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This page contains an archive of all entries posted to 365 Cheeses in the T category. They are listed from oldest to newest.
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© 2008 Kirk Samuels
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T Archives
Lancashire is called the "best toasting cheese in the world". It melts easily without dissolving into a pool of oil and curd. Its melting quality make it the traditional choice for Welsh rabbit, which to us Americans is simply melted cheese on toast. We can use it for grilled cheese to great results. It is similar to white cheddar in appearance a taste. The piece I bought was crumbly but not overly dry. The flavor was cheddary with fresh dairy flavors. A good cheese.
Name: Trotterhill Lancashire
Type of Milk: Cow, Pasteurized
Type: semi-hard
Produced in: England, Lancashire, Inglewhite
Date Produced: Unknown
Date Purchased: 10/23/2006
Date Eaten: 10/24/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Raleigh, A Southern Season
Price: $13.99/lb.
La Tur is one of my favorite cheeses. The best way to describe it is like butter with an attitude. At the proper temperature and ripeness it is soft, smooth and spreadable but still dense with pungent, ripe flavor. It is sold in small 4-inch disks about one inch deep placed in pleated paper like a cupcake. The outside has a light white undeveloped mold and the inside is the color of cream. It goes well with a warm French baguette. We also tried it with two condiments, a Spanish quince paste, Membrillo, and fig jam. The fig jam didn't work. It was not sweet enough to compete with the stronger cheese flavors. The quince paste was delicious though, sweet but not cloying, a little acidic, a little tart.
La Tur is a triptych blend of cow, sheep and goat milk. It is pastuerized but at the lowest temperature allowed by law which helps retain some of the flavors of unpasteurized cheeses. It is aged for about two weeks before being shipped around the world.
If you can find it buy it. Did I say it was one of my favorites? Yes I did.
Name: La Tur
Type of Milk: Cow's, Sheep's and Goat's, Pasteurized
Type: soft
Produced in: Italy, Alta Lange, Caseificio Dell'Alta Langa
Date Produced: Unknown
Date Purchased: 11/4/2006
Date Eaten: 11/5/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Raleigh, Whole Foods
Price: $19.99/lb.
Grana is one of the best cheeses in the world. I would go so far as to say that I prefer it to Parmigiano Reggiano. I love it. I eat it by itself more often than dilluted in recipes. Seek out this cheese and buy it. It may not be a staple of your cheese shop but often during the holidays, especially those celebrated large by Italians around the world, the special cheeses are brought out. I first had it a dozen Christmases ago at the home of an Italian friend. Her mother brought/smuggled it from Italy and my first thought was, "Wow, this is the best Parmigiano I've ever had!" Turned out it was Grana Padano and this year I saw it in my local store for the first time. This is a special cheese.
Name: Grana Padano Trentino
Type of Milk: Cow, Pasteurized
Type: hard
Produced in: Italy
Date Purchased: 11/25/2006
Date Eaten: 11/28/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Raleigh, A Southern Season
Price: $16.99/lb.
Perhaps the number one question I hear people ask when served a soft, ripened cheese is, "Should I eat the rind?" My answer is "Sure, if you want to. But if you don't want, that's okay too." Taleggio is one of those soft cheeses and its rind can be a little intimidating. Usually you will find it cut from a square cheese into triangular pieces, giving it two fresh-cut, exposed sides. As Taleggio ripens it will soften and "melt" from these sides. For the mildest cheese, cut off the cheese the seeps from the sides and spread it on fresh bread or apple or pear. If you’re more daring start at the exposed point and cut all the way into the cheese to get a sandwich of soft cream between crusts of white rind. This delivers more aroma and stronger flavors. If it proves too much, go back to scraping out the milder Taleggio interior. If you enjoy it, keep working toward the wall of white-orange-blue outer rind until you can go no further. Remember though, you should not eat the paper label or the synthetic rind or any cheese, unless you're an omnivorous goat.
Taleggio dates back to before the 10th century and may be one of the oldest soft ripened cheeses. I love it. It is available both in a raw milk (unpasteurized) form as well as pasteurized. In general a raw milk cheese is undoubtedly better, more complex, more interesting.
Name: Raw Milk Taleggio
Type of Milk: Cow, Unpasteurized
Type: soft
Produced in: Italy
Date Purchased: 12/4/2006
Date Eaten: 12/5/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Raleigh, Whole Foods
Price: $11.99/lb.
"Tête de Moine" is French for "monk's head" (not to be confused with "Têtes des Moines"-- "Des Moines heads"). I have heard three possible origins for the cheese's name. One story claims that when the inventory of cheese was done at the Bellelay abbey where the cheese is made, it was counted out as one per monk, one per monk's head. The second story states that the abbey paid its taxes with its only valuable good, its cheese. Like all taxes these were thought to be rather high and rather than say they cost "an arm and a leg" they said the cost was a whole monk's head. The third tale is of Napoleon's army moving through the town and thinking the round cheese with its missing top resembled a monk's tonsure. They called the cheese "Tête de Moine". It's possible one, none or all of these stories are true. Names are tricky things.
Traditionally Tête de Moine is served via a device called a Girolle. Think if a round wooden board with a long nail through the center. The nail punches through the center of the cheese and then has a handled blad attached that shaves away the top of the cheese. When done slowly and with enough pressure, florettes of cheese, also called Girolles, are produced.
Of course, you can serve Tête de Moine without purchasing a Girolle and the cheese will not suffer for it. If you don't use a Girolle, use a cheese plane or a very sharp knife to shave off thin slices from the cheese straight out of the refrigerator. Cold cheese assures thinner slices. One of the delights of this cheese comes from being served wafer thin. A whole wheel of the cheese weighs 1.5 to 2 pounds but your cheesemonger should be able to cut it to any amount desired.
The flavor resembles many other Swiss cheeses. Not too sharp. Pleasant. A great cheese for a comfortable crowd of guests.
Name: Tête de Moine
Type of Milk: Cow Unpasteurized
Type: semi-hard
Produced in: Switzerland
Date Purchased: 12/13/2006
Date Eaten: 12/13/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Raleigh, A Southern Season
Price: $17.99/lb.
The Borough Market is London's oldest farmers' market, selling organic produce, artisinal food products and farmhouse cheeses. This wonderful Stilton from Neal's Yard Dairy is named after and often sold in that market. Like all Stilton, Borough Market is a blue cheese made from cow's milk curd that have been injected with Penicillium cultures of mold to produce blue-green-gray veins. The texture of the cheese itself is firm and almost cheddar-like, though not too dry. Like other blues, this one pairs perfectly with sweet white wines, walnuts, and arboreal fruit. Stilton is the King of British Cheeses and like the magi traditionally sows up around Christmas. Hope you find some Borough Market Stilton in your Christmas stocking beside the fruit and nuts.
Name: Borough Market Stilton
Type of Milk: Cow, Unpasteurized
Type: semi-hard
Produced in: England, Neal's Yard Dairy
Date Purchased: 12/22/2006
Date Eaten: 12/25/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $11.99/lb.
When I lived in Germany I would often eat cheese, cold cuts and fresh bread for breakfast. Tilsit was one of the cheeses that made a great breakfast cheese. Mild and soft, Tilsit is very close to Havarti in taste and texture but usually a short rectangle compared to Havarti's squareness. It has a yellow wax rind that should be removed and not eaten, unless your the kind of person who likes to chew on wax. The name comes from the former name of a town in former eastern Prussia, Tilsit that today lies in Russia with the name Sovetsk. It is not a great cheese but a pleasant one and sometimes that can be the needed thing at the start of a day.
Name: Tilsit
Type of Milk: Cow, Pasteurized
Type: semi-soft
Produced in: Germany
Date Purchased: 12/27/2006
Date Eaten: 12/31/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $8.49/lb.
Tomme Aydius is a farmhouse goat's milk cheese from the French Pyrenees named for the small town of Aydius.The cheese has a pasty pale color often with odd shapes interior air holes but rich buttery nut flavors. Though it is made from unpasteurized goat milk it does not have a strong goat's milk flavor. If I didn't know I might mistake it for a cow's milk cheese. Tomme means "cheese" in regional French and this tomme has a granular texture like parmesan of the outer edges but the interior is softer and more elastic.
A delicious cheese.
Name: Tomme Aydius or Tomme d'Aydius or Tomme de chèvre d'Aydius
Type of Milk: goat's, unpasteurized
Type: semi-hard
Produced in: France, Pyrenees
Date Purchased: 12/27/2006
Date Eaten: 12/31/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $15.99/lb.
I have to confess that I sat on this cheese for a while. Not literally of course, but the time between when I purchased it and when I first tried it was well over a week and a half. What started our as a light yellow cheese with a white rind, the Tomme de Savoie became a rich gold with a dark, black and gray exterior. Cheese people call this process of aging cheese to perfect ripeness, affinage. In this case the results were good.
The first whiff after unwrapping this tomme was a bit harsh. Very much ammonia-smelling. I let it air out for 30 minutes and the odious odor had evaporated. The outer rind was still overpowering to eat in great amounts but small strips of it surrounding the healthy inner cheese were fabulous, reminding me of a master sushi chef who can dissect a posionous blowfish so that he leaves just enough of the fatal toxin to make your throat tingle.
A "tomme" in French is any small round farmhouse cheese and the full name of these cheeses usually ends with the town or region of its origin. In this case, the Haute-Savoie region of France. It is a pretty standard cheese on restaurant cheese plates and deservedly so. Well worth finding.
Name: Tomme de Savoie
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: semi-hard
Produced in: France
Date Purchased: 1/11/2006
Date Eaten: 1/24/2006
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $11.99/lb.
Sometimes on trips to the cheese counter I will see a small, often handwritten, sign next to a new cheese describing interesting information about the new product. More often than not I do nothing more than read it and owing to my awful memory, hope to find the same information online or in one of my dozens of cheese books. Sometimes, as with today's cheese, Tintus, I can find no information at all.
Fortunately this cheese has a label and though written in Portuguese offers a few clues. The maroon and gold piece of paper has a picture of a spiny orb with a flowering purple blossom and words "Flor de Cardo o Queijo". Flor de Cardo translates as Cardoon or the artichoke thistle and I believe is the manufacturer of the cheese. In some Medieterranean countries thistles are used as a coagulant instead of rennet to start the milk separating into curds and whey. "Cardo" or "thistle" is listed as one of the ingredients.
Next comes the word "Tintus" which makes me think of "ink" although "tinta" is the word in Portugal. Again my search shows no town, village, region or province of Portugal called Tintus so it is unclear what the name of this cheese actually means. Next are the words "Queijo Curado de Ovelha," "aged cheese of the sheep".
The outside of the cheese is mottled with red, white, beige and gray streaks on a burlap textured rind. The red leads me to think the cheese was bathed in wine, but wine is not listed as an ingredient. Only raw sheep's milk, salt and thistle are listed. It's possible the color comes from the thistle.
The aroma is not overpowering but there is a hint of funk. The flavor starts a bit sour but finishes pleasing. Interesting for a cheese plate. I didn't eat the rind.
Name: Tintus
Type of Milk: sheep's, unpasteurized
Type: semi-soft
Produced in: Portugal, Setubal, Flor de Cardo
Date Purchased: 1/28/2007
Date Eaten: 1/30/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $13.99/lb.
Holy Toledo Ohio, Batman? Where does this small paprika-dusted cheese made from the three most common lactating farm animals come from? First we'll rule out Ohio. Next guess would be Spain, as in Toledo, Spain. A dozen or so web sites would point you in that direction. But that would be wrong too. Do I hear 'Portugal'? Correct! Toledo is made just outside of Lisbon.
Once you cut through the paprika exterior the inner cheese is dense and tart. Okay taste but not my favorite. Paprika is a nice touch. The piquancy lingers on the tongue. Not a superstar but since Portuguese cheeses are a bit uncommon in the United States it is a good novelty.
Name: Toledo
Type of Milk: cow's, goat's and sheep's, pasteurized
Type: semi-hard
Produced in: Portugal, Estremadura, Torres Vedras
Date Purchased: 1/28/2007
Date Eaten: 1/30/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $7.99 a disk.
The shape kind of speaks the name of this cheese and the language used is Spanish. "Tetilla" is Spanish for either nipple or little breast or teet. A whole Tetilla cheese weighs over 2 pounds which says a lot for the cows and the women of Galecia where they make it.
The outer rind, like some provolone, is the hardened, air-dried remains of the cheese, past its prime and not worth eating. The inner cheese is semi-soft and a decent breakfast cheese, pleasant but nothing to get excited about. Serve it with good bread, Spanish jamon or chorizo.
Name: Tetilla or Queso Tetilla DOP or Queso de Tetilla
Type of Milk: cow's, pasteurized
Type: semi-soft
Produced in: Spain, Galecia
Date Purchased: 2/13/2007
Date Eaten: 2/15/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $8.49/lb.
I bought Tia Anna's Queso Fresco on a whim. I was in Whole Foods planning the evening's meal and looking for a nice cheese to incorporate into a chicken burrito. In the packaged cheese section I came across this new product, a locally produced fresh queso. What the heck, I thought, I'll give it a try. My previous experiences with queso fresco have not been impressive. Earlier cheeses have been bland, bland, bland with a rubbery, boring texture. After the first taste of Tia Anna's I said, Hey now, this is something to pay attention to. The overwhelming flavor impact is freshness not complexity. It tastes fresh, like cold bright, new, whole milk straight from the cow herself. The texture is crumbly but soft. It is refreshing over a salad of greens and delicious in my chicken burrito. Unlike many American-made, factory produced quesos frescos Tia Anna's melts well making the perfect choice for stuffed chiles or baked enchilladas. I will difinitely buy it again.
Name: Tia Anna's Queso Fresco
Type of Milk: cow's, pasteurized
Type: fresh
Produced in: United States of America, North Carolina, Gibsonville, Callico Farmstead Cheese LLC.
Date Purchased: 6/2/2007
Date Eaten: 6/6/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Raleigh, Whole Foods
Price: $9.99/lb
Trentingrana is cousin to Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, a hard grateable cow's milk cheese from Italy, in this case Trentino in the north. The cheese I bought was showing its age, probably in the two-year range, very dry but sharp and tangy in flavor. I broke out the rasp and grated it over a Caesar salad and then over some pasta and butter. It is not up to the same level as parmigiano or even grana padano but still delivers in flavor. Not the best cheese in the world but no loser either.
Name: Trantingrana or Trentingrana DOP
Type of Milk: cow's, pasteurized
Type: hard
Produced in:
Date Purchased: 7/10/2007
Date Eaten:7/14/2007
Purchased Where: United States, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, A Southern Season
Price: $16.99/lb.
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