[Mag]

What cheese do you like best that you have tried and know the type of cheese?

My ranking is as follows, that I have tried.

1. Swiss
2. Hickory Smoked Gouda
3. Gouda
4. Mozzarella
5. Mild Cheddar
6. Feta cheese on Greek/Mediterranean salad.

[Syrah]

Saint-Félicien

[S Clark]

Well aged Manchego is my every day cheese.  But...
This is just an impossible question.  Every place in the world has their own cheeses.  From farmer's cheeses in Italy aged in walnut leaves, aged village cheese in Spain, to unidentifiable cheeses in grocers in the Greek Islands.  Different ages, different  styles...
When my wife and I retired, we crewed with a group of college students on a small (50') yacht, sailing from Corsica to Sardinia.  Part of my job was food and wine.  Every morning in port, I'd get to the markets as soon as they opened and find a grandmother to follow, buying the cheeses and sausages that she bought.  I get a nibble from the grocer, then buy a kilo.  I never know what in the hell I was getting, but it was always delicious, and always different.  Several years later, I went with the same captain to many of the Cyclades Islands in Greece.  Same routine, same experience.  So many cheeses, so little time. 

[MttBsh]

Port Salut. This was my favorite cheese as a kid growing up in Paris, and I still love it all of these decades later! It was only in the past few years that it became pretty widely available here in the US, delicious with a good bouteille de vin rouge!

[dB Cooper]

I couldn't help myself...

[Mag]

  I see all these different cheeses at the grocery Deli. I'm fishing for ideas on what to try. Cheese is pretty pricey so I want to narrow down the options.

[rpf]

Ricotta Salata (w Semolina bread & EVO Oil, of course)

Manchego

[luckyguy]

For salads....Kirkland Blue cheese in the double pack.  Closest thing to Maytag at less than half the price.  Especially good at room temp.

[S Clark]

I noticed that your list is mostly milder cheeses.  I'll recommend a young manchego, say 6 months.  But I also saw your Canadian locale.  I'd ask your grocer about local cheeses and see what's available. 

[galyons]

IMO, the list of "cheeses" in the poll is a bit pedestrian. Sorry, but when I see "Parmesan" I cannot stop the eye rolls!   Not possible to have "A" favorite cheese!!!  There are just too many national and regional cheeses!!  Most of the U.S. is a cheese wasteland.  My favorites.....

Casu Marzu
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Pecorino Romano, (needs to be Sardinian sheep's milk!)
Taleggio
Nicasio Square
Marin French Dark Moon Brie
Marin French Schloss, well ripened
Cowgirl Creamery— Red Hawk
Humbolt Fog
Nicasio Valley Square
Most any stinky cheese that can only be purchased in France or Italy,  because pasteurization kills cheese!

Cheers,
Geary

[Rob Babcock]

I have to agree- it would be impossible to choose one favorite cheese.  At best I could pick a favorite for a given purpose.  I love cheese!

[goskers]

IMO, the list of "cheeses" in the poll is a bit pedestrian. Sorry, but when I see "Parmesan" I cannot stop the eye rolls!   Not possible to have "A" favorite cheese!!!  There are just too many national and regional cheeses!!  Most of the U.S. is a cheese wasteland.  My favorites.....

So my vote for American and Velveeta are out ?!

[Syrah]

Mag - you need to find yourself a good cheese shop.  I used to go to a great cheese store in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market.  You could just walk up and down and say, "what's that one like?"  And the cheese monger would say, "here, try it."  Then you'd say, "mmm, how about that one...?"

You would leave with a collection of cheeses from all over the world.

Agreed on the Port Salut.  I like a nice Crottin de Chavignol too.
 

[mcgsxr]

+1 on places like the St Lawrence Market in Toronto.

I really like sharp old cheddar.  I do like a lot of different cheeses, but if I had to pick just 1 it would be white, crumbly SHARP cheddar.  My father always loved a good sharp cheddar with apple pie on Sunday.

[rockadanny]

For you Cheap and Cheerful folks, IMO the best tasting grocery store cheese, also available at Target and Wal-Mart (cheapest price), is Kerrygold Dubliner. Also, their Pure Irish Butter is very good as well.

My favorite sandwich cheese (not listed in the poll): imported Sharp Provolone.

Favorite spaghetti cheese: Locatelli Romano - great taste, pungent, and a nice bite.

[rollo]

Provolone  and apples oh my. Wine as well.


charles

[ctviggen]

I find I like the cheeses that are aged at least a year.  Good cheese costs (sadly) $15/pound or more.  I've had $8/pound Manchego and $15/pound Manchego, and $8/pound wasn't suitable for eating by itself. It was fine as a cheese on something, though. 

By the way, when you say Swiss cheese, there are a lot of those:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Swiss_cheeses.  I like the Gruyere, but again it depends on who makes it.

When I was in Sweden, I thought this was great:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A4sterbotten_cheese

Here in New England, some cheddars are great, most are not. 

I thought (well, the whole family thought) this was great:  http://wine.woot.com/offers/cypress-grove-lamb-chopper-cheese-3.  We finished the entire 2 pounds in under a week.

[decal]

[jimbones]

you mean expanding foam in a can? 

[charmerci]

IMO, the list of "cheeses" in the poll is a bit pedestrian. Sorry, but when I see "Parmesan" I cannot stop the eye rolls! 

Have you tried eating some Italian Parmesan from a solid block? Yummy! It's not the stuff you shake out of plastic container.


I go to France most years so, I'm a cheese snob. Basically won't eat any American cheeses - sorry. Unfortunately, pasteurizing is taking over the chevre (goat cheese) there also.   


I love comte and over the years learned to love their pungent chevre.