food discovery

[Arch]

You should definitely do something about that. Oysters are amazing.

Yeah, hmmm, I fear the texture will be the issue...

Salty snot

Exactly! I know you're supposed to just swallow them, but I'm not good at that, I struggle with a paracetamol.

NT likes them, so one day when we find ourselves somewhere where we can get them cheap, we'll give it a try, and if I can't cope, he'll have them.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Salty snot

Absolutely. No more talk of Oysters on this food conniseurs thread ....

 

[Andy_R]

Is that similar to the grub cheese I tried in Corsica? Much tastier than Stilton any day!

Although I didn't know whether to chew it very thoroughly or not at all and I was grateful for the eau de vie chaser....

'tis the same stuff essentially. Pecorino cheese left in the open for flies to lay their eggs in. Wee maggoty b*ggers the eat the cheese and pass it through. What's left is like a fermented cheese...stinks like a stinky thing that's been dead for too long in a hot room, but tastes amazing.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Also, whoever thought of putting bits of fruit or what not in to cheese should be shot. Stilton and cranberries??? Its wrong.
.

Well here's the deal, Stilton is hugely complex in terms of both it's microbiology and chemistry. Nobody really knows the exact conditions required to make consistently good Stilton, Only around half of all that's made is considered perfect A-grade and the rest is blended with fruit or used for sauces or adding to soups, ready made sandwiches etc.

Great website here: Watch the video of how it's made!
http://www.stiltoncheese.co.uk/

I've been in the large maturation room shown, it's pure heaven.

 

[Doseone]

Well here's the deal, Stilton is hugely complex in terms of both it's microbiology and chemistry. Nobody really knows the exact conditions required to make consistently good Stilton, Only around half of all that's made is considered perfect A-grade and the rest is blended with fruit or used for sauces or adding to soups, ready made sandwiches etc.

Great website here: Watch the video of how it's made!
http://www.stiltoncheese.co.uk/

I've been in the large maturation room shown, it's pure heaven.

Thanks - I just watched the video, it's really good. What a labour intensive process with so much of it done by hand.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Forget whether you like it or not, I do; but, how did you go 44 years without hearing about it, have you been a hermit living in a small cave somewhere?

wuh????????????????????? where do you get the notion I've never heard of it.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Thanks - I just watched the video, it's really good. What a labour intensive process with so much of it done by hand.

Smaller creameries are more traditional and labour based, the bigger ones are more automated, but the process is essentially exactly the same. In days of yore, each creamery harboured it's own particular microbial flora which helped produce the character of diferent creameries. In these days of increased sanitation this is less so, but the maturation rooms are all unique.

 

[Doseone]

Smaller creameries are more traditional and labour based, the bigger ones are more automated, but the process is essentially exactly the same. In days of yore, each creamery harboured it's own particular microbial flora which helped produce the character of diferent creameries. In these days of increased sanitation this is less so, but the maturation rooms are all unique.

I couldn't help wondering whether the French would bother pasteurising the milk. Is the pasteurising done for flavour or food safety reasons?

 

[ceepeebee]

Much nicer if you take it out of the fridge half an hour before consuming.

When I was in the states I was given what I was told was a popular sarnie, it was blue cheese, BBQ sauce and hot sauce. It was like eating hot sick.

When that concoction gets put on fries it's what's known as a hot mess. Get it wrong and it's an abomination. Get it right and it's amazing. The hit rate seems to be low, but I do find myself chasing the good versions.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Good luck with the cheese.

I'm lactose intolerant so won't be trying any in the near future. It's like having a hole in you life - I'm surrounded by a world of things with cheese in them and can't try them!

 

[Fab Foodie]

I couldn't help wondering whether the French would bother pasteurising the milk. Is the pasteurising done for flavour or food safety reasons?

A lot of French cheese is also made from pasteurised milk these days. A major reason is food safety, but also 'standardises' and stabilises the quality of the milk before processing and that leads to a more consistent final product.

 

[Poacher]

Stichelton is rather fine. It's like Stilton used to be before the creameries succumbed to scare campaigns and decided only to use pasteurised milk. Since Stichelton is made from raw milk, they're not allowed into the Stilton manufacturers' group. FWIW I consider Colston Bassett to be the pick of the bunch. Their dairy shop is within an easy bike ride for me - the cheese is cheaper than almost anywhere else, and always in peak condition, but the opening hours are rather restrictive.

 

[ArDee]

wuh????????????????????? where do you get the notion I've never heard of it.

Sorry Misread your original post.

 

[EltonFrog]

Me, like cheese, in every manifestation that I have tried thus far, my personal fave is a very strong gum burning cheddar.

What I can not tolerate, is marzipan, it is, as far as I'm concerned the Devils own toe jam. And escargot, which is the very visible personification of dog snot, it has the texture of a punture repair patch and tastes similar.

 

[User169]

Smaller creameries are more traditional and labour based, the bigger ones are more automated, but the process is essentially exactly the same. In days of yore, each creamery harboured it's own particular microbial flora which helped produce the character of diferent creameries. In these days of increased sanitation this is less so, but the maturation rooms are all unique.

I find this really fascinating - terroir in cheesemaking. It's a bit like lambic brewing where they leave the wort open overnight and subsequent fermentation is by whatever bugs happen to drop in...