One of the things I like to do on this website is carefully monitor what people are searching for and try to provide the specific information they requested. Today, I had a search for where to find brick cheese in Michigan. In case you don’t know what brick cheese is, check out my earlier post on it. I recently took a trip to Wisconsin and brick cheese could easily be found at all the cheese places I visited. But I do not find the same to be said in Michigan. I prefer to use brick cheese over mozzarella on my pizzas (it is more flavorful), so I tried to find it whenever I can. The brick cheese I had in Wisconsin was superior to anything I have been able to find in Michigan so far. Below is a list of the places I have bought brick cheese from before. As I discover more, I will add them to the list.

Where to Buy Brick Cheese in Michigan
Horrock’s (locations in Battle Creek and Lansing)
Holiday Market (Royal Oak, MI)
Vince & Joe’s Gourmet Market (Shelby Township, MI)
Hiller’s (found under the Yoder’s brand, at least in Ann Arbor, but should be in their other locations as well)

**NOTE** Zingerman’s Creamery in Ann Arbor sells a cheese called Detroit Street Brick. This is NOT the traditional brick cheese. This is a goat cheese that contains green peppercorns.

Grass fed products have been all the talk in the food industry in recent years. At first I didn’t really buy into. I thought why would it matter what the cow ate. Well when I had Grass Point Farms Mild Cheddar Cheese for the first time, I discovered why it matters. Grass Point Farms (out of Wisconsin) makes their cheese from milk from cows that are grass fed. Not only does this produce a better tasting, more creamy (in my opinion) cheese, it also has increased health benefits. The cheese contains naturally occurring omega 3s and CLAs. Best of all, it’s packed full of flavor and is all a mild cheddar should be.

Grass Points Farms do their best to raise their animals the proper way. They are certified pasture, which means they “meet the third party certified Grass Point Animal Compassionate and Grass Fed Program Standards, which require nutritious pasture diet without antibiotics or hormones; Animals are raised humanely in conditions that support natural animal behavior.

I have found Grass Point Farms cheese at Whole Foods stores. If you visit their website you can fill out a form to receive a coupon. Whole Foods also has it on sale from time to time for $3.99 a pound, which is a steal.

The answer I am going to give you today of what muenster cheese is, will differ from what a European might give. Do not confuse European style ” Munster” (notice the spelling), with that made in the United States. I have been told the US version is inferior to what is called Munster. But I still believe the American style Muenster can be a treat for the taste buds.

Now taking what I said into consideration, muenster is a soft, washed-rind cheese. It is easy to spot because the interior is white and the outside contains an orange coloring. Once you have seen one slice of muenster it will be easy for you to spot any other brand. Since muenster is a soft cheese is good for melting on a grilled cheese sandwich or a cheeseburger. Most varieties are pretty mild in flavor, so they don’t work as well for cheese sauces, where you will want a sharp cheese since your mixing it with milk. It’s a nice cheese to serve along with your favorite crackers. My 2 year old daughter likes it, so I will say that’s good for kids too.

Now onto a question that I get a lot. Can you eat the orange part on the outside of the muenster? And the answer to that is yes, it is completely edible. Keep in mind I am talking about the American style, I cannot speak for the European muenster.

There is nothing better than good cheddar. The people at Cabot know this. Their Vermont Sharp Cheddar makes for a great cheese for shredding for that next serving of macaroni & cheese. It has the sharpness you want for a mac & cheese and comes at the right price. It can be found in a 2 pound block at Sam’s Club. And if you are into eating sharp cheeses this one can be easily sliced and enjoyed with along side your favorite crackers. The cheese is very light in color.

Cabot began in the dairy business in 1919, when farmers came together to start a creamery. Their location in Vermont, gave them the ability to ship their products to the big urban centers to the south, which helped them to grow into the company they are today.

Where to Buy
Sam’s Club

If you shop at any grocery store in America, you are sure to find a block of Colby cheese somewhere in the store. So what is Colby cheese all about? First, it is named after the town in which it was first created, Colby, Wisconsin. It is very similar to cheddar cheese, but it does not undergo the cheddaring process. It is made in much the same way that Monterrey Jack cheese is made. You often find Colby and Monterrey jack, swirled together in a mixture known as colby-jack or co-jack.

Colby is all about enjoying with your favorite cracker or other snack. It is mild in flavor, so it is not strong enough to use in cooking applications. There are two reasons why it is mild cheese. First, the whey is replaced by water in the process of making the cheese. This reduces the overall acidity of the final product. Second, colby doesn’t age like cheddar does. Cheddar gets sharper or strong tasting with age, while colby dries out and really just gets bad with age. Because of this you will not find a raw milk version in this country as all cheeses made with raw milk (unpasteurized) cannot be sold until they are 60 days old and the Colby would not hold up well in the amount of time.

Next time your at the local mega mart, do some exploring. Don’t just settle for the Kraft brand or store brand colby, see what else is out there. I picked up a circle piece of colby at Nino Salvaggio in Clinton Township, Michigan that has an excellent flavor.

I recently purchased a small block of Murry Bridge Sharp Cheddar cheese at Whole Foods in Ann Arbor, MI (it should be available at other Whole Foods stores). This cheese was imported from Australia, so of course the company had to throw a koala bear onto their package. This cheese has been aged for a minimum of 9 months. You would think with the sharpness of this cheese, it would have been aged quite a bit longer. It is a very sharp white-colored cheddar. It has a hint of nuttiness to it. I am sure it would serve well along with our foods like a sandwich, hamburger, or mac & cheese.

I could not find any information about the company that makes this cheese. I did find out that Murray Bridge is a city in southern Australia. It is a small city of only 14,000 people.

Dublin is the largest city in Ireland. It is also it’s capital. Over half a million people call it home and it’s one of the fastest growing cities in all of Europe. So naturally why not name a cheese after it. That is what the people at Kerrygold did with their Dubliner cheese. The package let us know that Dubliner is an “aged cheese with a distinctive taste and a natural hint of sweetness”. It is a hard cheese, similar to cheddar in texture. I found a 7 oz bar of it on sale just in time for St. Patrick’s Day at Busch’s in Saline, Michigan. It will be a great choice to serve your guests as your prepare to bring the St. Patrick’s Day feast to the table. As with all Kerrygold products, the milk that made this cheese comes from cows that eat a grass diet, which produces an excellent tasting milk.

Dubliner cheese has a bold flavor that will work in many recipes. If you are looking for some recipes for dubliner cheese are a few directly from Kerrygold.
Dubliner Cheese Steak with Grilled Vegetable Top Hats
Dubliner Chicken with Pasta, Pancetta and Arugula
Dubliner Stuffed Chicken Breast

If you are looking for a cheese with some history behind it, then this is the cheese. Kerrygold Blarney Castle Cheese is named after Blarney Castle in Ireland. Blarney Castle was first built sometime before 1200 AD. A stone fortification was built in 1210. The castle was destroyed but rebuilt in 1446. The castle was built to protect the herds in a fertile land. Today, the castle is a popular tourist spot. The Blarney stone is there. People come to kiss the stone in hopes of getting the “gift of gab”. Imagine the germs on that stone!

Now onto the cheese. The cheese resembles Gouda. It is smooth and creamy. It is mild in taste. I purchased my 7 oz block from Busch’s in Saline, Michigan. As with all Kerrygold products, this cheese is made from milk from cows who are grass fed.

Since today is St. Patrick’s Day, we are looking at products from Ireland. Next up, is Kilaree cheddar cheese from the good people at Kerrygold. I picked up this cheese on sale at Whole Foods in Ann Arbor, MI. The outside of the package let us know that this cheese has been aged a minimum of 15 months. I could not find much out about the history or name of the cheese. Is Kilaree a place or a person? I do know that as with all Kerrygold products, the milk is from grass-fed cows. As for the flavor of the cheese it is sharp and rich. Whole Foods claims that it is a perfect cheese to go along with a corned beef sandwich.

I recently got the chance to try an extra mature farmhouse cheddar from a West Country farm, North Downs Dairy Company. West Country is a small group of farmers based in England. You cannot be a West Country Farmhouse cheddar unless you are produced in one of 4 counties in southwest England. This cheese falls under a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) (you find the PDO logo on the package). So if you see the West Country name you know exactly where your cheese is coming from.

One of the unique things about this cheese is that it is made by hand. It has been aged for over a year to give it a fulltaste. Indeed the taste was strong. It had a certain nuttiness to it and an aftertaste that will keep it’s flavor in your mouth long after you swallowed the last bite. I am not a fan of really sharp cheese, so the reason I actually bought this cheese is because I thought it would go well in macaroni & cheese. And sure enough it made some really good macaroni & cheese that had some really character to it. Click here for my recipe for macaroni & cheese.

The ingredients of this cheese were simple, just pasteurized cow’s milk, salt, starter cultures, and vegetarian rennet.
Fore more information visit their website at : http://www.farmhousecheesemakers.com/