Not sure what thread this should go in, so I just started one. I was looking over the cheeses at the local Whole Foods (Las Vegas), and came across Tillamook 2011 – a 10-year-old cheddar. Super-sharp, with nice crunchy calcium lactate crystals. Their “regular” price is $29.99/lb, which is a bit steep for me, but it’s on sale through the end of the month for $18.99/lb. Still not cheap, but well worth it IMO.
I think it’s the best cheddar I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried 10-year Hook’s ($44.99/lb) and 15-year Hook’s ($94.99/lb), and IMO neither are as good as this (not that I’d spend $45, much less $95/lb for any cheese). Neither the 8-year Old Quebec or 5-year Black Diamond, or any others I’ve tried, including some fancy English varieties such as Keen’s, came up to the quality of the Tillamook. Just straight extra-sharp flavor, with no funky overtones like those in the Hook’s or in many of the sharp English cheddars.
It’s so good, I’ve mainly just eaten it by itself, although I tried it in a grilled cheese today. Very good, but the bread interfered with the incredible flavor of the cheese. One thing I haven’t tried with this cheese, is to melt it on toast with a bit of Worcestershire (apparently a popular English snack). That’s next.
“(not that I’d spend $45, much less $95/lb for any cheese).“
Phew - You scared me there for a second. Although I gather some people do. Glad you found one you liked as well as the more expensive brands of cheddar.
I know. The 'monger on duty told me that they had a standing order to call a particular customer when the 15-year Hook’s came in, and the guy would regularly race over and shell out $150± for a pound and a half of cheese. Crazy. I gather that it’s far less expensive when sold by the makers locally, at their Wisconsin farmer’s market – minus the middleman’s markup. Either way, IMO it’s not great anyway – it’s just not my cup of tea.
Yup, that’s it – the one on the left. The piece I picked up didn’t have the Tillamook label on it (just the Whole Foods label), so I didn’t cite the name properly.
I hope that shows up here. I haven’t seen any, but I don’t have a Whole Foods locally. Aged cheddars are possibly my favorite category of cheese. I’ve never had any aged anywhere near that long. Never had any aged even half that long.
I generally like Tillamook products. Have some of their butter, medium cheddar, sharp cheddar, and smoked cheddar[probably my favorite smoked cheddar for burgers and sandwiches (including grilled cheese sandwiches)]in the fridge currently. I also buy their ice cream fairly often.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
7
Cheese on toast is a popular snack throughout the UK, not just the English bit of the country.
Turn it into a cheese sauce, on toast, and you have a Welsh rarebit (originally “rabbit”). If such was needed, the earliest written recipe is in Hannah Glasse’s 1747 cookbook.
Roux > bechamel > Mornay. Yes, yes, Worcestershire, Porter, mustard. Same thing as mac & cheese.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
9
In printed British records, Welsh rarebit predates the macaroni cheese. The former first appears in 1725, whilst the pasta has to wait till 1769.
By the by, you’ll often come across a version of the Welsh rarebit in northern France, where it is known as “Le Welsh”. Of course, that part of France is only 22 miles away from England so the dish might have travelled at any time but my guess is that this will have Great War connections. I’ve not tried it so don’t know how it compares with the original.
Like others I suppose, I have a tendency to speak of England as if it’s synonymous with the U.K. – I appreciate the reminder that it’s not. I do hope to visit both England and the rest of the U.K., at some point.
i’ve never had tillamook’s cheddar, but just discovered their ice cream — which is easily the best commercial ice cream i’ve ever had, as well as rivals many small shop artisanals — and very affordable at $5 for 48 ounces.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
13
It’s not something I’m precious about, although Granny Harters was Welsh.
I have multiple cultural identities, depending on the circumstance. And maybe political developments in the next few years will see one or more of the UK’s smaller nations opt to leave the union, so that England (or another name) will be appropriate.
By the by, lockdown is helping to broaden my horizons about cheese, particularly cheddar. In normal times, we visit farmers markets and that’s our usual source for cheese. That means that it’s local cheese from northwest England. But during lockdown, it’s either been mediocre supermarket cheese or finding an online supplier. We’ve gone with the latter and place an order every few weeks with this well known London cheesemonger. They stock a variety of cheddars but I’ve yet to try one that beats the often cited “best cheddar” - Montgomery Cheddar. Some other lovely different styles of cheese
Love Tillamook cheeses and their ice cream; if you ever have a chance to visit their creamery, it’s an enjoyable experience (and, I seem to recall, exits through a bountiful gift shop!).
Another PNW cheddar we’ve enjoyed is the Cougar Gold - some relatives stock up every year and then age the cans at home.
Thanks for reminding me – we have a couple of cans of that in the back of our fridge that I’d forgotten about – they’re dated Jan. 2016 so they should be pretty good by now, but I think I’ll let them go a couple more years. We had ordered a can of already-aged CG at that time and it was very tasty-- IIRC it was four or five years old when we got it.
I do hope to visit both England and the rest of the U.K., at some point.
