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The Cheese thread.......

Several cheeses were purchased today: Some at stalls in the farmers' market, others in the cheesemonger's: Camembert Rustique, Brie du pays, St Nectaire, St Agur, Stilton, Pecorino with truffles, Gorgonzola, and aged goat's Gouda.
 
You should get the title of MR Cheese Master. Making me hungry for cheese, I could make some good lunches with cheese. Such a variety of cheeses to choose from. You'll find me in the store soon.
 
retta283 said:
You should get the title of MR Cheese Master. Making me hungry for cheese, I could make some good lunches with cheese. Such a variety of cheeses to choose from. You'll find me in the store soon.
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But different cheeses call for different treatments.

My personal favourite is a cheeseboard with a wide variety of cheeses (one which contains or plays host to at least a mixture that includes a hard cheese, a washed rind semi-soft cheese, a blue, a goat's cheese, and at least one or two others), plus fine wines, sparkling water, good company and a pleasant setting or ambience.
 
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More cheeses were purchased this afternoon in the farmers' market: Gorgonzola Cremosa, Gran Pardano, goat's Gouda with truffle, Doruval, Roquefort, and Brie du Pays.
 
decafjava said:
Vacherin Mont D'Or is in season again and a wedge was purchased this afternoon. not sure if it will be consumed like that with good bread or melted with potatoes.
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Ah, yes, it is in season, isn't it?

Consumed with good bread is an excellent idea, as is melted with potatoes.

However, several years ago, I had some friends over (during the Christmas break), and put a cask of Vacherin Mont d'Or in the oven, scooping a little of the 'rind' out of the crown first, and adding some French white wine to that space that had been opened.

Served with good French crusty bread (to scoop it up) - and yes, more wine, it was almost liquid when removed from the oven, and was utterly delicious.
 
Zenithal said:
Acquire some Thracian pork sausage to accompany it and stuff your face until you fall out of your chair?
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Ah, do please, enlighten me.

What is Thracian pork sausage - (yes, I know historical Thrace), or, rather, what does it taste like, what flavours are more pronounced? Sounds intriguing.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Ah, do please, enlighten me.

What is Thracian pork sausage - (yes, I know historical Thrace), or, rather, what does it taste like, what flavours are more pronounced? Sounds intriguing.
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My general understanding is that it's not far removed from modern loukaniko which is a catch-all for sausage in Greece the Creteian island. I'd include Cypruss, too, but I suspect lamb is more common than beef for the beef component.

There are few Greek foods I bother with. I tend to side with the more tart ones, be it from citrus or something like purslane.
 
Zenithal said:
My general understanding is that it's not far removed from modern loukaniko which is a catch-all for sausage in Greece the Creteian island. I'd include Cypruss, too, but I suspect lamb is more common than beef for the beef component.

There are few Greek foods I bother with. I tend to side with the more tart ones, be it from citrus or something like purslane.
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Yes, I'd imagine that lamb would feature a lot more in Greek sausages, - because it features strongly in their cuisine - than would either pork or beef.

Anything citrus or tart would meet with me full (and greedy) approval.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Yes, I'd imagine that lamb would feature a lot more in Greek sausages, - because it features strongly in their cuisine - than would either pork or beef.

Anything citrus or tart would meet with me full (and greedy) approval.
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You misunderstood. Pork is still common place. Crete simply consumed more lamb, and most of the lamb at that.
 
Zenithal said:
You misunderstood. Pork is still common place. Crete simply consumed more lamb, and most of the lamb at that.
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Yes, I did misunderstand, but my own experience - and what I have read - seems to suggest - is that lamb is widely used in Greek cuisine. I don't doubt that pork also features.

However, the Serbs are specialists in pork, (and you will find pork widely available in some other parts of the former Yugoslavia) and their cuisine features some amazing pork dishes, including fantastic (and spicy) pork sausages.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Yes, I did misunderstand, but my own experience - and what I have read - seems to suggest - is that lamb is widely used in Greek cuisine. I don't doubt that pork also features.

However, the Serbs are specialists in pork, (and you will find pork widely available in some other parts of the former Yugoslavia) and their cuisine features some amazing pork dishes, including fantastic (and spicy) pork sausages.
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So is seafood, but you won't see sausages made with fish. The Bulgarians use a blend, not mainly pork. You'll find lamb usage more common in say Albania where there's a higher Muslim population. They'll still use the offal of the lamb, specifically for a dish called kokorec.
 
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Zenithal said:
So is seafood, but you won't see sausages made with fish. The Bulgarians use a blend, not mainly pork. You'll find lamb usage more common in say Albania where there's a higher Muslim population. They'll still use the offal of the lamb, specifically for a dish called kokorec.
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Exactly; Croatian (and indeed, Bosnian) treatment of seafood (and river food - ie.e fish from rivers, lakes and reservoirs) is excellent, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

However, lamb appears more frequently on the menu when climate, or geography, or religion/culturla radiation dictates.

Lamb was widely available in Kosovo, and also in Bosnia (where the cuisines of all of the respective cultures of the region appear, and where the food - even in the years immediately after the war, was excellent), and in Macedonia, as a significant percentage of the population in all three countries are Muslim.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Exactly; Croatian (and indeed, Bosnian) treatment of seafood (and river food - ie.e fish from rivers, lakes and reservoirs) is excellent, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

However, lamb appears more frequently on the menu when climate, or geography, or religion/culturla radiation dictates.

Lamb was widely available in Kosovo, and also in Bosnia (where the cuisines of all of the respective cultures of the region appear, and where the food - even in the years immediately after the war, was excellent), and in Macedonia, as a significant percentage of the population in all three countries are Muslim.
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Given that eating pork is considered haram, they wouldn't eat it. Even the bylaws of Islam make it difficult to consume it in a time of distress. Most people who have basic knowledge of Islam knows that sans the orange nonce and his demonic followers.

Consumption of lamb over beef is due to the costs involved. It's easier and cheaper to plump up lamb/goat and they're beneficial while living in more ways than one.
 
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Zenithal said:
Given that eating pork is considered haram, they wouldn't eat it. Even the bylaws of Islam make it difficult to consume it in a time of distress. Most people who have basic knowledge of Islam knows that sans the orange nonce and his demonic followers.

Consumption of lamb over beef is due to the costs involved. It's easier and cheaper to plump up lamb/goat and they're beneficial while living in more ways than one.
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Yes, I know about the Muslim (and Jewish, for that matter) prohibitions on eating pork.

I've spent a fair bit of time in the Balkans over the past twenty two years, and while much of the Muslim society is pretty relaxed about alcohol consumption, pork will not be consumed (an door will it feature on menus).

Sarajevo, which was a genuinely multi-ethnic and multi-cultural city, was different, as it was something of a melting pot.

Agree that keeping sheep (or goats) are a lot more economical than keeping cattle. You will find beef - and good steak - in Serb and Croat areas, but pork is more prevalent in the Serb regions, while Croatia (and Bosnia) both have stunning seafood.
 
Ahhh yes, good artisanal sausage from the Balkans, maybe if a friend currently in Serbia could bring me some...

Lamb is popular in Greece but doesn't usually go into sausage. Darnit, now am craving Kefalotyri from Cyprus.

Well I think I'll just go ahead and eat the Vacherin with bread and some fruit.
 
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decafjava said:
Ahhh yes, good artisanal sausage from the Balkans, maybe if a friend currently in Serbia could bring me some...

Lamb is popular in Greece but doesn't usually go into sausage. Darnit, now am craving Kefalotyri from Cyprus.

Well I think I'll just go ahead and eat the Vacherin with bread and some fruit.
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Heat the Vacherin, carve a little crown off the top, add a leaf or sage, or thyme, and a cup of some good white wine or cider, or calvados, and let that bubble away in the oven for a short while; then, eat it with bread. Addictive. Delicious.

However, should you choose to devour it with bread, do enjoy.
 
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