03/27/2011- Epoisses

The ICC met for the 10th time on March, 27th. Members present: Moobs, Scott, Jesse, Tony, and Susie the Cat. Special guests: James, Richie, and Rossco. The cheese: Epoisses.

Sniff before the slice:

Moobs- a landfill

Scott- trash...pure and simple...trash

Jesse- like a fat person's leg crack

Tony- a used cat box in a garbage can that's not been emptied ever

Richie- full to the brim trashcan that's been there 2 weeks.....like someone
draining a boil

James- straight up garbage

Ross- cat piss

Thoughts on the taste:

Moobs- This is the worst cheese i've ever had.....of all the nasty things I've put in my mouth, which there are MANY, I can only think of one or two items worse than this....worse than the vomit jellybean. Has an ash aftertaste. Tasted like rotting dreams.

Scott- Better than it smells, but I don't like. It tasted like trash. The aftertaste was a very, very bitter cheese. An awful taste.

Jesse- I am the king of the creamaphobe. Really psyched out about the smell and the texture. Eating off a plastic spoon, felt like a hobo experience. I had to bite the spoon so I didn't get the cheese on my lips, I broke the spoon. My brain blocked the flavor the first couple times, but once I ate the grape and the cheese it hit me. Tasted really bad.

Tony- One of the top 10 worst things I've ever put in my mouth...ever.

Richie- It was okay, but still the worst cheese I ever had. The initial taste was terrible. The aftertaste was bitter, but alright.

James- Initially it taste fine, kind of creamy, but the aftertaste lingers. It wasn't bad.

Ross- I thought it tasted a lot like Easy Cheese. The rind gave it an ashy taste. I liked it.

Best application:

Moobs- The cheese went best with the grapes.

Scott- The raisin toast. It completely overpowered the taste.

Jesse- In the store.

Tony- I can't think of where this would be good at all. I almost threw up.

Richie- The mini-toast. The texture compliment (soft and crunchy) was good. The toast absorbs a bit of the taste. The cheese and the grape was the worst, I can't STAND that. The liquid from the grape and the cheese was awful.

James- The mini-toast added a butteriness to the texture of the cheese. Raisin toast just covers it up.

Ross- Grapes and cheese almost made me want to throw up. The mini-toast was probably the best.

Final thoughts:

Moobs- I really wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Smells, tastes like, and is going into the garbage. Worst cheese ever. Best meeting ever though.

Scott- Pretty vile substance. Only the French would take something so horrible and call it gourmet.

Jesse- It's a sickening cheese. Almost made me puke four times.

Tony- Throw it out and never look back.

Richie- I'm never sitting next to Jesse again. He sounds like a dying goat.

James- I wouldn't want to eat it, but I wouldn't be afraid to try it again under another circumstance. They could use this to train police dogs to find corpses. Napoleon is full of crap (editor's note: Napoleon's favorite cheese).

Ross- Way more expensive than it should be. I agree with Scott, only the French.

Susie the cat- Didn't like it.

03/21/2011- Gouda (Aged Two Years)

The ninth meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced on March 21, 2011. Present members were Moobs, Scott, Jesse, Tony, and Susie the Cat.

The cheese sampled this week was provided by Jesse. It was a 2 year aged Gouda, served cold with Ritz crackers.

Thoughts:

Moobs- This is one of the better cheeses we've had, but it's also the hardest. Really sharp and similar bite of a sharp cheddar. The Ritz was good with it, complimented it well. Never had any other kind of Goudas, but I enjoyed it. Interesting to have a cheese that crunched every now and then.

Scott- I like this cheese a lot. It wasn't my favorite, but it was up there. The flavor kind of reminded me of a mixture between cheddar and a parmesan. Texturewise it was a very hard cheese. At first the crunchies in it disturbed me, but once we learned what it was I was fine with it. Good by itself, but great with the crackers. Would eat it again.

Jesse- My initial reaction was that it smelled gross, like sour milk. When you bite into it you get the firm cheese bite, but also the hard grains add a crunch. Once you get pass the smell, it crescendos into a nice flavor. I did try it with some corn chips, it tasted the same. I give it an 8, only because of the initial bite.

Tony- The gouda was an alright cheese, very sharp and strong. It had an interesting texture, very crunchy, but not unappealing. It was like an extremely sharp cheddar. The Ritz crackers went phenomenally with it, an excellent combination. You don't need a lot of it, but I would eat it again.

Susie the Cat- Didn't like it.

03/13/2011- President Brie and Jarlsburg

The eighth meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced on March 13, 2011. Present members were Moobs, Scott, Jesse, Tony, and Susie the Cat.

This week we sampled 2 cheeses to make up for our absence last week. This week we tried President Brie and Jarlsburg cheese. The brie was served warm with Ritz crackers. The Jarlsburg was served cold with Ritz.

Opinions:



Moobs- The first way I tried it was without the rind, just the creamy center. I didn't think I would like it, but I didn't mind it. Very good. Not much of a taste at first, but has a good aftertaste. The rind gave it kind of a sour taste. It went good with the Ritz, seems like a good accent cheese.

Scott- Not a big fan of brie. Without the rind, it's a very subdued flavor, can't taste much at all. Very light and creamy. As far as flavor goes, a slight moldiness to it. Definitely strong with the rind, but I'm not a fan of moldy cheeses. The Ritz didn't bring out any new flavors in the cheese.

Jesse- On a gag factor of 1-10, I give it a 3. It makes me gag, but not a lot. Can't say I like, the flavor isn't there. The rind doesn't taste like you should be eating it. Taste like you're eating fish skin. Pricewise, not much flavor. I give it a zero.

Tony- The brie was really good. It had a nice buttery taste to it. The rind didn't really compliment it well, but it wasn't awful. The Ritz brought out the flavor even more. Very good stuff.

Susie the cat- She liked it. Did not eat the rind.




Moobs- First thing I noticed is that it has a strong odor. It wasn't as pungent as the sheep's milk, but still strong. It was alright, not what I was expecting. It wasn't something I would eat by itself, the taste was too strong. The cracker was good with it, but not really a snacking cheese.

Scott- I really liked it. It was very similar to Swiss, a lot stronger. I would like to try it with different things than just a cracker next time.

Jesse- Thought it was a good cheese. Initally very strong and sour, but it seemed like a high quality cheese. Had a good Swiss flavor though, but I liked the texture and bite of it best of all. A man's cheese. For the price I would buy it again, but it doesn't seem like a high quality once I knew the price.

Tony- A very strong odor with a nice Swiss taste to it. A firm cheese with a good bite to it, enjoyed it a lot. The Ritz was an okay compliment to it. Probably would be good grilled.

Susie the cat- Did not like it.

03/01/2011- iStara P'Tit Basque

The seventh meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced on March 1, 2011. Present members were Moobs, Jesse, Scott, Tony, and Susie the Cat.

This week's cheese was provided by Scott and it was a p'tit basque, a french sheep cheese. It was served cold with sliced apples and Ritz crackers. Also was served melted over nacho chips.

Opinions:

Moobs- There was a lot of hype around this cheese. We were told ahead of time this might not be the best tasting cheese and the strong odor that it had once he unwrapped it didn't help. However, once I got past the first bite and I realized it wasn't as bad as I thought, it was alright. By itself it had a very unique and strong flavor, I never had sheep's cheese before. The Ritz kept the flavor consistent. I didn't care for it with the apple, they didn't mesh well together. The nachos were good, but I tasted nachos more than the cheese. I would eat this again with the right item.

Scott- I was also thrown off the by the hype. Slicing it, it smelled very unpleasant and I was dreading it. After the first bite I liked it. By itself nice and creamy, but it had a bitter aftertaste. Taste good with the Ritz. The apple brought out all the flavors more including the bitterness. The nachos were okay. I would eat this again, very surprised by it.

Jesse- It's good cheese, it's the flavor I look for in cheese. Reminds me of high quality mozzarella or provolone. Very good by itself, it had a good cheese flavor. It was kind of greasy, this would probably be a good pizza cheese. Not much flavor on the nachos though. The apple gave it kind of a sour taste. One of my favorites so far. The quality and the price, it was reasonable and I would try it again.

Tony- I was not looking forward to this cheese, but it surprised me. A strong, flavorful cheese that was nice and creamy. The Ritz added to the good flavor of the cheese, it was very tasty. The apples brought out a kind of unpleasant taste, not that great. The nachos were just as bland as any cheese we try melted on nachos. I wouldn't hesitate to try it again.

Susie the cat- Liked the cheese.