All from Calvert-Woodley, all on sale, and with some Citterio proscuitto also!
Pt Reyes Blue
milk: cow
loc: California
Yes, we still have some of the Pt. Reyes Blue left(!).
Caerphilly
milk: cow
loc: England (Wales)
Caerphilly cheese is a hard cheese that originates in the area around the town of Caerphilly in Wales, although now also made in England, particularly in the South West, on the border with Wales. It was not originally made in Caerphilly, but was sold at market there, hence taking the town’s name.
It is a light-coloured (almost white) crumbly cheese made from cows’ milk, and generally has a fat content of around 48%.
Carephilly has a mild taste, but perhaps its most noticeable feature is its saltiness. It is rumoured that the cheese was developed over time to provide the miners with a convenient way of replenishing the salt lost through hard work underground and so was a staple of the diet of the coal-miners.
Caerphilly was one of the many cheeses mentioned in the “Cheese Shop” sketch from Monty Python in the 1970s.
at, na: good; wt, ms: very good
Gruyere (AoC)
milk: unpasteurized cow
loc: Switzerland
Gruyère is a hard yellow cheese made from cow’s milk, named after the town of Gruyères in Switzerland, and made in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne. Before 2001, when Gruyère gained Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée status as a Swiss cheese, some controversy existed whether French and Transylvanian cheeses of a similar nature could also be labeled Gruyère. (French Gruyère-style cheeses include Comté and Beaufort.) Gruyère is sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age. It is often described as creamy and nutty when young, becoming with age more assertive, earthy, and complex. When fully aged (five months to a year) it tends to have small holes and cracks which impart a slightly grainy mouthfeel.
at, ms, na, wt: good