Our friend had some people around for a cheese tasting! He had been to Holland, and brought back some really nice Dutch cheese for us to try. What a better opportunity to have a cheese tasting party (with a little wine, of course)!
Before this party, I had no idea there was an art to cheese tasting. I always just bought the “budget cheeses” in the store because that’s what I can afford. I never put much thought into it. Except I will probably never buy American again (living outside the US has ruined me for American cheese thankfully!).
At this cheese tasting party, we had to take notes on the different cheeses we tried. Our friend gave us sheets to do this, and once we were done with each round, we would share our observations and thoughts on the cheeses we tried. We began with the budget cheese, comparing the different types of cheddar from different supermarkets. We then moved on the the “guest cheeses” which were cheeses that people had brought on their own. Then we got the fancy gourmet cheeses! Oh, those were so good! :) I would never eat a ton of them though, they are so rich!
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| Slicing cheeses to try… |
While trying the different cheeses, we had to describe and record several things, while being as creative as possible:
We observed the colour, smell, flavour, taste, and the texture of the cheese. When we tasted each cheese, we could follow with a sip of water or wine to cleanse our palates before trying the next piece. The wine was saved for the nice cheeses!
We also could not take a slice that was too thick otherwise it couldn’t “dissolve” on our tongues as we were tasting the cheese. I enjoyed getting to hear everyone’s creative descriptions of the cheeses. Especially if there was a cheese that someone didn’t like. :) One cheese I tried was a really spicy cheese that took me quite awhile to get the spice off my tongue!
Cheese tasting: It’s definitely a cultural experience that everyone should try once in their life.
