This weekend Bill picked up a variety cheeses from Eddie’s Market in North Baltimore and we ate them along with some older cheeses already in the fridge on Saturday evening. The cheeses were:
- Point Reyes Blue
- Some French Brie Butter Cheese
- Aged Gouda
- Ubracon
For the moment I’m just going to tell you about the Point Reyes, but check back for additional profiles for the others. Pictures are also on their way!
I was eager to try the Point Reyes since I read an article about it in last winter’s edition of Culture. It’s a firm blue cheese that had a nice, creamy texture and a milder, but slightly sour flavor than I expected. Most people know that the blue cheeses are a type of mold which grows on the cheese, but I recently learned that cheesemakers actually will either aerate or inject the mold bacteria to produce the veins. According to the website, “Several natural ingredients are added to the Grade A, raw milk: cultures for flavor and to increase acidity, enzymes in order for the curd to form, kosher salt for flavor and mold (penicillium roqueforti) to create the blue veins in the cheese.” I’d like to try cooking with this cheese, because I think the mild flavor might lend itself well to combinations with other ingredients. Proposed sandwich? Perhaps some grilled Portobello mushrooms and arugula on a French loaf.
Filed under: Blues, Cheese Reviews, Point Reyes
