Entries from Serious Eats tagged with 'Gouda'

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Upgrade Your Cheese

Like wine, olive oil, and lots of other serious eats, there are so many varieties of cheese in the world that it is often all one can do to find just one that they really like. And despite one's best efforts to branch out and discover new tastes, often the risk of veering off course is too high (especially with the current wave of rising food prices) and we end up sticking with what we know. If you feel like you're in a cheese rut, here are some easy upgrades that will get you going again.

Upgrade Cheddar to Lincolnshire Poacher

There's Cheddar, the cheese, and Cheddar, the place, but there's also cheddar, the verb, which refers to the back-breaking process of cutting and stacking blocks of curds during manufacture. This process aids in the draining and acidification of the cheese and is what gives cheddar its unique tangy flavor and crumbly texture. A similar process is used to make the delicious English cheese Lincolnshire Poacher, but the latter is fruitier and nuttier than most cheddars, making it a worthy next step if you enjoy Cabot Extra Sharp and the like. More upgrades, after the jump!

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The World's Largest Cheese Wheel

worldslargestwheelofcheese.jpg

I'd heard that the World's Largest Wheel of Cheese was going to be on display at Grand Central Station here in New York but decided I was too buzy/lazy to go check it out myself, but my friend Ranjit went yesterday and took this photo. The 1,323 pound wheel is a Gouda made by Beemster in the Netherlands last July and its trip to New York was sponsored by local heroes Murray's Cheese.

It looks fantastic and Ranjit said Beemster's cheese is delicious (he had a slice from a smaller wheel) but I have to admit I'm kind of disappointed by the size of it. A six foot wide cheese is not something to sneer at, to be sure, but I figured something that would hold such an impressive title would be far bigger—say, the size of the trampolines put up outside burning buildings, or an above-ground backyard pool?

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