Strong stinky stilton. Humboldt fog. Mimolette.

I don't eat dairy but will cheat with stilton.

I used to live in the East Bay and ate dairy at the time. The Cheeseboard, worker owned cooperative cheese shop, is the best place I have ever been to taste, shop, and be waited on and educated about cheese. It was across the street from Chez Panisse. I hope it is still the incredible store it once was.

We occasionally buy a small wedge of Cambozola. it is a bit strong, a gorgonzola cousin if you will, but we like it a lot as donsome of our friends so we serve it as an appetizer often.

I don’t typically use a lot of cheese except for the occasional grilled cheese sandwich (one of the few sandwiches I enjoy on occasion), a sprinkle of fresh Parm on good carbonara or other Italian dish when needed, or a sprinkle of cheese on a fresh taco.

What Elmer said.

”I’ll have what he’s having.” (wink to Rob Reiner)

I can’t think of a cheese I don’t like. Port Salut, Limburger, Manchego, Cheddar, Stinking Bishop, Roquefort…..

I eat a lot of cheese.

The topic reminded me of a cheese related memory...

Many decades ago, we discovered what to us was a special and unique restaurant in Paris. It was located above a cheese store. Both were owned and run by the family named Androuet. Because I have a memory for such things, I know it was near the Gare St Lazare on rue d'Amsterdam. The restaurant was unique because all the food preparations it served contained one kind of cheese or another. I don't mean the garden variety kinds, but dishes including cheese from a wide selection of different names and styles. And they had a "tasting menu" too - a promise to offer no fewer than 100 cheese to select from, you could eat as much as you wanted (while having the good manners to fully consume all the sample size portions given to you before ordering more). I don't remember the approach they took to the grouping - I know each plate had a variety of types, not just different examples of the same thing. Though I suspect that might have been happy to do that too, if requested. We ate there many times.

In the '90s, on a family trip to Europe that included several days in Paris, we took our kids to Androuet. They'd heard a lot about it from us and were looking forward to it. The restaurant had moved to a location in a better neighborhood, about 5-10 minutes from the Place de l'Etoile. We had a wonderful meal that they all remember and still talk about.

In later years, whether because of being hosted to dinners on business trips, or for other reasons, some time went by without my having the opportunity to go back to Androuet. Then on a subsequent trip, the occasion came up. I unsuccessfully looked for information about the restaurant, and then asked the hotel's concierge for help finding it. Alas, the restaurant no longer existed. But the cheese stores did then and still do today. WIth multiple locations in Paris.

There's no shortage of great cheese stores in Paris nor in other French cities. But should you find yourself in Paris and passing a store with the name Androuet, go in and buy some cheese. You won't be disappointed.

If when walking by, someone opens the door and a strong smell hits you, you'll know you're in the right place.

Thanks lucille, I know you're always ready to help recalibrate my comments.

Hypothetically, you know someone who puts Sriracha sauce into everything they make and onto everything they eat. When you have dinner there, everything tastes the same because Sriracha is present in an amount that affect the flavor of what you're eating.

Or, they never eat anything other than with a heavy dose of garlic, or soy sauce, or you pick an example.

If you wouldn't come to the conclusion that they used the same thing too often, then I'd suggest you're the one who needs to do some recalibrating.

I love cheese of any kind and description, but alas the only kind residing in our fridge these days is low-fat cheddar, i.e. a tasteless imitation. :-(

lucille, I don’t do very much cooking with cheese. I just love cheese as is.

For a quick snack when travelling, I like to seek out local cheeses. Quick, easy, tasty. Ready to go.

🤠Makes the backpack a bit stinky, though.

I'm very fond of hard alpine cheeses like Comté and Appenzeller. When I was younger I liked triple-crème cheeses like Explorateur, but now I find them too rich.

Smoked cheddar is my favourite for versatility. There are yummy other cheeses that fit the moment or a recipe, but not my favourite overall.

I tend to like mild hard cheeses like Jarlsberg and Manchego. I have no preference between cheeses made from the milk of cows, goats or sheep. I enjoy a good aged Parmigiano, too. I don't mind a salty Feta as an ingredient in an appropriate recipe, but I can't abide bleu cheeses of any kind.

Anyone ever try gjetost cheese? I had a boyfriend who loved it. Kind of funky, sweet, and gross. I see the appeal.

Velveeta and string cheese

I am not a big cheese eater, but I do enjoy a sprinkling of Parmigiana Reggiano on my pasta. The imported kind. No substitutions.

Nyuk Lone Jack, though Velveeta does make decent cheese toast. I like a good strong blue & feta in my salads, and a good, aged sharp on my crackers. Feta on a pizza isn't bad either. I haven't tried many of the fancier cheeses listed above but would most likely like those too. Not too picky when it comes to cheese.

This is how I’m feeling about saying, I like cottage cheese. American, Emmenthaler, and Havarti. oh, and Feta, but I can’t remember the origin/style that we like. (But nothing pre-sliced, thank you.)

No favourites. As long as it's well made. The cheese we always have in the house is a local farmhouse Cheddar. I also particularly like goat cheese, the stronger the better.

Melted

Years ago, we were visiting friends, and had Max our beagle with us. It came time for him to be given a pill. We always wrapped it in a bit of American cheese, and it was never a problem. He gulped it right down. Well, all my friend had was low-fat, lactose free cheese, and Max said NO WAY!!! This from a beagle who would whole-heartedly eat anything! Ha-Ha!

That's a great cartoon, bpath. It's a bit edgy for good old Schulz, more along the lines of what Gary Larson did in The Far Side. I like it! Thanks

(I also like the segment from Life of Brian, as with any and all Python stuff. The world is a better place because of what the Pythons did and a poorer place because their run came to an end.)

You seem more like the Benny Hill type to me Elmer.

I couldn't watch that show. I suspect your comment was intended as a poke.

Lately I’ve been buying TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar…both in blocks and the spread. Love it. I also enjoy French feta due to the creamier texture and a bit less salty flavor.

I remember that one, bookwoman.

John Cleese did a number of tours around the US recently, which I think he described as a farewell but to restore his savings after divorces. We saw him, it may have been 2 years ago It was in an auditorium like a Civic aud, with a woman interviewing him for about 40 minutes and then he took audience questions.

He's physically a bit feeble (he said there's no original equipment left on him at all, after two hip replacements, two knee replacements, and a number of other procedures) but his mind was quite sharp. It was an enjoyable evening, especially because in a number of instances, his recollection of specific performance scenes or happenings in his life caused him to giggle.

@chloebud... I've read some really good reviews of the TJ unexpected cheddar cheese, but I've always managed to walk past it. I'm for sure going to buy it next trip there.

Monty Python was broadcast on public TV in NYC on Sunday nights, when I was in high school. Monday morning my friends and I would come to school and giggle over what we had seen the night before. I learned a whole lot of British culture...and cheese varieties!...from those shows. They were comedic geniuses.

Bookwoman, I’m not sure what night Monty Python was shown on TV when I was growing up but we watched it regularly.

At Christmas, my gran used to include in her Christmas package a compilation of the Giles cartoons from the year. He was very funny and was a great commentator on the social and political happenings in Britain. I still have over a dozen copies of the books. Of course, they are a bit dated, but still very funny.

“I'm for sure going to buy it next trip there.”

hobbitmom, I recommend trying the spread first. We tend to like it on Triscuits. I know tastes differ greatly with cheese, but it’s somewhat addicting to DH and me. I just bought more yesterday...spread and block. I’m going to shred some from the block to use in a potato dish for Christmas Eve. When you go, you might also give this one a try.

Elmer - I disagree that comment was a poke. Benny Hill excelled in different comedy genres than Monty Python but IMO was no less talented - just different comic styles. Maybe each was beloved by slightly different audiences but I think most people appreciated both. I’m remembering both comics from my days of having access to mostly British TV from Prince Rupert, BC. That’s the main channel we had when, as a teen, my family lived in Ketchikan, AK. I had to read each of their Wikipedia bios to remind myself.

Gjetost--looks like peanut butter tastes like caramel

KW, I didn't like Benny Hill. I thought his skits and other things done were lame and very unfunny. If they were funny, it must have been humor or topics I didn't get.

Like bookwoman, I recall regularly talking about Python routines with friends but I seem to think it was after I'd graduated from college and was in the workforce. If people I knew were fans of Benny Hill, I can't say, it doesn't ring a bell in memory that anyone ever mentioned it.

Sometimes I'd miss elements underlying Python stuff but often I could figure it out. I remember, and perhaps incorrectly as to details, one routine with a guy dressed up as if an explorer with a backpack about to go off into the jungle. He was starting a trek to see if he could prove or disprove the long rumored fable that there existed an overland route from Surbiton to the Tower of London, or something like that. A route that no one knew about for sure.

His adventure started off with his walking down what looked like a typical high street. His first "discovery" was a rail or Tube station. The age old fable was confirmed to his glee because the person at the ticket window was able to give him directions on how to get there, and sold him the proper ticket. He celebrated on arrival at the Tower. I thought it was funny because it was obviously preposterous, a journey into the wild unknown regions of urban London.

I later learned that part of the setup was that Surbiton, a suburban section of London, had the reputation of being a boring place with boring people who knew little about anything that was more than a few blocks from where they lived. Since they were so boring, they went nowhere.

I looked at a few Giles cartoons that a search kicked up. Maybe it was a bad sample but I didn't see much that was funny. Maybe my lack of familiarity of quotidian life in Britain is the reason.

That could be, Elmer.

Humour is subjective. (Just like cheese choices) Every individual has different personal experiences, and cultural backgrounds. You may have a more reserved personality than I have. Or maybe you take things way more seriously than I do. Who knows? To me Giles is very funny. His drawings had not just one joke in them, but several.

I also like the Asterix cartoons. Very funny to me. 🤷‍♀️

eta Staying on topic, Asterix cartoons have several mentions of cheese.

In Astérix en Corse (Asterix in Corsica), a scene shows Ocatarinetabellatchitchix (Boneywasawarriorwayayix) cutting into a cheese that is unquestionably casu marzu.

Casu martzu is a cheese that contains live fly maggots. 😳 It is made from Sardinian sheep milk.

https://theoldwolf.com/ccdesan/Banquet/CasuMarzu.html

Also, Asterix in Switzerland makes silly fun of fondue. One of the characters is named Malodorus Caseus. Stinky cheese!

" You may have a more reserved personality than I have. Or maybe you take things way more seriously than I do. Who knows? "

Thanks for giving me a morning laugh. Who knows? Obvious you don't, you're quite far off the mark.

People who know me would react with the same chuckle I had.

Very few cheeses I have tried that I didn’t love! We eat a LOT of cheese. 😊When we go to a new to us town cheese shops are always one of our first stops. We cook with cheese and have it as a late night snack with wine. We take it on picnics and when we are on our bicycles we take cheese and crackers for a pick me up break. I make all our bread since the ’70’s so we have bread and cheese very often. A new to us cheese very recently was a very aged English cheddar with salt granules in it due to the aging process in limestone caves. It is incredible. Also a Daphinoise…. so creamy and soft a Double Cream. I could go on Humboldt Fog and and and. 😊

You’re welcome, Elmer! It’s always good to start the day with a laugh. We need more of that. Don’t get me started on cheese puns. They’re my favourite after fish puns. 🤠 This thread has got me looking through some of my collection that really makes me laugh.

Great thread.

eta I just noticed my collection of Herman and Calvin and Hobbs! 😃

And PG Wodehouse!

His description of stinky cheese-“A depressing musty scent pervaded the place, as if a cheese had recently died there in painful circumstances.”