CHEESE OF THE DAY: MOZZARELLA

Mozzarella! A lovely fresh moist milky cheese from Italy. It can be made from either cows milk or buffalo milk - if made from the later it normally bears the name Mozzarella di Bufala (or Buffalo Mozzarella). Due to its moist nature - its a cheese to eat pretty immediatly after production - or it can be kept in brine for up to a week. Its tearable, but not rubbery (a good Mozzarella should be softer than that), and it isnt a particularly strong tasting cheese, but does taste fresh and milky - making it a great cheese to eat on hot days in a nice tomato salad.

CHEESE OF THE DAY: GERMAIN LANGRES

Oh my god - this is cheese heaven!!! Its creamy, rich, luxuriant, slighty smelly, and so so good! You may have noticed I am very fond of this cheese. Its a French cheese from the Champagne-Ardenne region and has a smooth creamy buttery texture with a slightly more tangy crumbly core. Its rind is distinvtive & rippled with an orangy colour to it. There is a deliberate dimple in the top of the cheese as traditionally a small pool of Champagne is poured so when you cut the cheese the champagne infuses into the cheese - shame I dont have a bottle of Champagne knocking about!!!
If you want to try a truely delicious cheese - then this is HIGHLY recomended by The Mighty Cheeseboard.

CHEESETUBE #5

Eeeeeermmm - Cheez Whiz! Another example of "When Cheese Goes Wrong!"

CELEBRICHEESE: CARL BARAT

Todays celebrity cheese gets a bit rock n roll! Guitar hero Carl Barat (Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things & solo) tells The Mighty Cheeseboard he fuckin loves Isle of Bute! Now we know what keeps Carl rockin! Remember you can follow Carl on twitter @carlbarat music & keep following us for more celebrity cheese revelations! In the words of a Dirty Pretty Things song "YOU FUCKIN LOVE IT!"
http://youtu.be/SfcFjYFRWaw

CELEBRICHEESE: LISSIE

One thing I have learned recently is that everyone is very different in their cheese tastes, the latest in our celebrity cheese tweets is singer/songwriter Lissie Maurus who gave us a smiley face and told us she likes blue cheese, string cheese & baby bells!!! Here at the Mighty Cheeseboard we love Lissie's album and recommend you listen to her music - here's a taster for you: http://youtu.be/yRlXausKdiQ

CHEESE OF THE DAY: BURT'S BLUE

A locally made (Altrincham, Cheshire) blue cheese made in individual batches by independant cheese maker Claire Burt. Its made from milk sourced from a local dairy, and made in a small vat making each cheese "a labour of love". I found it to be a salty, rich blue cheese that was soft around the edges, and in the centre, creamy and slighly crumbly - I liked the fact it was not overly veigned throughout the cheese. A nice piece of cheese that is really tasty with a sharp or fruity jelly (I had it accompanied with some balsamic jelly, but a sweet redcurrent or cranbury jelly would go splendidly with it too. or just gobble the lot as it is! Always good to find a nice locally made cheese, "thanks Claire for your labour of love!"
www.burtscheese.co.uk

CELEBRICHEESE: MIKE JOYCE

For all the Smiths fans out there - its a real treat to hear back from drummer Mike Joyce - who enjoys a bit of "Roquefort accompanied with a crusty cob & a heady red" - now we know what keeps you going when pounding the drums Mike! (http://youtu.be/DYp2LGKOF_M)
Dont think we'll be asking Morrissey his views on cheese!

CHEESE OF THE DAY: MATURE COMTE

After one of our favourite celebrity tweets - Mr Rick Stien - tweeted us to say he loved comte (http://themightycheeseboard.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/celebricheese-rick-stein.html) we thought we'd best go out and get some to taste and feature on cheese of the day - so here it is!!!
Saw some nice looking Mature Comte in our local cheeseshop (www.cheesehamlet.com) so promptly purchased some! Its a hard, slightly sweet, slightly nutty flavoured cheese - and its got the odd nice crunchy crystalised bits in it (bit like a very mature cheddar gets).
Comte is a cheese from the Franche-Comte region of East France and has to follow some rigourous guidelines to be allowed to bear the name Comte. One of the particular rules is that only milk from Montbeliarede cattle is permitted and each cow must have at least 1 hecrare of grazing! Mooooooo!

CELEBRICHEESE: CAITLIN ROSE

Here's one for our American followers - it seems Nashville based singer/songwriter Caitlin Rose couldnt be pinned down to just one cheese. We do agree Caitlin - there are many great cheeses out there!!! For anyone who doesnt know Caitlin Rose's music we strongly urge you to check it out - here's a starter for you http://youtu.be/khZtHh0ituU
Enjoy!

CHEESE OF THE DAY: TINTERN

Oooooh another cheese from Abergavenny in Wales (for the other one see Y-Fenni blog post http://themightycheeseboard.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/cheese-of-day-welsh-y-fenni.html). Like the Y-Fenni, Tintern is another Cheddar cheese containing something else...... chives & shallots. The cheddar cheese is exactly the same as the Y-Fenni, its strong in flavour yet relatively soft and creamy, the chives and shallots do infuse with the cheese and work well (its a flavour match that works - basically cheese and onion - just ask walkers crisps! Classic combo!). On another note on its flavour - and I cant quite put my finger on it - there was a taste there that took me back to childhood - but not too worry - if it comes to me I will add an additional note to this blog post.
Apparently the name comes from Tintern Abbey an old monastry in Monmouthshire (South Wales), where the monks used to grow shallots in the grounds.

ITS OUR BIRTHDAY - HUZZAH!!!

The Mighty Cheeseboard has been running for precisely 1 month!
In our first month we have had 1205 page views - we would like to thank everyone for reading it so far and hopefully we can grow our readership too along with our cheese intake (but no more cheesestrings!!!). For anyone curious as to which cheese loving nations enjoy reading our cheese related nonsense here are the page view stats from our first month!

United States - 697

United Kingdom - 435

Russia - 47

Germany - 7

United Arab Emirates - 6

Australia - 4

Finland - 4

Japan - 3

Croaitia - 2

Spread the word people - and we'll keep bringing you regular cheesey updates!!!

CELEBRICHEESE: MICHAEL WINNER

Who likes Gruyere? Michael Winner does..... thats who!

WHEN CHEESE GOES WRONG: CHEESESTRINGS SPAGHETTI

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!! New Cheesestrings Spaghetti - bland rubbery cheese shaped like spaghetti.
Whats not to like.........

CHEESE OF THE DAY: PECORINO

Pecorino is a very hard sheeps milk Italian cheese - in fact its name is derived from the word Pecora which means "Sheep" (or the Latin for "Livestock"), its crumbly and salty, making it a good cheese to add to dishes with - it is the preferred cheese for pasta dishes in Rome & Lazio.
I grated it over a nice big bowl of pasta with some quality olive oil, rocket, panchetta & ground black pepper. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

CELEBRICHEESE: RICK STEIN

We all know Rick Stein loves a nice bit of fish, and now we know he also loves Comte! Follow Rick on Twitter or just head on down to Padstow and you might spot him nipping into the local cheesemongers for some Comte. Remember to keep following us @MightyCheeseB for more celebrity cheese fans amongst general cheese related tweets.

CHEESEPRODUCT: SPAGHETTI CHEESE

A random cheese related product! Ever wanted to measure out your portions of spaghetti whilst using a cheese shaped object? I know if you are reading the Mighty Cheeseboard, then the answer is probably YES YES YES!!!
So here it is! Currently available to purchase at Play.com
(http://www.play.com/Gadgets/Gadgets/4-/23688804/0/Spaghetti-Cheese/ListingDetails.html?searchstring=cheese&searchsource=0&searchtype=allproducts&urlrefer=search)
Happy spaghetti measuring cheesefans!

CHEESE OF THE DAY: PETIT MORBIER

Petit Morbier - a semi-soft rich creamy cheese with a sharp tang and very pungent aroma (best eat all this piece in one sitting before my whole flat stinks of it). Its a French cheese traditionally made by using the left over curds from a days Comte making, pressing them in a mold and covering with a layer of tastless ash to preserve until the following days leftover curds can be added on top - creating its distinctive black line down the middle. These days it is made in one go, but the line of ash still added for tradition and keeping the same look to the cheese. Its very smooth in texture and has a sharp almost blue flavour that leaves a slighty bitter aftertaste.

CHEESETUBE #4

Even the Sesame Street muppets like to "chase the cheese"!!!!

CELEBRICHEESE: CHRIS PACKHAM

When taking a break from watching really really wild animals Chris Packham enjoys a bit of Vache Paysan - I am not familiar with this particular cheese personally. The name translates to Cow Farmer - so I assume it is a French cows milk cheese. Sounds good - I will keep my eye out for some to try!
Remember to keep following us on Twitter for more celebrity cheese tweets!

CHEESE OF THE DAY: FETA

Its all Greek to me! Feta cheese - its a salty crumbly moist but solid cheese. Its made from a sheeps milk (or sometimes a mixture of sheep & goats milk). It can only be called Feta if made in the traditional way and made in mainland Greece or the island of Lesbos. Its a good cheese to use in things such as Greek salads or in filo pasty dishes - after chomping on half this block (pictured) I used the rest to make some rather nice feta, spinach and lamb parcels - yum yum!

CHEESE OF THE DAY: CAMBOZOLA

Ok, so the latest cheese of the day goes to our favourite celebrity cheese fan (Andi Peters) favourite cheese Cambozola. Most people who know me are aware that I'm not big on blue cheese, but a big part of this cheese blog is to educate myself on some amazing cheeses out there! Thanks to Andi I have dabbled with the Cambozola - which I admit I have not eaten in quite a while. Its actually pretty nice (and I feel I may be turning the corner with blue cheeses!) - its really fresh, rich & creamy with a mild blue flavour to it - was soft and creamy and smooth to the taste. Not as strong as a lot of blue cheeses and I actully found myself really enjoying this cheese.
The cheese originates from Germany (just realised I forgot to add the usual flag to the pic - sorry flag fans!!!) and is a combo of French Camenbert & Itallian Gorgonzola hence the hybrid name Cambozola. Thanks Andi P!!! It was most enjoyable!

CELEBRICHEESE: ANDI PETERS

So there you have it.... Andi Peters (yes him from the Broomcupboard) loves a bit of Cambonzola!!! You can follow Andi Peters on twitter (@AndiPeters) & remember to follow us too (@MightyCheeseB) for more celebrity cheese addictions.

CHEESE OF THE DAY: WELSH Y-FENNI

Right - so by special request (Mr Franchman - you know who you are) I deciced to dabble with a bit of Welsh cheese - Y-Fenni. The name coming from the welsh name of the town Abergavenny where it comes from. Y-Fenni is basically a strong cheddar cheese blended with mustard seeds and ale - the cheese is slightly softer than most cheddars, and the mustard seeds give it a pleasant heat without being too firey. A very tasty cheese and it has a really good aftertaste that stays with you (and makes you want to eat some more..... and more...... and...... oh dear my whole block of Y-Fenni is gone!). Tasty!

SAY CHEESE #2

Don't get caught short for cheese! Another fun cheesepic I stumbled across on the crazy world of the  information super highway (aka t'interweb!). Remember if you find any fun cheese pics then forward on to us at themightycheeseboard@gmail.com and they mighy get a feature!

CHEESE OF THE DAY: MILD GOUDA

One of the Big Cheeses - Gouda - doesnt need much introduction to most people - a Dutch cheese with a slightly sweet & salty taste. It gets its name from the town of Gouda in the Netherlands, but as its name is not protected meaning it can be made and sold all around the world.
The Mild Gouda I ate this evening (whilst watching Bill & Teds Bogus Journey on TV) was made in Holland and was matured for only 4 weeks - hence its more rubbery texture, it still had plenty of flavour to it, but hardly any aroma at all. As Gouda matures it totally gets more excellent dude!!!
A most enjoyable Thursday night delight!

COMPETITION TIME

The good people at Butlers Cheeses are giving you an opportunity to not only craft your own cheese with thier online cheese creator, but in doing so you can win £1000 and a VIP trip to the British Cheese Festival in Cardiff. to enter click on this link: http://craftacheese.co.uk/

FACECHEESE

First it was a blog........ then it ventured onto Twitter.........  NOW YOU CAN "LIKE" US ON FACEBOOK!!!  Click here for the Mighty Cheeseboard facebook page and feel free to write on our wall with anything cheese related - or just to say what your favourite cheese is!
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Mighty-Cheeseboard/456451944377272

CHEESETUBE #3

Check out this brilliant cheese advert for Nolans Seriously Strong Cheese!!!!!

CHEESE OF THE DAY: CRUMBLY LANCASHIRE

Today I bought myself a wedge of Crumbly Lancashire - Although tasty & flavoursome i found this crumbly cheese a bit more acidic than I expected. I have since found out that there are 3 main varieties of Lancashire (Creamy Lancashire, Tasty Lancashire & Crumbly Lancashire) - Crumbly being the most recent variety & is more suited for mass production. It is matured for only 6-8 weeks making it more crumbly and higher acidity and it is the only Lancashire Cheese that is manufactured outside of Lancashire. Anyway - those are the cheese facts - I have to say that personally I was a little dissapointed with this cheese, maybe I should try the Creamy or Tasty variety to compare. As a side note (and not related to the Lancashire) - there was a man who smelled of really bad cheese on the bus today - not good!

*** Note added 07/08/12: Marvellous - just eat with a sweet chilli jam (I'm sure a caramalised onion jam would work just as well) - the sweetness really helps balance the acidity of this cheese and really transforms it in my opinion! ***

CHEESE TWIT!

Yes - its true - the Mighty Cheeseboard is now on twitter - become a follower @MightyCheeseB

CHEESETUBE #2

Another cheese related clip on youtube - from British comedy group Monty Python (lots of cheeses get a mention in this sketch) - Enjoy!

CHEESETUBE #1

The Mighty Cheesboard brings you cheesy delights from the world of YouTube:

This week a classic from the Fast Show:

AROUND THE CHEESEWORLD: FRANCE

Aaah bonjour mon ami, J'adore le fromage!

So I have just had a weekend jaunt to Paris, and what a lovely city - saw all the sights Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, Notre Dame.... all very impressive, until I found a street market with a cheese stall which for me was one of the main highlights of the trip. It was a hot day, so the "perfume" in the air was an utter delight!

The market stall holder was a gentleman and cut various tantelising tasters from his selection of cheeses for us to try - eventually we opted for a wedge of the above 2 cheeses (see pic) - the Fermiere Viellie au Cave - was a soft and milky flavoured cheese - quite mild, but lovely and fresh on a hot day, whilst the Chervre de L'aveybon, also a soft cheese, but firmer, with a stronger flavour and colour than the fermiere Viellie. Both were enjoyed with a traditional crusty french bagguette down by the Seine with my good friend Alex. TRES BIEN!

I will add to this when I do some research into each cheese to see if I can find out any interesting cheese facts about these 2 beauties!!!

Au revior for now.