57. Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold
I have to admit that I mistakenly called Fiscalini San Joaquin a Spanish cheese right up until I googled it a few minutes ago. Fiscalini sounds like an Italian accountant but is Fiscalini Farms in Modesto, California and the saint name comes from the San Joachin Valley in central California.
The cheese is wonderful with a buttery baked potato color and gratable firm texture. The flavor resembles the grana cheese like parmesan but hints of the softer fontina.
Name: Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold
Type of Milk: Cow, Unpasteurized
Type: hard
Produced in: United States
Date Purchased: 12/22/2006
Date Eaten: 12/23/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Raleigh, Whole Foods
Price: $14.99/lb.
January 15, 2007
73. Jarlsberg
Can a Swiss cheese be made outside Switzerland, say, in Norway? (I won't even ask about France.) If the answer is no, Jarlsberg is as close as you can get, looking and tasting like a member of the Emmentaler family . As great cheeses go, Jarlsberg is pretty simple, but it still blows the flavor socks of most grocery store varieties of "swiss" cheese like Kraft and Sargento. Slice it for bread or melt it over anything you want au gratin.
Name: Jarlsberg
Type of Milk: cow's, pasteurized
Type: semi-hard
Produced in: Norway
Date Purchased: 12/27/2006
Date Eaten: 12/31/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $7.99/lb.