Continue reading »]]> Price: $4.99/lb
Strength: Mild
Purchased At: Holiday Market (Canton, MI)
Would Buy Again: Yes

Back in the spring time of 2010, my family and I made a trip to Madison, Wisconsin. One of the sites I wanted to see was Fromagination, a cheese shop located near the capital in Madison. It was one of the best cheese shops I had ever been in. We bought some cheese to eat there right on the spot. We wanted some that was truly Wisconsin, so we select a Colby cheese made by Widmer’s. We found some seating just outside the shop and went to work on a deliciously cheese with an amazing texture. I thought so this is what Colby cheese is suppose to taste like.

Ever since that day I have been searching around my area to find a Colby that could match up to that experience. But that day never seemed like it was going to come. Until I was doing some shopping at Holiday Market in Canton, Michigan. To my surprise, there were two blocks of Widmer’s Colby cheese in their cheese case. I was overjoyed to find it. It was the feeling you get when you find someone around your house that you have been missing for months. I couldn’t wait to get home, and slice up some of these goodness. Again my taste buds were brought back to that warm May day in Wisconsin. I made it back to Holiday Market last month, and purchased 4 more packages. I hope they keep this cheese always in stock!

The people that make this cheese (Widmer’s) has been in the cheese making business since 1922. The company is run by Joe Widmer who is 3rd generation cheesemaker. It is located in Theresa, WI. You can visit their website for more information.

Continue reading »]]> Back at the start of this year, I discovered Guggisberg Baby Swiss. They are the ones who invented the cheese and by far are make the most superior baby swiss that I have tasted. I was sad when my source stopped carrying it a few months ago. However recently I was shopping at Vince and Joe’s Gourmet Market in Clinton Township, when I discovered another cheese (a farmers cheese) barring the Guggisberg name. I almost missed it because it didn’t have their logo on it, it was a chunk cut from a wheel. I was really excited to see and made sure to snatch it right up. I went home eagerly anticipating tasting the cheese. I have had a couple farmers cheese before and I wasn’t really impressed with them. So I was hoping that Guissberg could turn that around.

I certainly was not let down. Once again Guggisberg as made a cheese superior to another other of that type on the market. The cheese has a nice soft texture with a very pleasant but not overbearing tang to it. I was sad when the chunk was all gone (it didn’t take long to make that disappear). I look forward to going back and buying more of this cheese.

Can’t find Guggisberg Farmers cheese in your grocery store? You can order it online from their website.

Check out my review of Guggisberg Baby Swiss.

Continue reading »]]> One of the difficult things about identifying cheeses is that the same name can represent a different cheese in various regions. Today I wanted to talk about farmers cheese. So when I talk about this cheese, I am referring to the farmers cheese that I purchase here in the midwest region of the United States. This cheese is a soft, white cheese. No coloring is added. The cheese is not aged, it is ready to eat when finished. Famers cheese is similar to cottage cheese. The process to make it starts out the same, but as where the whey is keep in traditional cottage cheee making, the whey is discarded for farmers cheese, creating a solid block of cheese. Just as cottage cheese is mild so is farmers cheese. But just as with cottage cheese, farmers cheese can have some tanginess to it. The among of tang depends on the maker.

Farmers cheese is a good straight up eating cheese. It’s nice on a cracker. It’s a good choice for kids because it’s soft and not too strong. I don’t think it’s a good cooking cheese as you want something with a little more punch.

As for the shelf life, I would eat it pretty quickly after you buy it. It’s not going to last as long as an aged cheese. The cheese can be found in most grocery stores. You typically find it in the specialty cheese section, not with the standard 8 oz factory produced bar cheeses, although some companies do make a standard 8 oz farmers cheese, but it’s not all that common.

My favorite farmers cheese is made by Guggisberg. Check out my review of their cheese.

Continue reading »]]> Type: Cheddar
Price: $5.99/10 oz package
Strength: Mild
Purchased At: Meijer (Port Huron, MI)
Would Buy Again: Yes

When it comes to selecting some type of cheese for a quick easy snack, I lean towards cheese curds. These irreguarly shaped curds are easy to pop in your mouth and enjoy. They work great for trips or picnics. I bought some Maple Leaf Cheese Curds from Meijer in Port Huron, MI to take to a picnic on Lake Huron. These white curds have a great flavor and texture that just melted in your mouth. Their flavor is strong enough without being overpowering. A great choice to go with any lunch.

Maple Leaf Cheese began as a cooperative in 1910 in Monroe, Wisconsin. Second and third generation cheesemakers are still turning out quality products. I had reviewed their delicious, award winning Monterey Jack earlier this year.

For more information on their cheeses, visit their website.

Continue reading »]]> Type: Cheddar
Price: $5.99/a bar
Strength: Medium
Purchased At: Busch’s (Saline, MI)
Would Buy Again: Yes

A lot of grocery stores like to promote products made in the state the store resides in. People get excited about eating or drinking something that was made nearby. I think a lot of it has to go with supporting your state’s economy. And another part of it is state pride! One certain Michigan made product made it’s way into my grocery cart on a recent shopping trip to Busch’s – Farm Country Cheese House’s Raw Milk Cheddar. Their cheese comes in a long block, perfect for slicing into the perfect cracker size slices.

I am a fan of raw milk cheddar. For all about raw milk cheese, check out this earlier post. Not only was this cheddar made from milk that wasn’t pasteurized, this milk is also collected from the cows of Amish farmers. They make sure that each cow is hand milked, never given any antibiotics, and eats a grass diet. The result is a delicious cheddar that packs a lot of flavor. As for the sharpness of this cheese, I say it falls somewhere in the middle, it’s not too mild, not too sharp either, a great snacking cheddar.

For more about Farm Country cheeses, you can visit their website. They are located in Lakeview, Michigan just 50 miles to the northeast of Grand Rapids.

Continue reading »]]> I have always been a fan of cottage cheese. What is not to like about these little creamy curds. A long time ago I saw Alton Brown making a batch of homemade cottage cheese on an episode of Good Eats. I put that recipe on my to do list but didn’t get to it until I had a gallon of milk that was right at the door of it’s expiration date. So I decided to give it a try, because I had nothing to lose. You will find my notes from this recipe below. For the full recipe visit Food Network’s website.

1. First off I had to made some changes. So I am more following Alton’s technique than a down to the letter recipe. His recipe calls for skim milk, I had whole milk (ok so mine is going to be a little more fattening). He also called for white vinegar, I only had apple cider vinegar on hand. But nevertheless I decided to go forward with these changes.

2. You begin by heating up your gallon of milk. I used a candy thermomter, so I could see when the milk hit 120 degrees. Then I added my vinegar.

3. It was fun to stand there and stir the milk as it began to curdle right before my eyes. After a couple mintues, it was clear that I had made cheese curds. Now only to get rid of this excess liquid.

4. I used a kitchen towel over top a colander. You don’t need to buy cheesecloth. After 5 minutes, it was time to run the curds under cold water, while squeezing them inside the towel.

5. I decided to eat mine a little later, since I like my cottage cheese nice and cold. So I put it in the fridge for a couple hours. Then when it was time to eat we added a little bit of half and half until it was the right texture.

In the end I was surprised how much it made. I saw that the yield was to be 2 cups, so I thought that wouldn’t be enough. But we ended up making 4 servings out of it. And the taste and texture was different than what I was use to. There is a freshness to it, that I haven’t experienced with cottage cheese before. I will definitely do this recipe again, but I might try reducing the fat and seeing how I like it then. The apple cider vinegar works well, without giving the cottage cheese any funky tastes.

Recipe Grade: A

Continue reading »]]> Type: Bel Paese
Price: $13.99 / lb
Strength: Mild
Purchased At: Holiday Market (in Canton, Michigan)
Would Buy Again: Maybe, at a cheaper price

When it comes to eating cheese, I usually like to stay on the mild side. So I am always on the lookout for new mild cheeses to try. When I was reading Laura Werlin’s Cheese Essentials I saw Bel Paese cheese on a list of mild cheeses. I had not heard of this cheese before and wanted to give it a try. But I found it difficult to find. Finally earlier this week I was at looking at the international cheeses at Holiday Market in Canton, Michigan, and I found it. It was priced higher than I would have liked, so I ended up grabbing the smallest sample I could.

Bel Paese is a semi-soft cheese that originated in Italy. It was created by a man named Egidio Galbani. He was looking to produce a mild cheese to sell in Italy. This is a very creamy cheese made from cow’s milk. It takes two months or less to mature. As for uses it’s a great snack cheese to eat along some fruit. I found it to be a nice compliment to the Red Leicester I was serving on a cheese plate. The creamy, smooth texture and mild taste went well with the more bold, crumbly texture of Red Leicester. I also heard that people use it as they would mozzarella.

Galbani cheese makes and imports Bel Paese but is more known in the US for their fresh mozzarella and mascarpone. These are the only cheeses mentioned on their American website.

Continue reading »]]> This past winter, while traveling home from Kansas City, I got to stop at Traders Point Creamery in Zionsville, IN. The creamery is located just outside of Indianapolis. I have seen their products before at Whole Foods Market. Their motto is “Fresh, Simple, Organic, Grassfed”. As you can see from the picture on the right, these cows do indeed eat grass. I never believed in all this grass fed talk until I tasted the different myself.

The creamery produces a number of products including cream line milk (this is milk that has not been homogenized), aged cheeses, fresh cheese, and whole milk yogurt (which is drinkable). We purchased some of the cream line chocolate milk, wild berry yogurt, and raw milk cheddar. It nice being able to buy directly from the company without having to pay for the markup of the grocery store.

Since it was winter and muddy, we didn’t take any kind of tour. But there are several tour options available. We just took a short walk to see the cows. They have an empty barn that is used for a farmer’s market. We also visited the restaurant, and saw the room where they store their cheese to age. You can also watch through the window as they bottle their milk and yogurt.

Traders Point Creamery is a fun place to visit, great for the kids. I wish there was better conditions when we where there. But we still got to enjoy their wonderful dairy products. I hope to be able to return someday to get more of the experience. The farm and store are located at 9101 Moore Road, Zionsville, Indiana 46077. Their phone number is (317) 733-1700. Click here for their website. The store is open daily from 9am to 6pm. Click here for more information on their Loft Resturant.

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Continue reading »]]> Type: Baby Swiss
Price: $3.99 / lb
Strength: Mild
Purchased At: Trader Joe’s (in Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Would Buy Again: Yes

In the past I use to shy away from any cheese with the word swiss in it. Until I discovered baby swiss, which is a more gentle version of traditional swiss. Last week, I was looking for some cheese to go along with some homemade crackers I was bringing to a church gathering. I decided to stop into Trader Joe’s as they have cheeses that are cheap in price but not in flavor. I picked up their raw milk cheddar and decided to give their baby swiss a try. I felt the contrast in flavors of the two cheeses would work well.

Trader Joe’s Baby Swiss is probably the most mild of all the baby swiss I have had. But that isn’t a bad thing. I liked this cheese. It’s not as good as the baby swiss made by the company that invented it Guggisberg, but it’s a nice alternative and the best one not labeled Guggisberg.

Continue reading »]]> For some reason for years, cauliflower never appeared in my home. I always though of cauliflower as being inferior to it’s cousin broccoli. So I never bothered to do anything with it. Finally yesterday I cooked with fresh cauliflower for the first time. I decided to do so after watching a new episode of Good Eats entitled “Caul of the Flower“. The first recipe I choose to do off the show was his Cauliflower Say Cheese. Below you will find my cooking notes from this recipe. For the full recipe, visit Food Network’s website.

1. The first step is to start cooking the cauliflower in the microwave in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. I was out of plastic wrap, so I just used a bowl with a microwave safe lid.

2. The curds should easily come off the larger florets, by rubbing it in between your hands. If it doesn’t come off easily, you need to cook your cauliflower a little more. Every microwave is different, so 4 minutes for Alton, may not be long enough for you (it wasn’t for me).

3. The recipe calls for homemade bread crumbs, but Alton said you could use panko (Japanese bread crumbs) instead. So that is what I did. I also didn’t have smoked paprika, so I just used what paprika I did have one hand.

4. As for the cheese I used a sharp New Zealand white cheddar that I purchased at Whole Foods Market.

5. I baked the cauliflower for the 20 minutes and it came out nice and golden. As instructed I added the additional cheese and put it under the broiler. You need to watch it carefully at this point. Alton said 6-8 minutes for this, but after only 3 minutes, my cheese was brown enough, any longer it would have burned. Just as the microwave, every oven is different, so use your best judgment.

My wife really liked this recipe. It was cheesy, but not too cheesy. It was spicy, but not too spicy. The cauliflower taste was not overwhelmed by either. This is a dish she wants me to do again.

Recipe Grade: B+