Missed connections: You on a silver serving platter next to the crackers...

December 20, 2005 2:24 PM

Give me cheese recommendations! I tasted a delicious soft tangy cheese at a party a few weeks ago and have been trying to find similar types.

It was a gorgonzola, supposedly, but gorgonzolas I've tried are far to blue for my tastes (in that they're blue at all). This was not as tangy as goat cheese (nor quite as soft), sort of sweet, and contained some mixture of herbs inside. I'm relatively inexperienced in the nuances of cheese, so I'll take recommendations for other types also. I am in Los Angeles, so if you know of a good cheese shop that would also be appreciated.

posted by hindmost to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

I just had a holiday open house where I served, I'm not kidding, 12 different kinds of cheeses. I'm not sure what cheese you're looking for, but if you get thee to a Whole Foods during a slow period of the day the cheese guy/gal will certainly help you out if they can.

Other cheeses I'd recommend:

Montegrappa - parmesan-ish
Drunken Goat
St. Andre - Brie
Krys Irish Cheddar
Stilton
posted by FlamingBore at 2:34 PM on December 20, 2005

Monsieur Marcel at Farmers Market has great (French) cheeses; you can try out a wonderful assortment of inexpensive but delectable cheese plates at their cafe, too.
posted by scody at 2:34 PM on December 20, 2005

Oh, also... the Whole Foods by me has a little wooden box of "cheese bits" they sell for under $3. It's a great way to introduce yourself to new cheeses without breaking the bank.
posted by FlamingBore at 2:35 PM on December 20, 2005

Cotswold. Sort of like cheddar, but better. Damn, that rhymed!
posted by elquien at 2:35 PM on December 20, 2005

Taleggio is one of my favorites. Sort of soft, like brie, but tangier.
posted by occhiblu at 2:38 PM on December 20, 2005

Best answer: Look for a gorgonzola described as bebiverde or dolce, a young version of the cheese, which is mild, soft, slightly sweet, and tangy, as you describe. As gorgonzola ages, it becomes firm, crumbly, and spicy, and is called piccante, naturale, stagionato or mountain. Cashel blue is similar to gorgonzola dolce, and is sweet and delicate with a slight tang. It ages a little differently than gorgonzola, and becomes more pronounced, earthy, and very creamy. Dolcelatte is another good mild blue cheese.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 2:39 PM on December 20, 2005

It looks like you have Whole Foods there in LA, They have some great cheeses. What I do is hold the cheese in both hands while cupping my hands over the top then take a whiff. You can usually smell the cheese right through the cellophane (if you can't smell anything it is most likely a very mild cheese). That along with feeling how soft it is will tell you a lot about how it is going to taste. I love certain kinds of cheeses but not over-ripe stinky cheeses like the ones Parisians use to punish Americans with.
posted by Mr T at 2:40 PM on December 20, 2005

Go into Whole Foods and look for their Dubliner (I believe it's a cheddar). Monstrously good.
posted by scarabic at 2:40 PM on December 20, 2005

If you had something that was like a mild goat cheese and had herbs in it, it might have been boursin. I'm sort of a chesse snob, but that stuff is my dirty little secret.
posted by The Bellman at 2:41 PM on December 20, 2005

Most "upscale" grocery stores like Whole Foods will also let you taste cheeses to see if you like them enough to buy, and their cheese-people are good at helping you find a cheese you will like. I wouldn't bother them right now (it's crazy due to the holidays) but once things settle down a bit they will probably be happy to show you through some cheeses. Personally, I reccomend Stilton, if you haven't tried it yet. It's a classic and, while a blue, it's not as blue as gorgonzola, but more complex, like a punk Cheddar, sort of.
posted by Rubber Soul at 2:55 PM on December 20, 2005

Port Salut - The perfect medium soft cheese
posted by cyphill at 2:55 PM on December 20, 2005

I would consider sitting down in front of the television with a wedge of comte an excellent way to spend an evening. Apart from tasting like heaven, comte is also usually pretty affordable.
posted by milkrate at 2:58 PM on December 20, 2005

I second Cotswold. It's also called Double Gloucester with Chives. Good stuff.
posted by jdl at 3:10 PM on December 20, 2005

Response by poster: Looks like I will definitely be paying Whole Foods a visit soon. I have had Stilton in the past and liked the immature versions, especially the ones with lemon or apricot chunks. I've tried brie both alone and baked in a pastry and couldn't get into it. I prefer softer cheese to hard ones and I'm definitely not a fan of the more pungent cheeses. Soft sweet cheeses, however, send me to the moon. I'll be making a list to take with me, thanks everyone, with special honors to monju_bosatsu.
posted by hindmost at 3:12 PM on December 20, 2005

The CheeseStore
posted by PY at 4:30 PM on December 20, 2005

I'm a fan of cheeses like you describe, and wanted to second a few and mention a few:

A strong second of Dubliner. Yes, a cheddar, quite sharp, but with something else behind it rather than just SHARP.

Goat cheeses can be strrrooong - I really like Chavrie because it has the goaty flavor but it is not too overwhelming. The plain and the basil/garlic/herbs flavors are both good. I like this much better than Boursin, which personally I find too firm and crumbly.

I also really like Kiri, a cream-cheese-ish soft and tangy cheese. It's made in France and quite popular in the middle east.

posted by whatzit at 4:41 PM on December 20, 2005

Oh, and another of my favorite mild cheeses right now is bel paese. Like gorgonzola, it's an Italian cheese from the Lombardy region. It's mild, creamy, and buttery, but without the tang of the blue cheeses. It pairs nicely with fruity wines, too.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 5:06 PM on December 20, 2005

good places to find good cheese in l.a.

personally, I'm quite fond of "Say Cheese" in Silverlake.
posted by jann at 5:09 PM on December 20, 2005

some other blues you might like:

cashel blue
blue d'auvergne
roquefort -- the really, good artisinal kind. Its like eating blue cheese ice cream

my other faves:

humboldt fog -- a delectable, soft-ripened goat cheese
abbaye d'belloc -- fantastic Pyrenees-style sheep
fiore sardo -- a sardinian pecorino; sharp, fruity, and slightly crumbly.

-- Miss Mobtown, a former cheesemonger
posted by missmobtown at 5:23 PM on December 20, 2005

You'll often find striped Gorgonzola-dolcelatte combinations which provide that balance of sweetness and 'blueness'.
posted by holgate at 5:30 PM on December 20, 2005

The secret to nuturing a newfound appreciation for good cheese is getting some experience. With 1,000 kinds of cheese out there (and a hundred in a good shop), you need to explore a bit to see where your taste lies.

Here's the cool part: they'll let you taste it for free.

Of course you want to buy a few bits to keep the cheesemonger happy. But if they're not busy, you can taste perhaps three for every one you buy.
posted by sacre_bleu at 7:52 PM on December 20, 2005

I'm a massive Camembert fan and have found you can either go two ways. Hunt out a really rich smelly cheese, maybe something like Lanquetot (my favourite)... Let it sit out for a couple of days. It stinks and is very rich but tastes delicious. If this gets a bit overbearing you can go with some 'cheaper/milder' camemberts that are more like a brie.

Recently I have just discovered Vignotte. A nice full fat cheese.. a bit salty but once matured out of the fridge it becomes very subtle and delicious.

Can't go wrong with Cambozola. It's like a subtle brie and very available.

My favourite cheddar? Mature Canadian. mmmmmm...

Definitely go tasting at a cheese counter and get advice from those selling the stuff.
posted by Frasermoo at 4:40 AM on December 21, 2005

Sorry, cambozola is like a subtle stilton, not brie. I find most stiltons to be a bit much for me. A very aquired taste.
posted by Frasermoo at 4:43 AM on December 21, 2005

I third Cotswold.
posted by unclejeffy at 12:50 PM on December 21, 2005