mmMMMmm... I just capped off a perfect day's walking through the amazing golds and reds in the mountains with some delicious Hokkaido Snowbrand Camambert on crackers.

Cheese - truly food of the Gods.

Hi cheesefans, it's time for this weeks Cheeseman's Cheese of the Week!

This time a traditional Danish cheese,

Maribo

Traditional, creamery, semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. The shape can be round or block. The natural rind has a pale yellow color. The cheese has its name after the town on the island of Lolland. The cheese resembles Gouda and has a firm, dry interior with numerous irregular holes. It is usually coated in yellow wax and is sometimes flavored with caraway seeds. It ripens in four months and has a fat content of between 30 and 45 per cent. To make Maribo, cheesemakers use pasteurized milk and liquid rennet for curdling. The cut curd is heated at a temperature of 100 degrees F. The whey is drawn off, salting occurs and then the curd is pressed in molds and cured for 3-5 weeks. The strength of the taste varies with the amount of curing time (longer curing time = stronger flavor).

just need crackers!

Wallace and Gromit were on just the other night.

Hi Cheesefans. Time for Cheeseman's Cheese of the Week.

Hmmm, where to this week? How about Cyprus!

Halloumi

It is a stretched curd cheese produced from sheeps's, cow's or goat's milk. It has a shape of small loafs in different sizes. The cheese has no rind. Chopped mint is often added to the curd, which adds some life to otherwise milky-bland taste. Halloumi is a perfect cooking cheese. It will hold it's shape after grilling or frying. It is very similar to Mozzarella.

Hi folks it is time for Cheeseman's Cheese of the Week.

This week over to Germany and I really like this one.

Tilsit

Creamery, semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. It has a wheel-shape, the thin, dry, yellow-beige crust has some moulds. This cheese was discovered by Dutch cheesemakers, living in Tilsit which was then in East Prussia. The cheese is washed and brushed regularly for the first two months so that the crusty rind forms. This protects the smooth, supple interior with its tiny, irregular holes from drying out. The aroma is mildly pungent while the taste is buttery and fruity with a spicy tinge. It is generally made with whole milk. A natural hard cheese, German Tilsit has a stronger flavor than its Scandinavian cousins. It has tiny hole formation and a firm texture, suitable for slicing. Tilsit is an excellent sandwich cheese, good with robust wine or beer. It has a fat content of 20 per cent and water content of 50 per cent.

Hi Cheesefans

Time for this weeks Cheeseman's Cheese of the Week.

Over to Norway. I really like this one:

Jarlsberg

Jarlsberg is a traditional, creamery, hard, Norwegian cheese. The world's most famous "Baby Swiss", Jarlsberg has the consistency texture and hole formation of Swiss Emmental but its flavor is more nut-like and sweeter. The paste is golden yellow with holes of various sizes. A full wheel of Jarlsberg weighs about 20 lbs., one tenth the weight of a wheel of Emmental. Jarlsberg can be used as a table cheese, dessert cheese or sandwich cheese. Serve it with wine, beer or aquavit. Great deal of this cheese is exported all over the world, especially to the U.S.A.

Jarlsbergs does have a nice nutty flavour.

I like that one too. Could do with some right now, got the crackers.

Hi Cheesefans, times for Cheeseman's Cheese of the Week.

Over to...... Cyprus!

Halloumi

It is a stretched curd cheese produced from sheeps's, cow's or goat's milk. It has a shape of small loafs in different sizes. The cheese has no rind. Chopped mint is often added to the curd, which adds some life to otherwise milky-bland taste. Halloumi is a perfect cooking cheese. It will hold it's shape after grilling or frying. It is very similar to Mozzarella.

you posted this one a few weeks ago!

Oops I'm sorry I meant to post this one. Apologies for my mistake.

Xynotyro:

Xynotyro means "sour cheese", but this one does not represent its name. It is made from the mixture of sheep's and goat's milk in various shapes and sizes. Xynotyro is a hard, flaky cheese that melts in the mouth and the flavor is a combination of sweet, burnt caramel, lanolin and the sour taste of the whey. This cheese belongs to the group of low-fat cheeses and has a fat content of 20 per cent.

is it Greek?

Hey cheeseman - do you have peas with your cheese?

Yeah its greek - had it a few years back - not a good one in my opinion :(

Afternoon cheesefans. Don't worry about the lack of snow - think cheese! Yes, it's time for Cheesemans Cheese of the Week.

Coquetdale

Vegetarian, hard cheese of round shape made from cow's milk. The cheese was made by Mark Robinson in his hometown in Northumberland. It is a soft, supple cheese with a wonderful balance of sweet-savory flavors and a nutty, slightly salty finish. The fine, leathery, natural rind has yellowish-gray mould. Ripening process takes 10 weeks.

Might be a dumb question but isn't every cheese vegetarian?

Ones with salami in them certainly aren't

Here we go on the vegetarian bit:

Vegetarian cheeses are made with rennets of non-animal origin. In the past, fig leaves, melon, wild thistle and safflower have all supplied plant rennets for cheese making. However, most widely available vegetarian cheeses are made using rennet produced by fermentation of the fungus Mucor miehei. Vegetarian cheese may also be made using a rennet from the bacteria Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus prodigiosum.
Advances in genetic engineering techniques mean that some vegetarian cheeses may now be made using chymosin produced by genetically engineered micro-organisms. The genetic material (DNA) which encodes for chymosin is introduced into a micro-organism which can then be cultured to produce commercial quantities of chymosin. This is done by extracting genetic material from calf stomach cells which acts as a template for producing the chymosin encoding DNA. This can then be introduced into the micro-organism. Once the genetic material is introduced there is no further need for calf cells. Alternatively, the chymosin encoding DNA can be bio-synthesised in the laboratory without the use of calf cells.

The chymosin produced is identical to that produced by calf stomach cells. The development of genetically engineered chymosin has been encouraged by shortages and fluctuations in cost of rennet from calves. It's manufacturers claim that genetically engineered chymosin will end the cheese making industry's reliance on the slaughter of calves.

Chymosin encoding DNA has been introduced into three different micro-organisms. These are the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, the fungus Aspergillus niger var awamori, and a strain of the bacteria Escherichia coli. All of these have now been approved and cleared for use by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food. There is no legal requirement for manufacturers to state whether a genetically engineered rennet has been used in the cheese making process.

Vegetarian cheeses are widely available in supermarkets and health food stores. A wide variety of cheeses are now made with non-animal rennet and labelled as suitable for vegetarians. No particular type of cheese is exclusively vegetarian. Soft cheeses are as likely to be non-vegetarian as hard cheese.

Now it's time for the last Cheeseman's Cheese of the Week. Where shall we go this time? How about Finland? Nice one this..

Turunmaa

Traditional, creamery, semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk and it's name is according to the town of Turku on the southern coast of Finland. It is a rindless cheese of drum-shape with pale yellow color. It is a breakfast cheese that was probably introduced in the 16th century. The cheese is smooth and creamy, with a richness and depth of flavor that owes much to the excellent grazing. The texture is firm and open and the flavor is aromatic, with a slightly sharp tang on the finish. Turunmaa is matured for two months or more and has a fat content of 50 per cent. Similar cheese are Korsholm, Danish Cream Havarti. Like Cream Havarti, it is both a table cheese and a breakfast cheese to be served with fruit and bread.