Say Cheese!

Last night Matt and I attended a cheese tasting class at MIT as part of MIT's Independent Activities Period. The class was taught by Ihsan Gurdal, who is the owner of Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge and the South End. We learned all about the theory and practice of good cheese and heard some funny stories about how Ihsan finds his cheeses. Then, we tasted 11 different kinds of cheese.

Following are the types of cheese we tasted and my comments, taken from my hand-written notes. The cheeses in bold text were my favorites. (BTW, I don't know why the table is displaying way down at the bottom of the post. I don't have time to figure it out now. Be sure to scroll down to read. Sorry about that!)

Name	Milk	Location	Price	Comments
St. Maure Chevrepaille	Goat	Deux Sevres, France	$15/lb	Soft & runny, a little sharp. Very runny, ripe, goopy logs. Goes well with Sauvingon Blanc. Don't spend less than $10 or more than $20 on this wine.
Tortita Las Mil Ovejas	Sheep	Extramadura, Spain	$14/lb	Good, hard, clean. Sold to Mario Batali's restaurants. I would buy this.
Bucheron	Goat	Deux Sevres, Frances	$10-12/lb	Machine made. Sharp, like herbs, semi-soft. White log.
Vermont Dandy	Sheep	Townshened, Vermont	$20-22/lb	Good, hard. Molded in a salad spinner.
Westcombe Red	Cow	Somerset, UK	$17/lb	Bright red/orange due to annato seed coloring (I thought only Americans colored their cheese!). Similar to cheddar, but not. Dry and crumbly like cheddar, but nothing outstanding.
Brie de Nagis	Cow	St. Simeon, France	$15/lb	Runny on the outside, chalky and more dry on the inside. Sharp, ripe rind. Very very good. I would buy this.
Fournols	Cow	Auvergne, France	$12/lb	Texture was soft like brie, but not runny. Bright orange washed rind. Stinky rind. Taste reminded me of meunster.
Ubriaco Durello	Cow	Verona, Italy	$18-19/lb	Wrapped in walnut leaves, then soaked in wine for 6 months. Tasted like wine! Crumbly and nutty like Parmeseano Reggiano. This was my favorite of the night and I would definitely buy this.
Pecorino Pepato Stagionato	Sheep	Pelermo, Italy	$19-20/lb	Very salty. Peppercorns throughout cheese. Hand made on small farm. Stagionato means advanced form of maturity. A little goes a long way.
Crater Lake Blue	Cow	Central Point, Oregon	$12/lb	Good, clean, blue cheese. Nice, but nothing outstanding about it.
Persille Pont Astier	Cow	Auvergne, France	$10/lb	The ugliest cheese of the night. Looked like it was covered in dust and dirt. It was! Aslo covered with mites! Don't eat the rind, whatever you do! Blue, but not injected with mold. The mold comes from the air, naturally. This cheese is sold to Emeril's restaurants.