Cheese Church Challenge

During the early part of 2020, I participated in @cheesesexdeath’s Instagram #CheeseChurchChallenge. I tried 10 new-to-me cheeses over a 10 (ish) week period. It was a nice opportunity to venture out and try some new cheeses and pairings!

Amber Kunik

Joining @cheesesexdeath’s #cheesechurchchallenge! 10 weeks, 10 new (to me) cheeses. Starting with @nettle_meadow_farm #AmberKunik.
It’s a washed triple-crème made with goat milk & cow cream. The small wheel feels like you could do some damage if you threw it at someone’s head, but has an amazing velvety, dense and creamy texture. It’s sweet, earthy and funky and there is a strong possibility I will eat the entire wheel today. Thanks for the great suggestion @evantalen

Oldwick Shepherd

Week 2 of #cheesechurchchallenge! Tried this delicious and dramatic cave-aged raw sheep’s milk cheese from @curdiologist.

#OldwickShepherd has all the grassiness and sweetness found in a Pyrenees mountain cheese, but with some extra crystal-y, aged texture.
I swapped out a Pecorino with #OldwickShepherd in a pasta sauce and it might have been the best decision I made this week. #eatmorecheese #cheeseportraits

Khachapuri at Morning Glory

A little different #cheesechurchchallenge for this week. I’ve known about #khachapuri for a few years but have never actually eaten it. @pancakelordssd makes the famous Georgian dish with mozz and feta. It was like the best breakfast pizza I never knew I needed, served at the most beautiful restaurant I’ve ever eaten at. #morningglorysd

Schallenberg

Next up for my #cheesechurchchallenge, I snacked on some #Schallenberg.
I HATED “Swiss” cheese as a kid, and frankly it took me a minute to come around to it when I started working at a cheese shop. But this cheese couldn’t be further from the grossly tangy and plastic-y “Swiss” cheese from my childhood. Schallenberg basically tastes like French Onion Soup in a single-piece-of-cheese form. It’s nutty, creamy, brothy, oniony with a touch of sweetness. 🤤 🤤 🤤
I’m saving some to melt over roasted potatoes, but in the meantime, I snacked on half the piece with some pickles, mustard, bread and HOMEMADE #chickenlivermousse from @dinneralmosteverynight. The cheese and mousse are actually a little too rich to eat in the same bite, but it was still the snack of my dreams. #cheeseportrait #alpinecheese

Bridgeman Blue

It’s my fifth week of the #cheesechurchchallenge. This week, I went with a super exciting blue cheese from @jasperhillfarm. They have partnered up with @bridgmanhillfarm in Vermont to start producing some new raw cow and goat’s milk cheeses. #BridgemanBlue has a fudgey and dense texture. It is salty, umami and a little sweet all at the same time. It has a bit of that expected “I’m a blue cheese!” tang, but with nuances that also whisper “I’m a complex, age-cheese.” The wheels are aged in Jasper Hill’s caves, and you can taste that cavey, farmy, grassiness in each bite.

I was looking for a blue cheese to crumble in @alisonroman’s Celery, Fennel & Walnut Salad and this cheese was BEYOND perfect. I ate the entire 4-person sized recipe of the salad, just to be able to eat more of the cheese. If you know what’s good for you, make this salad, and FIND THIS CHEESE!!! #eatmorecheese #cheeseportrait #cheesechurch

Potato Chip Gouda

TLDR: I would rather eat real chips alongside my cheese.

I would qualify myself as a #cheesepurist. I like stuff around my cheese, not inside it. Thanks @kateleeder for the ideology. 😊

While working at a cheese shop that held this belief strongly, people were often confused or disappointed that there wasn’t blueberry Brie or bacon cheddar in the case. But an often-requested cheese that always intrigued me was #potatochipgouda. Yup. Gouda with pieces of potato chips in it.

When I saw a wedge in my neighborhood grocery store, I figured the #cheesechurchchallenge was the perfect time for me to actually try this cheese that I’ve heard about for so many years.
So, here are my 🧀 thoughts - I did not know it was a goat Gouda. I had assumed it was cow. So that’s cool. It is slightly sweet and nutty, what I always like in a goat Gouda. I also expected the pieces of chips to be bigger, saltier, and crunchier - like the salt crystals in a nicely aged cheese. But, you know, better, because they were made of potato chips. Maybe my piece was less potatoe-y, but I’d rather just eat crunchy chips alongside my cheese than search for specs in a wedge. I mean, I’m still gonna eat the whole piece. It’s cheese. Alright, that’s it. Thanks for listening. #eatmorecheese #cheeseportraits

Cutlass

It’s my 7th cheese in the #cheesechurchchallenge! I was pumped to try this funky washed-rind cheese from @chapelscountrycreamery in Maryland. When you smell this cheese, it is a STINKER. It has that pungent funk you expect from a washed rind cheese that either A. confuses you about if it is even edible or B. excites you because you know underneath the stank is a complex and rich cheese. I would say it’s an acquired taste, but once you start to love stinky cheese, there is no going back.

Chapel’s Country Cutlass has a buttery and fudgey interior that’s a little sweet, a little herbaceous and a little fruity. And it’s much milder than the aroma you get from the rind. It’s always a personal choice, but I found that eating this rind added some extra bitterness and depth to the cheese. It’s been a great melter for all forms of corned beef (sandwiches and nachos) and perfect cheese for a burger. 10 🧀 out of 10 🧀! #cheeseportraits #eatmorecheese #stinkycheeserules

Formagella

The #cheesechurchchallenge rolls on! Out of the 7 cheeses I’ve tried so far, all have been either semi-soft or hard. So I was ready for some creamy goodness. A few weeks ago, I got to visit the Grand Lake Farmers Market in Oakland on a rainy Saturday. The nice man at the @Nicasiovalleycheese stand let us try every single cheese he had. They were all delicious, but this #Formagella was perfect to satisfy my creamy cheese craving.

This brie-style cheese is made about an hour north of San Francisco, on a 100% organic ranch. The cows are pasture-raised, allowing their milk to be grassy and floral.

The cheese had a perfect balance of salt, sweet, and cream. The texture was delightfully squishy and soft and was super tasty on a farmer’s market baguette.

Only two more cheeses left! Stay safe out there and #eatmorecheese

Bonrus

Desperate times call for desperate snacks. Aka, using sliced hotdog buns as crostini. Gotta use what you got, right? I was glad I stocked up on some cheese last week so I could try my 9th cheese in the #cheesechurchchallenge.

#LaTur is a top 5 cheese for me, so I was very excited to try another cheese from the same creamery - @caseificiocaltalanga. #Bonrus is also a soft-ripened cheese, made with cow and sheep’s milk. The rind is tender and powdery and the interior is doughy and sweet. It smells like straw and cream and it makes me wish I had started that cheese-scented candle business. I had to stop myself from just slicing and eating the entire piece unaccompanied.

Surprisingly, I showed some self control and used the rest on these cutie crostini’s with hotdog buns, grilled pears, smoked @maldonsalt, and honey. You can find the recipe on the @aperitivogr website or in the #linkinbio.

Thankfully, cheese is considered essential during these crazy times, so I’ll get to venture out to pick up my last new #cheesechurchchallenge cheese. Stay healthy and #eatmorecheese #quarantinesnacks

Cana de Oveja

Even though it took me 12 weeks to finish, I finally tried my 10th cheese in @cheesesexdeath’s #cheesechurchchallenge! Go me!! My last cheese was an exciting find. Most cheese people are familiar with #CanaDeCabra, a semi-soft, buttery, and sometimes a bit crumbly goat cheese from Spain. But did you know they make a sheep’s milk version too!! I had no idea!
My piece of #miticanadeoveja was more on the crumbly side than the soft and creamy side, but it was sweet, bright and a perfect cheese to wake up my palette mid-quarantine. I snacked on it with some chopped dates and Marcona almonds drizzled with honey.

I have a feeling if I wouldn’t have stopped him, @bigmanrusty would have swiped the entire piece while I was trying to snap a pic.

Thanks for joining me on my cheese exploration journey! ✌🏽 ❤️ 🧀 #eatmorecheese