🥢 ionchy 🏳️‍🌈

i.e. cheese autoreprogramming, to try to go from "I can tolerate some cheeses and hate most other cheeses" to "I actively enjoy some cheeses and can tolerate most other cheeses". mostly it's an excuse to try a variety of something new and make lists out of it. so here's a list of the cheeses I've had so far¹:

type	status	notes
Sartori old world cheddar	enjoyable	I started out enjoying cheddar cheese, and not much has changed. I like them best in little chunks to nibble on
feta	enjoyable	typically I only have feta through pastries like spinach and feta or in a boureka. I don't like them on salads so I think this might be one of the rare cheeses I like hot
Président Madrigal	tolerable	my initial reaction was that it was a gross, squishy, rubbery cheese that tasted like someone had washed it in water. I've come around to the taste now, but I still don't like how rubbery the texture is, and I'll probably continue to avoid intentionally eating any cheese with that kind of texture
TJ's boursin	enjoyable	I really liked this one! great fun flavour, nice and spreadable on a cracker. I'm not sure it's useful towards cheese exposure because the primary flavour and texture is basically flavoured cream cheese, but I had a good time
DaneKo blue	in progress (not going great)	oh god this was a mistake to start out so early. it actually tastes kind of fine but it smells soooo strong and idk if I could ever get used to the smell
Roth Grand Cru reserve	enjoyable	this is basically like a tame version of cheddar, being softer and milder without being rubbery. what is "alpine-style" cheese anyway?
Kaasaggio robusto gouda	enjoyable	this tastes to me like a more intense cheddar, and the little crunchy bits are really fun, but I think it's way too soft. I'd really like a harder, crumblier version of this
TJ's 1000-day gouda	enjoyable	now this is what I'm talking about! it's a really hard cheese (to the point where it crumbles when I try to slice it) and it has the crunchy bits
TJ's unexpected cheddar	enjoyable	this tastes just like the Sartori cheddar except with the crunchy bits! I'm very pleased about the crunchy bits
pecorino romano	tolerable	tbh on the first bite it tasted like the way dirt smells. I'm still not used to it and I'm not sure this is a cheese I like

and here's a list of cheeses that have been recommended to me based on what I currently like:

type	description
comté	a hard cheese described to me as a bit salty and fruity
TJ's 1000-day gouda	another hard cheese. from TJ's site: "naturally salty, caramel-y, and supremely savory flavor profile"
TJ's cheddar/gruyère mélange	saw this at TJ's and thought it just sounded interesting tbh. felt like a hard cheese
brie	a mild, soft cheese
camembert	like brie, but more intense
parmigiano reggiano	a hard, crumbly cheese. everyone talks about this one but it's also rather expensive

I've actually also had a block of harvati a long, long time ago, and I started out not liking it and ended up not liking it. it's been quite a few years now and I wasn't in the exposure therapy mindset so who knows, but I'm still reluctant to spend money on a whole piece of harvati to try again, especially if I might end up still not liking it

#cheese exposure therapy #cheese #food #The Cohost Global Feed (ionchy)

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in reply to @ionchy's post:

@Longinus2/2/2024, 7:30 PM

IMO blue cheese is best served hot, like as part of an omelette, in smaller quantity as part of cheese panini, or as some sauce for red meat (I think? don't remember that last one too well).

@Longinus2/2/2024, 7:59 PM

Also since you seem to like cheddar, you could give mimolette a try, and raclette too but that one is obviously best as an entire hot course.
If you like comté, maybe try cantal too.
If you're fine with brie but find camembert too pungent, you may appreciate coulommier instead.

On the creamy, not too salty side, since you enjoy boursin, chaource and St.Félicien are popular too.

Btw, what blue did you try? There's like hundreds of them, more or less salty/creamy/intense/whatever. Some of them I enjoy as slices, others I hate.

🥢 ionchy 🏳️‍🌈@ionchy2/2/2024, 8:21 PM

lots of interesting recs! I actually specifically don't like raclette bc of the way hot melted cheese smells lol, every time at the christmas market I'm just veering away from the raclette booth to avoid the smell
(although this may be another thing to expose myself to as I move from little cold pieces of cheese to big gloops of melty cheese)

I'll have to check what blue cheese it is when I'm home but it's some random grocery store brand and I don't really remember seeing a particular identifying name...

@Longinus2/2/2024, 9:37 PM

Ah so at the raclette party, you're the one who only eats potatoes and meat lol?

it's some random grocery store brand

I'm no cheese expert but to be called "blue" just means there's blueish edible mould in it, so don't hesitate to try different brands.
Like Roquefort and gorgonzolla have different tastes and textures.
In my mind, if it's creamy I prob won't like it, but if it's packaged in flexible yellowish slices then it's good on butter on bread (and in a sandwich, in the furnace for 5mins with random amount of emmental and whatever goat cheese is in fridge).

Btw regarding mimolette: if you try it, in the labelling there's a distinction with mimolette vieille (old), which just makes it harder (and makes your life harder while eating it). No clue how it's packaged where you live, but chances are you can see the difference by its shade and whether it has a crust or not (or is sliced or not, or looks industrial or smth).

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