Editor’s note: This week we kick off our series on great value cheeses and Certified Cheese Professional contributor David Phillips chooses some gems from Wisconsin, Georgia and Spain. While prices may vary, we are generally focusing on selections that are in $20 and below price range.
Queso Mahon Menorca: What did you call me?
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It might be that fans of Queso Mahon Menorca are introverts. Mahon has been in the case at our Chicago store nearly 24/7 for five-plus years, but I’m hard pressed to recall a single customer asking for it with exclamation points. They just buy it, perhaps when I am not looking.
Mahon is a protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese made only from cow’s milk and only on the Mediterranean Island of Menorca, a Spanish territory. It shares its name with the capitol city. According to researchers, similar cheeses have been made there for 4,000 to 5,000 years.
Like many cheeses of the region, Mahon is available in a spectrum of ages. The cheeses we see in the U.S. are aged 4 to 12 months. Its orange rind is probably achieved with annatto, but traditionally, Mahon has been rubbed with oils and/or paprika. Its soft, pale paste has a pleasing mild flavor and aroma, and tiny “eyes” or opening. I get a bit of a buttermilk tanginess, and a rich mouth feel, and Mahon melts easily. Read more about designation of origin cheeses.
Thomasville Tomme: A Tomme from Home
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A few miles from Georgia/Florida border lies the town of Thomasville, where Sweet Grass Dairy transforms its rich, raw Jersey Cow milk into an outstanding semi-firm cheese. Inspired by the rustic cheeses made for centuries in the French Pyrenees, Thomasville Tomme is the family-owned creamery’s most serious and most award-winning cheese.
A thin, natural rind surrounds a golden paste, and the size, shape and texture bring to mind Spanish cheeses like Manchego and Queso Iberico. A creamy texture yields tangy, earthy flavors, with a lingering finish. Tomme is the the base cheese for Sweet Grass Pimento Cheese, which is among the most authentic and delicious pimento cheese you will find in a package.
Carr Valley Bread Cheese: It Really Doesn’t Melt
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As with different children, different cheeses behave differently. For instance—soft, high-moisture cheeses melt more easily and evenly than hard, dry cheeses. And then, some cheeses are made in such a way that they really do not melt at all. Because they do NOT melt, they have different uses from good melting cheeses. What’s cool about them is that when grilled or fried, they hold their shape, and turn crispy and toasty on the outside while becoming warm, slightly softer, and squeaky inside.
Among the non-melty cheeses are those of the Bread Cheese line from Carr Valley Cheese Company, La Valle, Wis. Inspired by a Finnish cheese called Juustoleipa, Bread Cheese is sold in 6 oz exact weight, 10 oz random weight, and 1.5 oz snack sticks. The entire block (or a portion), can be heated on a grill, or in a skillet, and included in a pasta dish or a stir-fry. The Carr Valley line offers numerous flavors, including bacon, jalapeno, and garlic, plus a goat’s milk version and a 2-ounce snack size.