Posted on 01/01/2012 11:39:55 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Soft, stinky, blue, raw and fresh. No, not oysters; rather, different types of cheese. With evidence of production dating to 2000 B.C. in Egypt, cheese was likely invented by accident when milk was transported across the scorching desert in the cleaned-out stomach of an animal (an ancient milk jug). Milk + Heat + Acid = Cheese. While it can be made from yak milk in Iceland, or moose milk in Sweden, local turophiles should be thrilled that some of the world's best cheese can be found right here on the West Coast.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Some even chase it down steep hills for sport..
No matter.. as long as Milk + Heat + Acid = Cheese
We'll find it resting on a wheat cracker eventually..
or shredded, sliced, diced, fondued, creamed, who knows.
It's Not quite a perfect food .. but close.
HaPPy NeW YeaR to the Old timers at FR, the nooBs, the soon to be and lurkers everywhere.
Don't forget to drop a coin or two in the old community kitty. ;-]
My first post of the year and I’m pinging you to it. ;-}
It’s the Tillamook Cheese Factory that makes the best in the West! It’s the third most-visited tourist attraction in Oregon.
http://www.tillamook.com/
Happy, healthy, prosperous 2012 NormsRevenge!
There’s an article right under this one that’s about a moose, now we need one about someone’s sister.
Aw man, ya beat me to it!
“There’s an article right under this one that’s about a moose, now we need one about someone’s sister.”
It is right above the moose story silly.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/2827449/posts
Yep! Makes excellent gifts as well.
The best cheese from the west coast is still third-rate cheese.
Well if you drive to Sand Point, Idaho you will find Lighthouse Bleu Cheese Makers. Although not the West Coast, it is in the American Redoubt, which is better IMHO. :-)
Gunner
“Best in the West”
Actually best in the world. Check the label on the medium cheddar. And that was off the shelf Tillamook Cheese competing with cheeses made just for the world competition in Wisconsin:)
Tillamook, Best in the World. The same cheese you buy off the shelf competing with made for competition cheeses.
Blessed are the cheesemakers.
Tillamook is among the best. New York cheddar is also very good; however, one can rarely by it here in California.
Tillamook is great. Too bad Bandon Cheese shut down, they were good too.
The best in the West, maybe.
The various land-grant universities of New York, Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as Vermont, have had research facilities working on the various permutations of cheese for well over a century now, and their contributions have made some of the local production facilities among the world-famous producers. California (?) makes cheese in vast quantity, but it is without soul or distinctive character, unlike the small cheese factories located in many little corners of the Dairy Belt.
Cheesemaking is an art, balanced with the science of selecting and preserving the cultures that create the cheese in the first place. Differences of the cooking process, temperature control at every point in the production of the curd, and the subsequent packing, storage, and optimal distribution of the product are all essential in the final perfection of the flavor and texture that make up a really excellent cheese, worthy of a connoisseur’s praise, much as fine wines are identified.
Not all of us are admirers of Kraft Foods.
L
Come to Tillamook, Oregon and see what you think!
Sand Point = Sandpoint
Light House = Litehouse
Been there, done that, also have been to Monroe, Wisconsin.
They have “Cheese Days” in Monroe. First and second generation Swiss cheesemakers live there, and create cheeses with all the Old World skill and craftsmanship they brought with them.
http://www.oldcountrycheese.com/
I’ve procured some very good 12 year old cheddar at their brick & mortar shop...
Contest is over... http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/cheeses.html
Having been raised in the north Bay Area, I have fond memories of the Sonoma Cheese Factory, http://www.sonomacheesefactory.com/.
I’m disappointed that it isn’t mentioned in the Sonoma Marin Cheese Trail that someone linked.
What makes you think that anything produced west of the Mississippi is comparable to Kraft Foods? I think you need to get out a bit more. Washington State University has been producing and experimenting with dairy products since 1889, not exactly just getting started. Here are some recent awards:
Santé Magazine Gold Star Award 2009 and 2010, Cougar Gold®
American Cheese Society 2nd Place 2008, Cougar Gold®
World Cheese Awards Gold Medal 2006, Cougar Gold®
American Cheese Society Red Ribbon 2006, Crimson Fire
World Cheese Awards Silver Medal (1st in Class) 2000, Cougar Gold®
United States Cheese Champion Silver Medal 1995, Cougar Gold®
American Cheese Society Blue Ribbon 1993, Cougar Gold®
American Cheese Society Blue Ribbon 1993, Italian
American Cheese Society Blue Ribbon 1987, Smoky Cheddar
The creamery was included in the Atlas of American Artisan Cheeses and was ranked as one of America’s best university cheese producers. They don’t call WSU ‘Moo U’ for nothing...
Maytag is absolutely the best, not just blue cheese, but other varieties as well
I thought this article was going to be about Hollywood film studios.
Best I had was while traveling in Israel. Small place called Cheeses of Nazareth.
Received for Christmas but have not yet read “The Guide To West Coast Cheese” by Sasha Davies. Over 300 handcrafted cheeses CA, OR, WA
Looks to be the definitive for what you are looking for.
Sorry. Tillamook is over-rated... it can’t stand up to an aged Vermont Cheddar. Grafton Classic Reserve or 5 y/o Cabot.
Tillamook is for metrosexualls. Don ‘t take that personally....but the cheese just isn’t that great.
Beechers Cheese, Seattle, there I win.....
Tillamook bought the Bandon label and is making that cheese.
Compared to Tillamook, Bandon is more moist, less aged and made from a pasturized milk. That’s all I could get out of my sources:) You would have to talk to someone who remembers the before & after taste.
It is a shame Bandon shut down. Bandon was going out of business and Tillamook was more or less forced to buy it before Kraft did.
L
I just randomly opened the book and came to the authors top ten favorites:)
Brindisi, Burrata, Caldwell Crik Chevrette, California Crottin, Cougar Gold, Creamy Bleu, ElDorado Gold, Inverness, Jupiter Moon, Scio Heritage
You would still want to get the book.
Do you mean they sell bricks and mortar, in addition to cheese, at their shop?
Been all over the Tillamook-Cape Meares area.
WOW, there is a type of moss that grows off the trees because of all the cool humid air off the ocean. It will grow off branches to the ground. And the green grass.
Man, I’d be a cow there.
Sorry you are sorry but the experts at the world competition in Wisconsin differ soundly from you:)
My favorite is Cowgirl Creamery in Sonoma County.
Booyah to the Cougar Gold. Some grapes and wine and that cheese...good times.
>>>Do you mean they sell bricks and mortar, in addition to cheese, at their shop?
They do sell cheese in bricks... does “brick & mortar” in this context really require a defininition for you, or was yours an attempt at humor that failed?
I concur, Tillamook is the best!
All the cows that produce the milk for Tillamook dairy products are located at a huge dairy farm in North-central Oregon. There are no Tillamook cows in Tillamook, except for maybe a few for the benefit of tourists.
You should try the Tillamook sharp Cheddar that’s been aged for 10 years. Quite good!
Got the link?
http://www.cabotcheese.coop/pages/about_us/awards.php
http://www.alwaysfoodie.com/entry/cabot-cheese-awarded-as-the-best-cheddar-in-the-world/
Customer: Brie, Roquefort, Pol le Veq, Port Salut, Savoy Aire, Saint Paulin, Carrier de lest, Bres Bleu, Bruson?
Owner: No.
Customer: Camenbert, perhaps?
Owner: Ah! We have Camenbert, yessir.
Customer: (suprised) You do! Excellent.
Owner: Yessir. It’s..ah,.....it’s a bit runny...
Customer: Oh, I like it runny.
Owner: Well,.. It’s very runny, actually, sir.
Customer: No matter. Fetch hither the fromage de la Belle France! Mmmwah!
Owner: I...think it’s a bit runnier than you’ll like it, sir.
Customer: I don’t care how f***ing runny it is. Hand it over with all speed.
Owner: Oooooooooohhh........! (pause)
Customer: What now?
Owner: The cat’s eaten it.
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