Ladies and gentlemen, I’m back with another cheese review. I went for some more dramatic cheeses this time (as dramatic as one can get while reviewing cheeses). Joining me in this week’s review was Viewpoints Editor Tate Burchfield.
Our cheeses of the week were a sheep and goat’s milk feta cheese from Greece’s Mt. Vikos, Marieke’s honey clover gouda, and truffle goat cheese from Boar’s Head. And remember, I’m not a professional; this is the opinion of a humble college student with no money or sophisticated taste.
The feta was the most divisive of the night. While feta usually comes broken up in a plastic container, this feta was fully in block form. This was the most flavorful feta I’ve ever tried, which definitely worked to its advantage. Truly a Greek feta, the sour notes were turned up and the dryness down. Because of the packaging, this feta turned out slightly damp, negating the usual dryness of the cheese.
“It was good for a feta, but nothing extraordinary,” Burchfield said. “I’ve had feta before, but it’s always something that is just in a salad or a sandwich; I’m not choosing that salad because of the feta. I say three out of five goats.”
But thankfully for you, my lovely audience, Tate is wrong. Weighing in at a solid 6 ounces for $8.24, this one is pricey, but I’ll still give this a four out of five goats. Not pungent like a blue cheese and not an accessory like a usual feta, this cheese stands out.
Next on our agenda was the honey clover gouda. Of the three, this was the standout. It was an incredibly thick cheese, rich and milky. It was soft (but I can’t find an appropriate simile for this). The most surprising part, though, was its flavor profile: it had a dramatic, rich flavor that hardly had any aftertaste at all. This is, honestly, a pro: it pierces through any lingering flavors on your tongue but leaves none of its own. It also has a slight sweet undertone from the honey.
Marieke’s cheese was surprisingly cheap, too, swinging just under 5 ounces for $5.34. At four out of five goats for Burchfield and four and a half out of five for me, this is by far the favorite for the title.
Sorry to all those truffle fans out there: Boar’s Head did not pull through this time. The goat cheese itself had a similar flavor to their pecorino, but it was almost completely overpowered by the truffle.
“It’s great if you like truffle,” Burchfield said. “But I’m not one of those people. There’s no need to add truffle to this cheese. Like would you buy truffle ketchup? It’s just unnecessary.”
I’m with Tate on this one, folks. The flavor is creamy and the texture just slightly dry, which is an almost perfect middle-ground combination, but the truffle is just too overpowering. Especially considering that this one was a steep $7.32 for only 4.32 ounces, we can both fairly say this is our biggest loser at two out of five goats.
Branching out to new cheeses was worth it, everyone. A special shoutout to staff writer Emma Sutton (who is also next week’s guest!) for convincing (coercing) me into getting a gouda to match the tagline. Please look for next week’s review, and I hope everyone is enjoying these so far!
Is there as ‘gouda’ cheese as these?
