04/25/2011- 6-Month Aged Provolone (continued)

The ICC met again today to continue what was started last night. Only without Richard. Sorry Richard.

Tonight we sampled the cheese again with some mini-toast, an apple, some bread, and prosciutto ham. Cagney, Brennan, and James joined us. Richard was absent (our fault).

Moobs- It was good the second time. The apple made it very sharp, kind of bitter, it was my least favorite. The best was the prosciutto, the spices and flavoring was very good. The toast didn't wow me like I thought it would.

Scott- I liked it best with prosciutto and bread, I made a bit of a sandwich with it. The apple was very good, it toned it down till the very end. The mini-toast was my least favorite.

Jesse- The best, I thought, was with the bread. The prosciutto was a bit too overpowering, the mini-toast was pretty good. That's all.

Tony- Sorry pigs, but I loved it best with the prosciutto. You can't beat it. This cheese is so awesome.

Brennan- I really liked the cheese by itself, the best was with the toast. I agree with James, I think this cheese works well on a sandwich, especially a ham sandwich.a

James- I love it, but it's not the first time I had it. I liked the strong, firm bite it had. The best was with the bread and apple. Anytime you use this cheese in a sandwich, you win.

Cagney- I thought that the prosciutto, toast combo was the best thing to do with it. I loved the cheese, how sharp it was. Had a real presence. Good contrast with our last cheese.

Susie the Cat- Still liked it.

04/24/2011- 6-Month Aged Provolone

The 14th meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced on April 18, 2011. Present members were Moobs, Scott, Jesse, Tony, and Susie the Cat. New member inducted was Richard. This week we sampled a 6-month aged provolone from Philadelphia, PA. Due to lack of preparation it was sampled only cold and sliced.

Smell:

Moobs- A very strong smell. I didn't think it was bad, just very noticeable. Like provolone with a stronger aroma. Fragrant.

Scott- It smelled pretty rank to me. It smelled like a cheesy butt-crack to me.

Jesse- I having trouble smelling today. It smelled sharp.

Tony- Smells very strong, powerful. Sort of musky.

Richard- Smelled like provolone, I didn't notice anything too unique.

Taste:

Moobs- I liked it, it was a strong cheese, very sharp. Robust. It has a lingering taste to it, but it's not a bad aftertaste. I would have a hard time eating it by itself, but a little goes a long way.

Scott- Taste was okay. I can see it being really good with a cold cut sandwich or crumbled on a salad, but a little too sharp by itself.

Jesse- Off the bat a greasy, almost crumbly, sandy texture. There's that, but it hits you with the second stage. Probably best part of the flavor, a rich provolone, parmesan, Romano pizza taste. Into a third and final stage of the flavor, the aftertaste, a burning, sharp lingering aftertaste.

Tony- That classic, strong taste. Reminds me of South Philly. I love it. A little goes a very long way.

Richard- I'm not a fan of it cold, I'm sure it taste different cooked. It's all sharp and burn to me, no real flavor.

Final opinion:

Moobs- It's unfortunate we weren't as prepared for this with some fruits or sauces. I really wish we had some bread because it would probably be good toasted. I bet in the right setting it would be great.

Scott- By itself, I wouldn't eat it again, but I would like to try it accompanied by something.

Jesse- Good cheese, all the way from Jersey. Very nostalgic flavor for me, we used to eat it a lot with Italian sausage. Pleased to be able to eat it again and will. Kind of hurts my stomach by itself.

Tony- I love it, one of the best cheeses ever. It reminds me of family gatherings and delicious food. I swore off pork a while ago, but I would devour a pork sandwich with the cheese and some gravy on it.

Richard- Pretty much what Scott said, would love to try it cooked with something.

Susie the Cat- She liked it.

It was decided we will try this cheese again in some sort of sandwich form. Stay tuned around midweek for our follow-up blog.

04/18/2011- Humboldt Fog (Fan Suggestion)

The 13th meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced on April 18, 2011. Present members were Moobs, Scott, Jesse, Tony, and Susie the Cat. Special guests Richard, James, Cagney, and Sasha the Dog joined us. Tenuous member Old Greg was also present.

The cheese we ate was suggested by a loyal fan of ours, Dottie Brunette of Sylva, NC. The cheese is called Humboldt Fog, a goat cheese with a fine line of vegetable ash running through it. Tony bought it at EarthFare for 7 bucks. It was served with mini-toast, pears, and apples.

Smell:

Moobs- It doesn't smell bad. Smells a lot like the other cheeses we had. The more we do this, the more a cheese has to be very unique to have a distinct aroma.

Scott- It definitely smelled like cheese. The rind smelled stronger than the inside.

Jesse- Kind of buttery, sharper smell. Had like a creamy milk scent.

Tony- A cream cheese smell, nice and smooth.

Richard- A mixture of cream cheese and mozzarella. It was surprisingly pleasant.

Greg- It smelled like cheese, what do you want from me?

James- I'm a smoker so I don't smell very well, but pretty fragrant. Not too pungent, a pleasant odor.

Cagney- I thought that it was mild at first sniff, but it got stronger as you inhaled.


Taste:

Moobs- I didn't really like it, kind of a sour taste. You could taste the ash in it, which isn't bad, but overall wasn't impressed.

Scott- I liked the cheese, I wasn't crazy about the rind. The ash gave it a kind of bitterness, but the rest had a creamy, classic goat cheese taste.

Jesse- By itself it tasted too creamy and buttery for my flavor. I think that a cheese should not taste like you're eating basically butter.

Tony- Like a bleu cheese, cream cheese mix. If you're trying it, go with a bit of the rind, it really compliments it.

Richard- I liked the taste, very close to cream cheese with a bit of sour aftertaste. I didn't mind it.

Greg- It tasted like a really creamy parmesan to me. It was almost like a parm mixed with sour cream and cream cheese.

James- It was good, kind of mild. I've had stronger goat cheeses than that. I could taste the ash and it added a nice dryness to your mouth to compliment the creaminess. It was good, eat it with the rind.

Cagney- I agree, I think the rind is fantastic. I couldn't taste the ash, but I thought it was an excellent cream cheese, goat cheese mix with the sharpness of bleu cheese.


Best Application:

Moobs- By itself. I didn't like the pear, it made it taste more sour. The toast and apple didn't add much.

Scott- I liked the pear the best. It brought out the flavors, all the good things about the cheese. The mini-toast I also liked.

Jesse- The melbatoast. The pear and the apples consistency were a little too healthy. When I at the toast and cheese together it brought back nice memories of cheddar cheese, Ritz packets you can buy.

Tony- The pear was really good with it. Added a nice contrast to the cheese. I enjoyed it a lot.

Richard- The mini toast. The texture was a nice compliment to the cheese, kind of like a bagel with cream cheese.

Greg- By itself, I didn't like the toast and cheese mix. Didn't get to try the fruit.

James- If you want to enjoy it, eat it by itself. It's so mild that the fruit takes over. The melbatoast kind of taste like Ritz handi-snacks.

Cagney- I didn't like the pears, I think pears are sand combined with sugar water. The best was the toast by far. Mini toast kicks ass.


Final Thoughts:

Moobs- I just didn't really like the cheese, a little to sour for me. I wouldn't buy this cheese. It was interesting though, I'm glad I tried it. Never had anything quite like it.

Scott- It was good, but I would never buy this cheese. I would just go with a cheaper goat cheese.

Jesse- For the price, I'm not going to pay that much for cream cheese. It tasted good with crackers, but so would cheddar. I don't have enough respect for that cheese to buy it again.

Tony- Very delicious cheese, I enjoyed it a lot. I never had goat cheese before, but I'm glad I did. Would be good by itself or on a bagel.

Richard- I would buy it, not constantly, but it's something to enjoy.

Greg- Yum.

James- I would buy this cheese, but not by myself. I liked it though.

Cagney- I would eat this again, it was a good cheese. I enjoyed it, I think I liked it the best out of all of us. I wouldn't buy it, I mooch all my cheese.

Sasha the Dog- Liked it

Susie the Cat- Liked it

04/10/2011- Mahon Do Mitica

The 12th meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced on April 10, 2011. Present members were Moobs, Scott, Jesse, Tony, and Susie the Cat. Special guests Richard and Brennan joined us.

The cheese we ate was Mahon Do Mitica aged 12 months from Spain. Scott bought it at EarthFare for 7 bucks. It was served with mini-toast, strawberries, and in a grilled cheese form.

STATEMENTS


Smell:

Moobs- It smells a lot like the other cheeses we've had. A general cheese smell. Like parmesan I guess.

Scott- It's a good smell. The same as all the hard cheeses have been. Comparable to parmesan.

Jesse- A rich, creamy, kind of sharp scent.

Tony- Quite pungent, bordering on unpleasant. Very strong.

Richard- Smelled like parmesan, a little hint of nuts.

Brennan- I have to agree with everyone else, it looked and smelled like parmesan. I didn't like the smells as much as parmesan, didn't really like the smell. Thought it was gonna suck.


Taste:

Moobs- I wasn't really sure if I was going to be impressed with this cheese. It was similar to some of the other cheeses we've had. It was really good though. A very salty cheese, but I liked it in that way.

Scott- I agree with Moobs and Richard, it was a good cheese, but it had a salty, nuttiness with it. I like this cheese.

Jesse- I thought the cheese was good. It was so salty it dried my tongue by itself. A very sharp cheese. It had a very poignant aftertaste, almost spicy.

Tony- A strong flavor with a nice bite. I enjoyed it a lot. Not as hard as some of the others we've eaten.

Richard- Very dry, it crumbled apart easily. No spice, to me, but rather a vinegar kick to it. It was good.

Brennan- At first I didn't like it by itself. It tasted awful. Once we started with the breads it was good.


Best Application:

Moobs- The grilled cheese. The combination of the butter, the salt, and the bread was very good. It all worked together very well, melted together nice. Very chewy.

Scott- I'll have to go with the grilled cheese also. It melted together very nicely and was chewy. The mini-toast was a close second.

Jesse- I didn't really like the strawberries, felt like you were just eating calories. I did like it on the nacho chips, the saltiness of the cheese and chips was a match made in heaven. Left my tongue pleading for water.

Tony- The mini-toast. It opened a lot of nice flavors in the cheese.

Richard- I liked the grilled cheese. The guys said it, it all melted together very well.

Brennan- The best was the grilled cheese. It tasted awesome.


Final Thoughts:

Moobs- I liked the cheese, was better than I was expecting. It went really great with the breads and by itself, but I probably wouldn't eat it by itself. A good compliment cheese. The strawberries and that cheese don't mix.

Scott- Liked it, I would even buy it again. Makes a damn good grilled cheese.

Jesse- Compared to other harder, sharper cheese we've had (like the gouda) I thought it stood up well. It seemed a little too sharp to be eaten cubed. I would it eat it again, if I was in Spain.

Tony- A nice cheese, nice to take a break from French cheeses and try this one. I might eat it again.

Richard- It was a good complimentary cheese, I would have it again. I don't think it would go well with fruit, maybe a Granny Smith apple.

Brennan- If I had to choose between this cheese and anything else at the store, I would probably choose anything else. Worked well on toast, but I didn't like it otherwise.

Susie the Cat- Liked it.

04/03/2011- Cantal

The 11th meeting of the International Cheese Club commenced on April 03, 2011. Present members were Moobs, Scott, Jesse, Tony, and Susie the Cat. Special guest Richard was in the house.

Smell:

Moobs- The smell reminds me of the parmesan we had before, kind of sharp.

Scott- The inside smelled good, like a good sharp cheese. The rind part was quite pungent, not very good.

Jesse- I'm not a big fan of the smell of cheese in general, it's basically hardened milk over time. It smelled kind of sour.

Tony- It had a strong, sharp smell. Kind of exciting in a way.

Richard- Smelled like a mixture between parmesan and mozzarella. A very dry smell.


Taste:

Moobs- It reminds me of another cheese, parmesan. As far as texture, it's similar to the Dubliner. It was good, but not very exciting or special. Kind of middle of the road. The rind enhances the flavor and leaves a sharp, bitter aftertaste. I didn't care for that aspect.

Scott- Reminded more of parmesan, romano type thing. Texture was hard, but it wasn't as hard as parmesan usually is. The closer to the rind the cheese got, the worse it tasted. A very bitter aftertaste.

Jesse- Very classic, rich full flavored cheese.

Tony- Similar to a very sharp cheddar. I liked it, but wasn't thrilled by the texture. It was alright.

Richard- Honestly it kind of just tasted like your average sharp cheese with a texture like parmesan.


Best application:

Moobs- The mini-toast. With the breads in general it cuts the sharpness of the cheese. The grape was good, the juices affect the taste of the cheese. It wasn't unpleasant.

Scott- The mini-toast cut the bitterness, gave it a more creamy taste. The grape was okay, the sweetness brought out some of the subtle flavors.

Jesse- I didn't like it with the grapes. By itself it was good.

Tony- By itself it was good, but with the mini-toast it was good. The grapes were a nice compliment. Not horrible, but too juicy for cheese.

Richard- With the mini-toast it started like a bleu cheese, it was alright. The grape it kind of turned it into play-doh.

Final Thoughts-

Moobs- A mediocre cheese. Nothing too exciting, what I consider 'safe'.

Scott- I did like it. I would eat it again, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it.

Jesse- A well done cheese. It's a cheese of cheese. Pretty well rounded, they've got it down. For the price I wouldn't go back to it. Sets the precedent for other cheeses, the ball that got everything rolling.

Tony- An okay cheese. For the quality and price, not bad, but like Scott, I wouldn't go out of my way to have it again.

Richard- Doesn't really stand out, a mediocre cheese.

Susie the Cat was indifferent.

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.