Following the interest in my previous post about virtual whisky tasting, I decided to post about virtual cheese tasting from your sofa. We did more than one cheese tasting at home during the lockdown period. In fact, it is something I would like to continue doing even when we are able to move about more. It is easy, tasty, relaxed, and you get to have great cheese at home for the rest of the week! Why not also add some sides like bread, olives, and saucisson to make a meal out of it? This post is a compilation from two cheese tastings.
What you need
First, you will need to find a local or online cheese shop that has some out of the ordinary cheeses. As we are in London, this was very easy and there were many shops to choose from. We chose the Cheddar Deli since it is relatively local. Next, we searched YouTube for some interesting videos about each cheese. This was slightly more difficult than finding videos about the precise whisky we were tasting. For the cheeses, we sometimes had to settle for videos about how to make a type of cheese, rather than the cheese itself. That’s okay, as it was still interesting to learn more about cheese in general!
We found a number of interesting cheese-related YouTube videos. First, for Fourme d’Ambert, we watched a show in French talking about the difference between Roquefort and Fourme d’Ambert. Fourme d’Ambert is usually aged for a shorter time and therefore cheaper. Next we compared this to another blue cheese with a great name Blue Murder. I liked the creaminess of the blue murder. Third, we tried Smoked Brie for the first time, while watching a video about how to make smoked brie. I loved the smoky and creamy combination and think this was my favourite of the night. And lastly, we tried the strongest cheese Stinking bishop, while watching a video about how it is made by Charles Martell and son. We first tried it with the rind on but that was a bit too strong. The inside is creamy and delicious, and does not taste as intense as it smells!
We started our second cheese tasting by watching “A brief history of cheese.” Then we tried the Smoked Comte, while watching a video in French about how to smoke cheese. The cheese was mild and did not have as much smoky taste as smoked brie, which I preferred. Perhaps this was because it is a harder cheese and did not absorb as much smokiness. Next we tasted the Munster, a famously strong cheese from the east of France. It was a powerful taste but finished nicely. And last, we finished with Truffler while watching a video about how to make your own truffle cheese. Wow, this one was very flavourful and with a dominant taste of truffle with a medium-hard cheese.
These are just a few examples of types of cheeses that we discovered in London. See what you can find where you live, including some accompaniments of your choice. Then you can search for videos to complement your tasting and have a culinary adventure at home.
Which other tastings would you like to do from home?
