Passionfruit Butter

It was a sunny Friday afternoon the week I got accepted into Brown. So, of course, it was only fitting to go to St. James to partake of their free Friday tastings (the original “cheese tease,” since you only get a couple slices – enough to tantalize you but not enough to fully quench the cheese urge). We followed it with this gorgeous cheese platter.

What you see are a couple puddles of chutney (lower-left, upper-right corners-ish), grapes, and honeyed walnuts. The cheeses, clockwise from the crumbly blue in the left middle:

Stilton: I actively make myself eat blue cheese, since I know my aversion is merely a predisposition to moldy/stinky/pungent cheese. (On the one hand, there is no natural food that is blue; on the other hand, I think overcoming this aversion at the age of 18 is pretty good.) As I understand things, if you’re eating blue cheese, your best hope is to eat Stilton, so this was definitely a painless way to ease into it. It hit my palate as simply a creamy, full flavor, with the pungency kicking in after a bit, particularly in the aftertaste. It wasn’t the alienating, abrasive, start-to-finish kind of pungent that afflicts so many blues. Like.

Idiazábal: made with sheep’s milk; it tastes quite smoky, but this (like many) wasn’t. Very nutty and clean and DELICIOUS when paired with the fruity-sweet-spicy chutneys. Not tremendously memorable; just a very simple and straightforward type of yummy.

Explorateur (over behind the grapes): triple cream, made in France, SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT BUTTERFAT CONTENT! Our server said that some chefs in France actually use this cheese in lieu of butter in some recipes. That’s an idea I’ll steal; it tastes spot-on buttery with only a mild aftertaste reminiscent of Brie. Where butter would stand in nicely, this could really add the cherry on top. I’m curious as to how it would be in a nice bowl of grits… or on toast. MM.

Manchester: Goats’ milk. Nutty, firm but not to the extent that parmesan is, just a bit of bite — nothing too drastic; just enough to distinguish it.

Primadonna: Can I just talk about how much I LOVE the name of this cheese!? It made this gouda seem so deluxe, as did the long thin slicing. Felt like dancing. As taste goes, this is good (I am tempted to make a good/gouda pun, but I’ll refrain for your sake), but then, I kind of adore all gouda of all shapes and sizes. There’s a salty/sweet dynamic in the aftertaste that’s delightful. I’d prefer it on water crackers as opposed to the bread they brought us… or just sliced and snacked upon. Delicate but substantial. Like.

Muenster al cumin: As you may have surmised, this was Muenster cheese — creamy, gooey, almost gummy in texture — spiced with cumin. I truly just did NOT like it. I don’t remember a time when I was happy about the presence of caraway seed. That’s another dislike I’m trying to overcome, though I’m more laid-back about this one because while my aversion to blue cheese seemed indoctrinated by kids’ (my younger self included) tendency to balk at strong flavors, this is plainly a flavor I don’t like. It’s disinterest as opposed to avid fear. Everyone else liked it, though, and Jessica LOVED it.

San Andreas: not to be confused with St. André! This is totally different. It’s made with sheep’s milk, and you can see the little milk crystals if you look close enough, which result in a good variance in flavor. This is a raw-milk cheese that’s pretty young, so it doesn’t have the warmth or nuttiness that come from aging. Instead, it’s kind of… sour? tangy? tart? But still quite mild and pretty creamy. Agreeable.

Sorry there’s less analysis and insight in this review; as I said, this actually happened a little while ago, but I only felt like posting about it today. Behold this picture, if it’s any consolation:

A hearty helping of roast beef, smokey blue cheese (aren’t you proud!? I ordered this sandwich BECAUSE of the cheese, and it was such a good creamy pairing with the beef), a full smattering of greens (far from the throwaway garnish or obligatory presence of leafy greens on many sandwiches), all on lightly toasted butterynuttygrainy bread.

I have something fun planned for tomorrow… check back soon!

*: Credit to Michael Pastore.