But I gave it up about 5 years ago when my cholesterol got up to 6.8. Don’t ask me what the 6.8 means. I think it might be milliBytes per HectoGallon or something like that. But the doctor said it was bad. So I gave up cheese, salami, bacon and eggs. And I stopped eating the fatty bits of the lamb chops. It went down to 6.1 the next year. Then it went up again to 6.7 the year after.
Then I had a year of depression due to unemployment, kids turning into teenagers and a marriage troubles. So I thought why not commit suicide by fatty food? So I started eating all the things I love again. That year my cholesterol went down to 5.5. Then the doctor decided I was just someone who had naturally high levels, yeah, thanks for 2 boring years tastewise.
Friday night the daughter was having a few friends around, meeting up before heading off to the year 12 formal in a stretch limo. They met at our place and there was a few cheese platters with some fresh new blocks of Brie, Camabert and other stuff that they didn’t touch (what would 18 years olds know about cheese, they were eating the chips).
So in the last 2 nights I have gradually scoffed the lot.
So, we already have a toast and coffee thread, why not a cheese thread? We can discuss the right kind of cracker with certain cheeses, or go naked. King Island or imported camembert? What’s best with toast? or coffee? or beer? Camembert isn’t right for beer, you need something spicier. I just had something called Mersey Valley peppercorn cheddar which was perfect with a James Squire IPA.
Mersey Valley Cheddar is definitely the current favourite. Just with Jatz (greatly superior to Ritz).
Also pretty partial to a bit of Jarlsberg on a Jat, even a Vita-weet.
I love cheese.
And not to thread de-rail, but I fkn love butter, too. I reckon I have terrible cholesterol.
I’ve always been partial to the cracked pepper water cracker. At the supermarket Carr’s is my preference. A good amount of pepper in it. I remember years ago I was on a month long climbing trip and, with little else to do during a rest day, I read the ingredients of my food box. I recall that the Arnott’s water cracker bulks out its “pepper-look” with a stack of poppy seeds. Goddamn cheats.
For good cheese I usually get something from those cheese guys at the Queen Vic markets and mix it up with whatever they recommend. But good cheese is just too damn expensive to eat regularly. I’ve lately got into a habit of buying and storing Aldi’s super budget Brie which is $2.50 or something. It’s way way way underripe off the shelf, but actually not too bad if you buy it about a month in advance of eating.
Saying that, pretty much any soft cheese in the supermarket is too underripe. They’re all best bought some time in advance. But if you’re passing through country towns big enough to have a Coles or Woolies but small enough not to hold a good cheese eating population it’s always worth checking the cheese section. Fairly common to find cheeses reduced to clear because they’re close to the Aussie “best before” date, which in Euro terms is getting closer to the “best after” date. The Ararat Woolworths has been a reliable source over the years whenever I’ve been heading out to the Grampians.
melbourne(and everyone else) people i recommend going to milk the cow in st kilda. nice cheese and nice wine.
coles sometimes has nice cheese, they just keep it in a different fridge which people don’t seem to find. they had some great forgetthebrand double cream brie the other day, which i imagine was getting close to the sell by date as they had dropped the ass out of the price and it was awesome.
Taleggio, Roquefort, Bouche D’Affinois are some of my favourite imports.
King Island Smoked Cheddar and Roaring 40’s are almost staples in my house. Soft cheeses on a nice baguette. Cheddar etc on a water cracker is normally how I roll. The mersey valley ploughman’s is good too. Quince paste is also a valid addition.
wife and i stopped in ashgrove cheese in tassie last year:
the rubicon red is fantastic, can be had at the usual supermarkets
also enjoy the sheep cheese from red hill in mornington: http://www.redhillcheese.com.au/styles.html#wm
blood orange cafe in hawthorn sell it, not sure if they sell it at the supermarkets
one thing I’ve never been able to enjoy the taste of is goat cheese.
Haloumi with watermelon? Like in a salad? Also intrigued.
Big fan of Manchego, Pecorino, Pepato, Gorgonzola, Blue Castello, Buffalo Mozzarella, Smoked Gouda, goat’s cheese… especially all those Tassie ones. I’m getting hungry just writing this.
Actually there’s one I really like but can’t remember the name of - Dutch style but maybe Italian, yellow with a rind, had a name that implied it was the cheese of Arcadia or paradise or similar. Any ideas?
