish.

Mimosa was a pricey cheese at $12/lb or so a couple of years back. Now often past the $30/lb mark I still see the Irish cheddar on occasion, and always purchase it.
 
Nice People in Canada

@Addie, Executive Chef,
Well, Mostly in Ontario, but I had a few of the best weekends of my life in Montreal, Ste Adele and Rawdon, QC. A couple of years between Toronto and the Muskoka Lakes region have been the best ever. Plan to hit PEI and the Maritimes someday, not to forget BC. That's also in the plans and there's plenty of in-between.
I love to hit the stores in new places, see what people choose to live with.
 
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It has only been in the last few months, maybe a year, that I have turned my interests to learning more about cheeses. The best cheese I can ever recall was from when I was 10 or 11 years old. Down the road, there was an old country store. I have no clue where the proprietor got his cheese from. It may have been local, but I doubt it. A wheel of it, (or the remnants thereof) was always on the counter, under a big glass cover. A sliver of that cheese was the best cheese I have ever had. Ain't had any like it since that old man finally gave up the store due to his age. The new folks that took it over didn't last long before they closed it up too. Last time I went by there, it is a clubhouse for one of the local hunt clubs.
 
Balderson 5 yr Balderson
St. Albert Extra Old Cheddar :-: ST-ALBERT CHEESE

See, now you're just teasing me. I live in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, which makes it difficult to get these great cheeses.:( But I'm a resourceful guy, and know a site or two where I can get great cheese, just not the finest cheddar made. The other cheeses, including cheddars are very good though.

Another great cheese is Yancy's Fancy Bergenost cheese, and Butterkase is so creamy and good. Don't get me started on listing the great cheeses I've had. The oldest I've tasted was a 17 year old cheddar, sold in Fankenmouth Michigan. It had a ripened flavor that I didn't care for. But the 15 year old cheddar was very good. My favorite is still 5 year old Balderson Heritage. There was a sharp, creamy cheese out of Pinconing Michigan called Sharp Pinconing. It was fabulous at room temperature. One bite would curl your toes and make your jaw muscles ache as it bombarded your tongue with rich flavor. Sadly, the cheese makers who developed the cheese sold it to a larger manufacturer. Though it is still good, IMHO, it isn't as good as when I first tasted it. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with a chub of longhorn Colby, or a great, aged swiss cheese. Check out this site: Dorset Drum English Farmhouse Cheddar: Buy Dorset Drum English Farmhouse Cheddar Online, Read Reviews at igourmet.com

Along with the Dorset Drum Cheddar, which is a fine cheese, they have a great selection of cheese and sausages. Good stuff.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind fo the North
 
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