Name that Cheese

October 4, 2014 9:33 AM

My wife and I had an amazing cheese at a party last night. It was soft, about the size of a typical wedge of grocery store brie, but with a black-and-white speckled rind and a very pungent odor. Any ideas?
posted by HeroZero to Food & Drink (20 answers total)

What was the texture like? Was it creamy and sort of runny like brie as well? Was there a black line running through the cheese as well, or only in the rind?

It's pretty common to make goat cheeses with an ash rind, so my first guess is that it's one of those, but with nothing else to go on, it's hard to get more specific.
posted by Sara C. at 9:45 AM on October 4, 2014

Could it have been an ash-ripened goat cheese? There are several producers in the US, including Humboldt Fog and Monocacy Ash.
posted by drlith at 9:45 AM on October 4, 2014

Maybe a taleggio?

Did it have any veining (i.e. was there stripes of blue or other dark color throughout the inside of the cheese)?

Was it creamy like brie or more soft like a goat cheese? Could have been an ash-ripened cheese if the black on the outside of the rind was really pronounced.
posted by barnone at 9:46 AM on October 4, 2014

Response by poster: No veining or lines. It was creamy like a double-cream brie.

I didn't realize ash rinding was such a common thing. I thought that would be the tip-off. This may in fact be an impossible mission, then.
posted by HeroZero at 10:02 AM on October 4, 2014

Response by poster: It was a much higher ratio of black-to-white than any of the cheeses linked above.
posted by HeroZero at 10:03 AM on October 4, 2014

What height was it?
posted by Room 641-A at 10:04 AM on October 4, 2014

Response by poster: Not more than an inch.
posted by HeroZero at 10:08 AM on October 4, 2014

And was it a long wedge cut from a wide wheel of cheese, like brie, or more of a short stubby triangle?
posted by Sara C. at 10:15 AM on October 4, 2014

Brie-like texture plus pungent odor makes me think it might have been camembert. Here's one with an ash rind.
posted by Majorita at 10:16 AM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

If it had a similar texture to Brie, I usually think Camembert. Not sure about the rind though.
posted by DoubleLune at 10:17 AM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Ash-ripened Camembert?
posted by Room 641-A at 10:17 AM on October 4, 2014

This Nerina is also a soft cheese with a black rind, and is fairly soft, and usually not very tall, but not as creamy as double-cream brie.

Montcabrer | Artisan Organic Cheese from Cowgirl Creamery is darker than it looks in this photo.

Bonne Bouche is darker than these photos illustrate but probably isn't it either...

Or ash-ripened camembert, though they're usually not as dark as what I'm getting from your description.
posted by barnone at 10:19 AM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Maybe try dropping by your local cheese shop or grocery store with a good cheese selection (Whole Foods?), or wherever you think it's most likely the cheese was purchased. That might be your best bet for identification if you're not able to ask the hosts directly.
posted by kitty teeth at 10:51 AM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

D'oh! Former cheese buyer for Whole Foods here. That's a great idea.

Not only would I have loved to help you with this, if it was a cheese I didn't currently stock I would almost certainly try to bring in a wheel, especially if you were interested in getting more.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:17 AM on October 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

Crowdie in a wedge shape?
posted by Happy Dave at 11:21 AM on October 4, 2014

Could you ask your hosts (at least where they got it from, if they can't remember the name)?
posted by mymbleth at 11:51 AM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Was the rind clearly distinguishable? (Ash is not usually) And was it edible?
posted by microcarpetus at 12:49 PM on October 4, 2014

It may well be impossible to find this cheese.

There three things to look for when categorizing (at least French) cheese.
- consistency of center ("pâte") and how much it has been processed ("molle," like Bries or chèvres, "pressée non cuite" like Morbier, "pate pressée cuite" like Swiss cheese or Parmesan, etc.)
- type of rind which is dictated by how it ages (rind is "croute" which can be "fleurie" like a brie, "lavée" like for instance a munster, or "persillée" like blue cheeses)
- milk used (cow, goat, sheep)

I could be mistaken, I'm hardly an expert, but often times cheeses that are rolled in ash are not pungent but tend to instead be fresh cheeses.

Cheeses can be made in an infinite combination of these elements -they could well have served you a particular type of Brie (look here and you see the Brie de Melun has a definitely crustier crust than regular Bries)... but... you could also have some locally made cheese. If you find out, share!
posted by microcarpetus at 1:11 PM on October 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

It sound like a very ripe wedge of Laura Chenel's Melodie. Melodie is often pretty underwhelming, but every so often you'll get a wheel like the one in my link and it looks, smells, and tastes just like your description.
posted by JuliaIglesias at 4:56 PM on October 4, 2014

Could it just have been an ash chevre? Take a look at a Google images search for those two words and see if anything looks right. In my experience they usually don't taste hugely pungent, just a little more flavoursome than a brie and have a very creamy texture.
posted by lollusc at 7:32 PM on October 4, 2014