Tags
Bellavitano, blue cheese, Cheese, Cowgirl Creamery, feta cheese, gruyère, Irish cheddar, Sartori cheeses
The Long-Suffering Husband was once asked by his puzzled father, “How many bicycles does a person need?” The question was rhetorical, but he had an answer ready.
“Everyone needs a touring bike. And a racing frame, of course. You must have a hybrid or mountain bike for rough roads. And a junker. It’s best if you can also afford a recumbent, and a tandem.” I am surprised that he did not also specify a unicycle, even if technically it does not qualify.
Lately he has been saying that the answer to this question is “n plus one,” with “n” being the number of bicycles one already owns.
Remembering this little incident, I was moved to consider how many cheeses a person needs to have on hand at any one time.
The first on my list would be a hard cheese to top pasta with. This could be a parmigiano reggiano (for you non-vegetarians), or a more modest Bellavitano or Romano. These aged, Italian-style cheeses give that essential savor when grated onto your plate of penne.
I’m very keen on the Bellavitano cheeses made by the Sartori family in Wisconsin, the American cheese Mecca! Click for their website.
Second, you must have a fresh cheese on hand. Feta is one of the best cheeses for cooking. Marinated in oil, vinegar and herbs, it is stunning with veggies or atop hummus, in baked casseroles and on pizza. Goat cheese is equally delicious for many of these applications. Finally there is mascarpone, which is similar to American cream cheese but more luscious, sweet and spreadable. It’s fabulous on muffins, scones or toast as a a substitute for clotted cream.
Goat feta from Cowgirl Creamery in California. Click for their website.
Third, a Swiss cheese like gruyère. There’s nothing like it in a quiche or on an asparagus tart. How could one do without its rich nutty flavor?
I usually get Le Gruyère from Switzerland. Source: Wikipedia.
Fourth, a blue cheese. A touch of blue gives extra bite to my macaroni and cheese, and it is essential for a cheese board. I sprinkle it over pears and drizzle with honey in early Fall. The creamy blues, like a dolce gorgonzola or Cambozola, make ravishing appetizers.
Gorgonzola Dolce DOP from the Piedmont region in Italy. Click for source.
Fifth, a sharp, well-aged cheddar for snacking. Nothing gives as much simple pleasure as a really superlative cheddar with some grapes or slices of apple.
Tipperary Irish cheddar. I am very fond of Kerrygold Dubliner too. It’s not a cheddar. More like an aged Swiss with some cheddar notes…
Sixth, a rich soft cheese, like a ripe brie or better yet, a triple cream. A special occasion cheese, you say? But like Champagne, these little luxuries should always be in the fridge, to celebrate the joyful moments in life and console us for the sorrowful ones.
Mt. Tam Triple Cream from Cowgirl Creamery is suitable for vegetarians.
The actual number is “c plus one,” but these are the bare essentials.
Linnet Moss 
A cheese post! Since moving to Spain, I’ve been trying to answer the question of how many different Manchegos there are. I’d never really appreciated the cheese very much before moving right into its homeland. The mass-produced stuff they make for export, which is all I’d ever encountered before, is just soooo different. And not in a good way.
Hmm, that would explain why I have never warmed to it. The manchego I can obtain here is just okay. Still, I have had impressive slices on restaurant cheese boards, so they must have different suppliers.
Same here. I never particularly cared for it. But now, it’s a different story.
There are hundreds, possibly even thousands of small cheese makers whose products never make it across the border. Once, curiously, I came across a fantastic Manchego at a craft fair in Key West 😉
Wow! We have small cheese makers here, too, but they tend to do fresh cheeses and/or cater to American tastes with very mild cheese. Still I like them because I know where the milk came from 🙂
Oh, yes. Each of these an essential, plus however many more can reasonably be placed in the cheese compartment. Hubby makes maitake mushroom grilled cheese sandwich with gruyere that is to die for. The 6 year old has taken to making himself another original cheese sandwich- he calls it the Babybel sandwich, and won’t hear of using a more suitably sandwich-shaped cheese variety! My kids are probably the only ones in town who think American cheese is yucky… give them and aged Irish cheddar or Havarti dill any day. Lol
Mmmm, you have children of very good taste! I must say, that maitake grilled cheese sounds unbelievable 🙂 I’ll have to try the combination.
I’ve loved the conversation between the LSF and his father 😀 I adopt the “n plus one” as mine own regarding books, or films, or music… Great!
Which were the Italian cheeses you preferred during your stay here?
Probably a boring choice, but Pecorino. I couldn’t get enough of it. And whatever they put on pizzas… no doubt there are many kinds, but I liked them all 🙂
pecorino is good! 🙂 Absolutely delicious with red onions mustard 😀
Pizzas are only mainly with mozzarella, but there are some types made also with provolone, or gorgonzola
Yes, the mozzarella you have there is so good. Nothing like ours.
I like pizza without cheese too, but it’s hard to resist provolone or gorgonzola!
Answer as many as they can get and eat 🙂 there is no such thing as too much cheese 🙂
So true 🙂
Oh cheese. Well, I can’t think of anything that’s missing from your list except maybe Lincet, but that’s its own deviant category. We usually just have cheddar for the hubby and some crappy low-calorie cheese for me. But tomorrow I’m making brie en croute—holiday calories don’t count!
Do you mean a cheese like Delice de Bourgogne? I would put that in my category six. Or do they make something quite different? Admittedly category six is large. I would include brie there too. Brie en croute is something to look forward to. Maybe with a little jam or fruit paste? Enjoy!
You know, I suppose it would fit in category six, but it’s so different. I’d be willing to put it into category six just to keep things clean.
Oh yeah, brie en croute. I’ve never made it before, but I’m thinking about this recipe:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/baked-brie-en-croute-with-apple-compote.html
I’m probably gonna use maple syrup because we just picked some up from VT and it’s out of this world.
Maple syrup sounds fantastic! Especially with apples and brie 🙂
A really Gouda post LM. Check and snap on all your cheeses. Am carrying extra Manchego due to the festive season. We can get a cracking handcrafted Spanish one here.
Hee, hee! As a matter of fact I left gouda off the list but it almost makes a category unto itself. All this talk of Manchego has got me determined to seek out a good one!
If cheeses never spoiled, I’d keep dozens of kinds always on hand, analogous to a spice rack. (Alas, science has been wasting its time on more frivolous things than cheese preservation.) Sharp cheddar is my go-to snack also, with gorgonzola as a guilty pleasure. My latest cheese discovery is gjetost, also called brunost, a caramelized brown cheese from Scandinavia, which in both taste and texture resembles a hybrid of cheddar and fudge. It’s by no means a staple, like those in your well-considered list, but it’s cheerful and unexpected.
Thanks for the comment, Vicar! The Long Suffering Husband, being of Swedish heritage, is a fan of gjetost, truly a unique cheese. I have never warmed up to it, but perhaps I should give it another try!
All this talk of cheese has me in the mood to make a holiday cheese ball, mainly cheddar but with a touch of gorgonzola, rolled in pecans…