Stuffed Cheeses: Delicious or Disgusting?
One of the most common food themes is stuffing delicious cheese into something else equally delicious (such as filo dough stuffed with feta cheese). These dishes play with texture and flavor in a satisfying way. But whose idea was it to turn this notion on its head and stuff delicious things right into the cheese itself?
The most egregious example here is Sottocenere al Tartufo, an otherwise bland, white cow's milk cheese from Italy, studded with black truffles. Truffles, of course, have an amazing flavor, but why chop them up finely and embed them in an unmemorable cheese?
Pecorino Tartufo is a slight step up, but I would still prefer eating the truffles and cheese separately. Why is the cheese in Sottocenere bland? Because making the cheese any more pungent would risk masking the flavor of the truffles—another case in point that the two should be separated.
Pepper Jack, a version of Monterey Jack riddled with jalapeño peppers. It's not awful, but again, why are we mixing the two? Is it that difficult to put a slice of Jack cheese on a sandwich along with some pickled or fresh jalapeños? Like Sottocenere, the base is a mild white cheese, because anything stronger would clash with the jalapeños. There are bound to be people who advocate for pepper jack on their burgers, but apart from the convenience of combining two ingredients in one, I don't understand what this particular cheese adds.
The most Frankensteinian example of cheese stuffed with something else I've ever seen was a pineapple-stuffed cheese. I can't remember the name—maybe it didn't even have a name—but, for lack of a better term, let's call it the Pineapple-Cheese Snowman. The cheese itself had the texture of a less-crumbly farmer cheese, throughout which were embedded chunks of pineapple (dried, canned, fresh—who knows?). Separately, each component is tasty. Farmer cheese? Delicious. Pineapples? Can't get enough. Mush them together into some kind of monstrous Sottocenere, and package and sell it to the unsuspecting public? What were they thinking?
But enough of my ranting. How do you feel about stuffed cheeses? Ingenious? Gross? Just plain strange? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
About the author: Jamie Forrest publishes Curdnerds.com from his apartment in Brooklyn, New York, where he lives with his wife, his daughter, and his cheese.
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26 Comments:
Hmmm well I am a cheese lover.
I like lots of items stuffed with cheeses: like a mushroom neptune (the standard cream cheese goes nice with crab meat), stuffed crust pizza (a guilty and rare pleasure of mine), I've also had a roasted pear stuffed with brie cheese once that was an interesting combnation...
I think what really bothers me is when I get those stuffed jalepeneos that have really really REALLY gross fake tasting cheese in them. I feel like I'm eating a pepepr stuffed with flavoured flour rue or something.
I am okay with it as long as there is some thought put in with quality ingredients!
hungrychristel at 11:53AM on 07/22/08
I like pepperjack because I don't like things that are too spicy... it was one of my first steps into the world of spicy. Aside from that one, the others seem a bit offensive. Although perhaps the truffles thing is for people who can't afford to buy truffles to mix with their cheese on their own? Is it even more expensive? Hmm.
feistyfoodie at 12:05PM on 07/22/08
I've love many stuffed with cheese (and typically some other ingredients) dishes, but haven't encountered a stuffed cheese, per se. I guess you could cut a pocket in brie and fill it with jam and it wouldn't be any different, but I'm not so sure about some others. If it's not a great cheese, who would want it, even with truffles or lobster inside?
PerkyMac at 12:07PM on 07/22/08
I love cheese so much I want to marry it when I grow up.
I've got my eye on this guy in particular: burrata. Mozzarella stuffed with more mozzarella ... and cream.
The line between want and need is indistinguishable.
jeninewsbite at 12:10PM on 07/22/08
I think sometimes a stuffed cheese can be okay! I remember long ago eating a cheese that had mustard seeds in it and it was pretty awesome!
mikaque at 12:10PM on 07/22/08
Stilton + cranberry = win. Also: cranberry + goat cheese = awesome on baked goods.
Trader Joe's sells both at certain times of the year. I find stuffed cheeses are great cheese to take to a party -- easy to transport, unwrap, and pop onto a plate. That plus some crackers, and you have an instant appetizer without much fuss.
Pepperjack is a matter of convenience. Also, the jalapenos in pepperjack don't taste of vinegar to me. They have a pleasantly cooked texture. When I want some spice on my burger without resorting to vinegary Tobasco, I reach for pepperjack.
Finally: you can make some awesome dips with pepperjack, and again -- matter of convenience. My 80-and-change grandma loves her some pepperjack, and I can't blame her. It really perks up sandwiches.
onalark at 12:16PM on 07/22/08
I like to go the other way and stuff my jalapenos with cream cheese and wrap with a strip of thin sliced bacon and on the smoker....good stuff...ed
Markbb at 12:19PM on 07/22/08
I used to be a fan of pepperjack, but then I discovered cheddar with habanero, and that was it for me. I will say though, it is definitely a matter of convenience on that one.
I had wanted to try burrata for so long, that when we finally got some, I was let down. Eh. But I'm not a huge fan of cream or mozzarella either (gasp! Yes, I know), so my opinion is biased.
tkln at 12:32PM on 07/22/08
I LOVE pineapple cheese!! It is delish. It is sweet and yet dry - does that make sense.
http://organicandnaturalmom.blogspot.com/
love2cook at 1:05PM on 07/22/08
Overall, I'm not a fan of buying things mixed that are easily mixable at home. Like yogurts. Today I might want some with strawberries or pineapple, and tomorrow I might make some tzaiziki sauce and the next day I might use it in a salad dressing. I can do all that with plain yogurt and everyday ingredients, and I don't need to buy multiple versions of yogurt.
If, however, one of the ingredients is hard to come buy, out of season, or I don't want to buy the quantity that it comes packaged in just for a little mix-in, then the mix-ins might make sense.
Also, if the mixing-in isn't easy, buying the mixed thing might make sense. Mixing chives with cream cheese is easy, but mixing bits of pepper with a harder cheese isn't really doable. If slices of cheese, plus bits of pepper, are fine for the intended application, I'd go that way. But if I wanted to serve cheese slices (or chunks, cubes, whatever) on a plate, the pre-mixed cheese would make a whole lot more sense.
Truffles are not common around here. So I might buy that cheese. Maybe. I'd probably ask for a sample first, to decide if I liked it.
dbcurrie at 1:12PM on 07/22/08
There's at least one other truffled cheese out there that I love (can't remember the name). There's no way I can afford to buy truffles, but this cheese makes the most spectacular spaghetti when grated finely and mixed with the pasta and some egg. The fats in the cheese absorb and spread the truffle flavor throughout the dish, melting into the egg to coat the pasta in a sauce mild enough that the truffle flavor is pronounced but not overwhelming. Like flour or rice in which truffles have been packed, such cheeses provide a medium for truffle flavor, and thus the cheese should be mild. I don't like these cheese for eating plain, but when used in cooked dishes they are quite good.
thatgrrl at 1:28PM on 07/22/08
I'm a fan of all kinds of pepper cheeses and the peppers don't even have to be spicy. There is just something wonderful about how the flavors blend together so well. Eating slices of peppers and cheese together is great but the taste and texture just isn't the same. Lacks balance. Just like how eating a square of chocolate and an almond isn't the same as eating a chocolate bar with chunks of almonds mixed in.
There is a shop near me that sells a semi-soft cow's milk cheese that almost borders on the pungency of some goat cheeses and it is mixed with mild red chile peppers. Delicious. They sell another cheese that is the same but mixed with oregano that I want to try but they're always out of stock.
Asado at 1:48PM on 07/22/08
Whose idea was it? Well, there are two traditional stuffed cheeses I can think of off the top of my head from recent travels -- one in Curacao and one in the Yucatan of Mexico. They are obviously influenced by the Dutch sailors from the days of yore, but they have become key dishes of their respective local cuisines.
Keshi Yena, from Curacao: Stuffed (hollowed-out) Edam cheese with ground beef or shredded chicken, tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell pepper, olives, capers, parsley, chiles, raisins, and eggs.
Queso Relleno, from the Yucatan: hollowed-out Edam or Gouda cheese stuffed with spicy minced pork or beef, mixed with raisins, olives, almonds, and spices, then steamed until the stuffing is runny. Served in slices with a cream sauce.
jayevee at 1:56PM on 07/22/08
I love stiltons with fruit-- mango-ginger stilton, strawberry stilton. Yum.
anadequatenovel at 2:20PM on 07/22/08
I recently had an amazing goat cheese that was stuffed with roasted garlic and wrapped in a grape leaf. I couldn't really taste the grape leaf, but the garlic flavor was infused throughout the cheese and it was delicious.
Shevaun at 3:30PM on 07/22/08
I don't buy too many "stuffed" cheeses, but I do really love Cotswold cheese and I don't think it'd be the same without the chives!
LizNYC at 3:37PM on 07/22/08
I love white stilton with lemon peel. Alone it is an interesting, if slightly weird, combo but paired with an acidic, citrusy sauvignon blanc it is truly wonderful.
http://chaosinthekitchen.com/2008/07/kim-crawford/
Chaos at 4:25PM on 07/22/08
Here's an amazing combination; fresh goat cheese piped into peppedew peppers from South Africa.
Also Gorgonzola Dolce stuffed into figs and put under the broiler for a few minutes.
tjcostello at 4:48PM on 07/22/08
Gross! I hate the cheeses flavored with truffle shavings! I think a good cheese should be able to stand on its own without gimicky flavorings.
gillsnthrills at 1:36AM on 07/23/08
I once saw Swiss with bits of rye in it and that kind of peaked my interest. That's all it did for me.
JacquelineS at 7:28PM on 07/23/08
plain cheese for me, please.
once in paris my friends and i bought a cheese that had been soaked in calvados. we had a very light dinner in anticipation of this amazing treat {actually i thought it sounded really yucky, but i felt too unsophisticated to say so, since my friends were either europeans or americans living in paris and were anxious to try it}. it was so inedible that i stopped after the first bite and my friends gave up soon after.
cybercita at 10:35PM on 07/23/08
Somerdale's Harlech a Welsh Cheddar with Horseradish and Parsley is an augument in itself for the merits of stuffed cheese. Cheddar and Horseradish go well together. This cheese is great with ale.
wideawake at 4:48AM on 07/24/08
A few things:
1. These sounds amazing!
Keshi Yena, from Curacao: Stuffed (hollowed-out) Edam cheese with ground beef or shredded chicken, tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell pepper, olives, capers, parsley, chiles, raisins, and eggs.
Queso Relleno, from the Yucatan: hollowed-out Edam or Gouda cheese stuffed with spicy minced pork or beef, mixed with raisins, olives, almonds, and spices, then steamed until the stuffing is runny. Served in slices with a cream sauce.
2. I think there has been some confusion re "stuffed cheese". As far as I know, the delicious goat cheese-cranberry combination at TJ's is not as much a "stuffed cheese" as a composition of the two.
3. pineapple bits + cheese = gross
avideater at 2:32PM on 07/24/08
@chaos -- i love that too! i went to a cheese tasting where they served it on the carrs whole wheat crackers and it was absolutely DELICIOUS!
megannesta at 4:06PM on 07/24/08
cheeses stuffed/mixed with nuts, fruit, garlic, or peppers is always a good thing.
cambriana at 8:17PM on 07/24/08
I've just got one one word for you -- BURRATA -- Cheese stuffed with cheese! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
aspenlilypride at 8:14PM on 07/31/08