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What is your favourite cheese?

by 155 Comments

I am sat here perusing the blog whilst enjoying some Stilton and red wine.

So why not share your favourite cheeses with me.

1

Comments

  2. At the risk of sounding like Wallace, I love bit of cheese me.
    Nice vintage cheddar with a lasting tang (pickled onion on the side optional).
    Just planning the Christmas Cheese selection – an 18″ marble lazy susan with a glass dome is to be filled with plenty of the stuff.
    Mostly usual suspects though – cheddar, double gloucester, cheshire, lancashire, brie, etc

    Not a lover of blue cheese though – white stilton, yes please. blue stilton, nah

    View post on imgur.com

  6. I like a cheese to have a life of it’s own: soft runny whites that try to escape the limitations of the plate, and rankly honking blues.
    I always try new ones, but always return to a good old lait cru camembert, well past the sell by. My favourite blue is Lanark, not always easy to find, so I often resort to either a roquefort or a gorgonzola picante.
    I don’t really get hard cheese other than when melted, in which case an aged cheddar or a gruyere.
    I am supposed to avoid cheese, especially now as I have had to stop my statin, courtesy some nasty aching muscles. Never wanted to take ’em anyway but I have a low HDL which had taken my ratio, if only just, into the >20% QRISK.

  7. We’ve lived in the Land of Cheese for over twenty years and what’s the cheese we eat most often? Why Cheddar, of course (even after Brexit available in all good fromageries).
    Every time we come back from the UK half the village sides up to us and say ” ‘Ave you got any Cheddar?”
    King of Cheeses, full stop.

    • I am agree. I was recently talking with an English friend about chocolate. The conversation went like this:
      Me. I love Dairy Milk. Best chocolate there is.
      Friend, slightly appalled: You really think Dairy Milk is the best chocolate???
      Me: Of course. It’s like the Cheddar cheese of chocolate.
      Friend, totally appalled: You really think Cheddar cheese is the best cheese???

      Some people have defective taste buds.

  8. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to cheese, but a runny Brie on crusty bread washed down with red wine goes down very well, or a mature cheddar with just about anything. I can’t be doing with blue cheese in any form, nor goat cheese.

    The second of those was unfortunate during the first 10 or 15 years of this century when some kind of law was passed mandating that the veggie option on any restaurant menu had to be goat cheese. The law was never made public so far as I know, but nevertheless was strictly observed. Thankfully the recent interest in vegan food seems to have superseded it.

  9. Stichelton.

    When Stilton was granted PDO status by the EU, for some reason the bureaucrats in Brussels ruled that to be called Stilton it had to be made with pasteurised milk.

    The makers of what is now called Stichelton said: “Bugger that for a game of soldiers, we’d rather change the name of the cheese.”

    Marvellous attitude.

    Still made with raw milk, it’s creamy, tangy and salty. There’s nothing better with a glass of port.

  12. I’m not greatly knowledgeable or experienced in the world of cheese.
    Just the trusty favourites for me:
    Vintage Cheddar
    Lancashire
    Cheshire
    Wensleydale
    Stilton (Blue)
    Red Leicester
    Brie
    Camembert

    All those are good.

    A good slightly crumbly vintage cheddar is my top of the cheese pops.
    Just had a couple of little bits of Stilton, on their own. I may have more later.

    I don’t go much for eating other things with my cheese, but good cheddar with tomato is the king of sandwiches, I think. With cheddar and onion his prince of wales.

    • Ha! (Yes, it occurred to me too).

      For the record, I do like a ploughmans lunch, especially when you can put the ingredients together yourself. Cheddar is the only choice there. Pickle is OK but I lurch towards the HP Sauce more often than not.

      Otherwise, I do like Brie or Camembert with crusty bread. Not a fan of the crumbly blue stuff though.

      As we move towards the retail end of available cheese products my daughter and I agree that Laughing Cow seems to have lost some of its magic.

      My next one is a bit downmarket but every now and then a slice of processed cheese really does hit the spot in a white bread cheese and tomato sandwich. I had a Proustian moment a few years ago at a function in a church hall while eating one.

      And if you think I can’t get any more plebby than that, well buckle up. When I am in England I seek out the TUC cracker cheese sandwiches. I have these with Dandelion & Burdock and feel ashamed of myself afterwards.

  15. In 1996, I was one of the team of four that won both the fancy dress and the Men’s event at the Stilton Cheese Rolling World Championships (my Best Man is originally from Stilton).

    The four of us each won a bottle of whisky (blended) and a quarter of a wheel of blue Stilton. One of the team didn’t actually like cheese, and I don’t like cheap grog, so we swapped, and so I came home with half a wheel of Stilton.

    I had Stilton and {insert anything you can think of here} sandwiches for lunch for a year. It was fab.

    I haven’t had any for a decade, as I’m no longer allowed blue cheese, more’s the pity. So today’s answer is Brie.

    • Have you ever sopped to think you might still be on those hallucinogenic
      and that the Appenzeller Interludes (TMFTL) might well be the true escapes from/to reality?

  19. The range of cheeses available in Bonn is quite extensive.

    Top of the list would be extra mature (Uralt) Old Amsterdam gouda. Nothing like it – aged for at least a year, it’s so brittle, it breaks up like (and resembles in appearance and texture) fudge. So good with Black Forest ham.

    Gruyère, Emmental and Bergkase are also nice as palette fresheners

    Our local organic market stalls and shops sell some delicious alternatives to those more familiar cheeses:

    North German cheeses – Nordsee, Nordmeer and Leuchturm – all very tasty mature hard cheeses.

    ‘Gute-Laune-Käse’ (good mood cheese) is slightly softer, cooked in a herb rind, and in small amounts can be quite pleasant.

    And once a year, in the month before Christmas, there is a Johanni cheese, made with a special selection of milk, which makes my mouth tingle with delight.

    When we lived in Switzerland, my parents took me and my sister to a remote village cheese shop, probably in Appenzel canton. We arrived and couldn’t see it. Looking around, we noticed steps going down below street level to a dark, wooden-shelved hole in the ground. Apparently, using a cellar helped maintain a damp atmosphere conducive to preserving the cheeses. As we walked down the steps, the stench of (over) ripe cheeses hit us full in the face. It really stank, and my sister and I had to quickly retreat to be able to breathe again. I like to think we only allowed our parents to eat the slimy mould they decided to purchase in the open air when we got home, but that may just be my imagination.

  20. My favourite is probably White Stilton – although it can be tricky to get here (there’s always White Stilton with cranberries, apricots, etc etc, but not often just on its own).

    Failing that, still can’t beat a good cheddar – whilst a good ‘artisan’ cheese can’t be bettered, we don’t have that much choice here and so if the supermarket brands, I find M&S Cornish Cove Mature Cheddar to be pretty good.

    Aside from cheese on its own, then Brie with bacon has to be one of the best combinations ever – it never fails. Cooked wise, a whole Camembert with walnuts and rocket can’t be beat.

    • My day job – that thing I do when I’m not on the AW – involves bits of machinery used in factories.

      *All* food and drink places are sterile, soulless factories, even the ones which suggest those fancy crisps you like are “made just like Mama used to make”. They’re actually made by a man called Graham, who wears a blue hairnet, in a large, grey, industrial unit on the outskirts of Kettering. He doesn’t even touch the spuds, he just presses a big green “start” button at the beginning of his shift, and a big red “stop” button when it’s time for him to go home.

  22. A lovely mature cheddar is a thing of beauty. And Stilton of course.
    Goats cheese can do one, it tastes a bit too goaty for me.
    And a Brie warmed in the oven with rosemary sprigs stabbed in it, with crusty bread to eat.
    And I love Wensleydale, but am horrified that at Christmas you can only seem to get it stuffed with bloody cranberries.

  23. Cheese is undoubtedly one of life’s greatest pleasures, and cheddar is the king of cheeses. For everyday use I like a nice creamy mild cheddar, although I’m partial to extra mature or cheddar infused with onions and chives. Mrs B and I buy copious amounts of specialty cheeses at Christmas, and every Christmas Eve we indulge in a cheese and mulled wine evening, usually accompanied by a sentimental Christmas film and a defibrillator on standby.

  27. Some friends (with all of whom I am about to go on a bike ride), took me out for my fiftieth, to a Michelin starred restaurant in Birkenhead ( I know, I know). It was a lovely night, crowned by the cheese board. Each cheese came recommended with its perfect accompaniment, whether that be seeds or nuts or chutneys. I chose a Swiss cheese – Vacherin de Mont d’Or washed in brandy. There was an echo round this prestigious establishment of my involuntary exclamation: “That cheese is fucking extraordinary”. Inarguable. It was. Still is the best cheese I’ve tasted.

    I shall come back with my top ten cheeses after the bike ride.

      • Indeed, the deli/cheese counter at Booths is excellent, though Mike on Knutsford market also keeps a good stall; strangely, he can’t stand the stuff himself.

        In no particular order:
        Cheshire – no bias required. Straight from the market. My brother and I will get through pounds of this at Christmas. Just the right mix of crumbly, yet creamy, with that just-there tang of Cheshire brine.
        Brie de Meaux. Not just any brie; it has to be Brie de Meaux.
        Vacherin Mont d’Or, as mentioned above. Only produced in season. I will be in Switzerland next month, just at the right time.
        Roquefort. I have taken a tour of the caves at Roquefort sur Soulzon and understand a bit more of how this wonder comes to pass. I find Danish Blue too strong and bitter, but Roquefort is just right.
        Gruyere
        Stilton
        St Agur
        Delice de Bourgogne
        Jarlsberg
        The chevre off Laruns Market just as we were about to cycle over the Col d’Aubisque. As fresh as it comes, and gorgeous. Le Cabecou will do as an alternative in Booths.

        • In the early days of my relationship with my current beau (30 years) we bought some Roquefort at the airport and put in the over head luggage on our flight back from Paris to Birmingham.

          After a 3 hour pre-flight and flight it had started to leak out of the Baggage and drip onto passengers as we landed.

          We made sure we were the last people off the plane!

  28. Up until my late 30s I hated ‘blue’ cheese because the only one my parents ever had was Gorgonzola, and I disliked it with a passion, and so avoided anything resembling it. Then I was on a course at an RAF station and the catering was, naturally, military style and they served a blue Stilton and I was persuaded to try it – it was a revelation! We now buy it at our local Farm Shop and my sister declared a little while ago that it was the best cheese she has ever tasted – a creamy yet crumbly texture with a lovely lingering aftertaste, and much better than the supermarket version.

    Cheddar comes in so many different guises that it’s almost impossible to predict what you get – the choice is so broad. I prefer a tangy vintage variety, but there is a place for the milder versions too. We usually have a reduced fat version and a ‘nice’ one around so they perform different functions.

    I am actually really partial to a lovely, creamy Gouda, and a Leerdammer too. Fruit in cheese doesn’t work for me, but Double Gloucester with onions and chives….hmmm, nom nom.

    Then there are cheese spreads, which always remind me of childhood. We have the potted version, and sometimes Laughing Cow – lovely when spread on crusty french bread. Mrs. T likes Babybells….I have been known to nick one out of the fridge.

    Living in the West Country, some of the local cheeses are great, but I really can’t get on with Cornish Yarg.

    • Babybels. I arrived at the hotel where I was staying the night before my wedding, something shot past my foot I caught a glimpse of red. Looking under the car I found a babybel lodged under the front wheel. Most odd, I picked it up and went in stopped at reception to register after doing that I held up the wax coated comestible and asked “Do you serve these at breakfast ?” and held up the cheese. “No we don’t sorry”. I explained what had happened and we were both at a loss to explain it.

      It later transpired that my soon to be Polish sister-in-law had lobbed it from their bedroom window at me, missing me but creating confusion. We’ve since decided that it is a Polish custom to throw cheese at the prospective bridegroom.

  31. More cheddar that anything else but I do like Roquefort and Jarlsberg though not at the same time. We always have some Stilton at Christmas which is fab. Top tip, McVities digestives are fantastic with blue cheese.

  33. For a brief period of penury some decades ago, one of my favourite lunches was A Crisp Sandwich. Sourced with the cheapest of ingredients from the nearest Happy Shopper. Salt and Vinegar crisps, soft white bread, unbranded salad cream. And a slice of bright orange shiny processed cheese. Together they became ambrosia, I loved them. Which was a good job because I could afford little else.

    Happily after not too long I discovered the joyous combination of a splodge of soft Brie on a plain HobNob with a grape on the top. Accompanied by a glass of vin rouge. Decadence personified.

    Captivated by any cheese with a shine then, I do rather enjoy your Jarlsbergs, your Goudas and your Edams. Anything bendy, really.

  34. Waitrose number 6 cheddar, Roquefort, Pont L’eveque, Camembert, Shropshire Blue. I like most cheese but not White Stilton with fruit or anything too messed around with: added herbs etc.
    Gorgonzola or Dolcelatte on a cheese board or make a great pasta sauce. Some goat cheese but not the Chèvre roll, too “goaty” but sheep cheese and yoghurt is lovely.

    • Mmmmm, Shropshire Blue is a good ‘un.
      And I do agree, cheese should stand on its own feet and should not be buggered about with by herbs or dried fruit; mould is the only acceptable adulteration.

  36. Delia’s Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna is mostly cheese. A cheese bath to dive into. Gorgonzola, mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan. I recommend it.

    https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/pasta-recipes/spinach-and-ricotta-lasagne-with-pine-nuts

    Recently in Rome I ate Cacio e Pepe pasta. It’s pecorino cheese and pepper only but it tastes great so that must be some pretty damp fine cheese. As for cheese board-wise, I’d say manchego delivers.

  37. A discussion on cheese moving towards hamper status.
    Once you have your choice of cheese, what’s it being served with / on?
    Crusty bread? It’s an option, but for me I go back to the humble cream cracker or water biscuit. Maybe a Ritz or Tuc cracker.
    Not Ryvita, a definitely not the travesty of the Biscuit Selection box – the cornish wafer

  41. I asked ChatGPT for the worst cheeses this was it’s reply.
    The “worst tasting” cheese is highly subjective and depends on personal taste, but there are a few cheeses that are often considered challenging or polarizing due to their strong flavors, pungency, or unusual textures. Some of these might be considered “worst tasting” by those who are not used to them:

    1. **Casu Marzu (Italy)** – Often called the “rotten cheese,” this Sardinian specialty is made from sheep’s milk and contains live insect larvae (maggots) that contribute to its soft texture. The smell and appearance can be off-putting, and its intense, fermented flavor is not for everyone.

    2. **Limburger (Belgium/Germany)** – Known for its pungent odor (which some compare to stinky feet), Limburger is a soft, cow’s milk cheese that has a strong, tangy flavor. The smell can be overwhelming, and it’s often off-putting to those who are not familiar with it.

    3. **Époisses de Bourgogne (France)** – This soft, cow’s milk cheese is famous for its very strong, ammonia-like aroma due to the washing of the rind with brine and sometimes Marc de Bourgogne (a type of brandy). The flavor is complex and creamy, but the smell can be a dealbreaker for many.

    4. **Stinking Bishop (England)** – This cheese gets its name from its pungent odor, which is a result of being washed in perry (a type of pear cider). While some love its creamy texture and strong, fruity flavor, others find the smell unbearable.

    5. **Munster (France/Germany)** – Different from the American variety, the traditional French or German Munster is a soft cheese with a strong, sometimes overpowering aroma. Its flavor is savory, but the smell can be extremely off-putting to some.

    6. **Surströmming (Sweden)** – Although technically not a cheese (but fermented fish), this Swedish delicacy is often paired with certain cheeses in specific dishes. The combination of fermented fish with pungent cheeses can create a flavor that some find unbearable.

    While some people absolutely love these cheeses, their overpowering smells and intense flavors can make them off-putting to those not accustomed to such strong or fermented tastes. Whether you love them or not often comes down to personal preference, culture, and experience with bold flavors.

    • Mon dieu! There are times when I realise what a lily-livered, “vanilla” amateur I really am – and this is one of those times.

      Having said that: right here and now, I would happily swap a bottle of Ardbeg for a round of Islay-made Dunlop cheddar, sadly no longer made on the island (sheds a quiet tear…)

    • I concur about the Stinking Bishop. I really don’t get why some rave about it. Yes, it’s very smelly, but it doesn’t translate into an interesting flavour.

      Epoisses, I mentioned above as a worthy alternative to Vacherin Mont d’Or. In my experience, the strong smell of ammonia only happens if it’s kept too long – a rarity in my house.

      • When in Malmø, visit The Museum of Disgusting Food. I did and can recommend both the display and the tasting challenge at the end. Sadly, the Sardinian “special cheese” mentioned above, is now illegal, and so only available in the mountains, under pain of, well, pain of actually eating some.
        Epoisses is far from the smelliest of cheeses, as a trip to Corsica in the summer revealed. Some of their artisanal goat favourites pack a pong, even in the supermarket chill cabinets. A day or two later, sweating in a hot kitchen (the cheese) they turn colour and texture in a mildly alarming fashion, but the taste is……….
        distinctive.
        If food eaten with cheese “counts” as cheese in this sort of list, I look forward to my next cheese and ferments party.

  42. My review of the three types of Roquefort:

    The Roquefort Files

    To those who know their cheeses, Roquefort is Le Roi des Fromages , a heavenly ferment, a unique gift from nature and proof that there is a god above who loves us and wants us to die young with our arteries clotted solid with curd. To the rest of us it’s just a film sequel with Sylvester Stallone in it.

    Baragnaudes
    The mildest of the Roquefort triplets, this is a bashful cheese with a great instinct for self-preservation. With its high parasite content, it’s more active than half the people who eat it. Look closely enough at its surface and you can see it is actually moving, and if you turn your back, it will make a bolt for it. Wheels of this cheese have been known to turn up back at home in the Roquefort caves in France months or even years after being sold for export. Come springtime, the meadows below the mountain are flattened by hordes of stampeding cheeses returning to their spawning ground. Ironically a cheese that’s made it back home is highly sought after on the specialist market, where it is cut into thin strips to stop it wandering off again, and sold as ‘Migrated cheese’.

    1863
    This is the most sentient of cheeses, having evolved to the point where it’s barely dairy and is half fungus, half mammal. This has given it great mobility, social as well as geographic. A charming dinner guest, it’s welcomed at the highest tables around the world and will even make its own travel arrangements. However, it’s something of a Trojan Horse, as the bacteria in its veins will eat you faster than you can eat it. Nevertheless, the French have sung its praises in music and poems, from Debussy to Verlaine, and Rimbaud too, which is another film sequel with Sylvester Stallone in it.

    La Cave Des Templiers
    This absolute bastard of a cheese will hunt you down and kill you. Its veins throb with demonic rage. It’s normally kept under guard back in the caves, but should you meet it in a dark alley round the back of a restaurant, there’s a tried and tested trick to evade its brutal assault; simply push the weakest member of your party into its path, and run away screaming like a girl.

  43. I have an hilarious story about goat’s cheese.

    I met my friends from Frankfurt at ballroom dancing classes in Cambridge, when one of them was doing a post-doc, back in the early 1990s. After a few years, they moved back to Frankfurt and rented an apartment. A few years later, the last grandparent died and left a farmhouse near Koln to the two brothers, as their parents were already both dead. One of the brothers was a monk and so my pal (the other brother) inherited the lot. The farmhouse was sold and, in late 2007, a house in the Frankfurt ‘burbs was bought with the proceeds.

    Mrs F and I went over for a long weekend to help decorate. “Do you want us to bring anything?” I asked. “Goat’s cheese, please, we can’t get any over here.” I went to the local deli and purchased a large one, put it in a freezer bag with some ice blocks and headed off to Stansted airport.

    Now, who remembers 2007? I bloody do. Foot and Mouth. There was quite a discussion at the check-in desk as to whether a goat had feet or hooves. There was about an hour until the flight left. The head of airport security was summoned, and he said “no”. This cheese cost me 20 quid, so I hopped on the shuttle bus, put the bag in the boot of my car, got back on the bus, back to the terminal, then had to run through security, sprint to the gate, and the airplane doors closed behind me.

    We had a lovely weekend of decorating, took the Sunday evening flight back to Stansted, got back to the car park. I swear I could smell rancid cheese when we got off the shuttle bus. We couldn’t bear to be in the car with the cheese, so we dumped it in a bin. Driving up the M11 with the windows down was freezing cold, but at least we didn’t gag.

    The car stank for months afterwards, even more so as the previous owner had smoked cheroots (which is why it was cheap). A couple of months later, ParcelForce skidded their delivery van on a patch of ice, crashed into my parked car, and wrote it off.

  45. I always think of think of Robbie Savage’s answer on the podcast he used to do with Freddie Flintoff and Matthew Syed (The Ping Pong Guy)

    “Christmas cheese”

    He’s not wrong though.

    Great podcast series as well.

  46. All of the cheeses made by the Snowdonia Cheese Company are excellent. My favourite is Green Thunder, a strong cheddar with garlic. Not one for the purists, but I love it. They are very good for online orders, but at least some of their stuff is available in regular cheese shops.

    Disclaimer: cheese is my favourite thing, alongside tea.

  47. For me, Baron Bigod and Delice de Bourgogne are my favourites. I once had a cheese (either French or Italian) that had red wine running through it and it was delicious. Buggered if I can remember the name though.
    As a slight tangent, I was reading today about pairing cheese with various whisky, eg Goats cheese or Stliton with Macallan Fine Oak 15 year old and Stilton with Ardbeg. Apparently, aficionados pair strongly peaty Islay whiskies with blue cheeses and Speyside whiskies (Balvenie and The Glendronach) with creamier cheeses like camembert. Must try this sometime.

  48. I live about 200 yards away from Mrs Temples cheeses, and anyone, nay everyone in north Norfolk will tell you that Mrs Temples Binham Blue has won both national and international prizes because it’s the best cheese there is. Now you can say what you like about the French, no honestly you can, don’t hold back…

  49. The only cheese I can’t quite get into is Cornish Yarg. I have a nagging suspicion that this is some kind of art installation prank. Tasteless cheese wrapped in leaves.

  50. At the moment, I have 10 types of cheese in my fridge (not including cream cheese (for baking) and cheese spread. This is mainly due to visiting a local cheese stall at the weekend. Some of these are for freezing, but I still think I may have a problem…

  51. Partly a piece of blatant promotion, but just in case there are folks that are lactose sensitive (although I guess they won’t be reading this thread !), my sister in Cornwall is doing Sheep’s Cheese….

    https://www.dizzydairy.co.uk/

    Whilst it still has lactose, my understanding is this it’s less / easier to digest (although I claim no expertise, so don’t take this as medical advice)

  52. In case anyone is tempted by trying the bijou packs of cheese crisps that are now available, let me save you the bother. They are little nuggets of air dried fat, that crunch into the mess left behind in a breville toasty maker. Not the crispy bits that attach to and enhance the sarnie, the soggy bits left in the grease.

  56. Has anyone mentioned leipäjuusto yet?

    No?

    OK, I will, then. Leipäjuusto (literally “bread-cheese”) – it’s magic!

    It’s this Finnish cheese that looks and tastes like a big unsalted halloumi.
    It has a strange consistency. When you eat it, it goes squeak-squeak against your teeth.

    You heat up a bit in the microwave and eat with cloudberry jam on top. YUM-YUM!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_cheese

  57. I’ve just seen an advert from The Cheshire Cheese company for chocolate and chilli cheese I won’t post a picture as it looks as hideous as it sounds. Paging @thecheshirecat for his view on this.

    I’m now being inundated with cheese adverts, Limoncello cheese anyone?

  58. I hate that sweet brown cheese lip-smacking Norwegians insist on serving you.

    Other than that, I’ll happily eat most things, including blue cheese and goat cheese, which seem to be a deal-breaker for quite a few.

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