Quickes Cheddar takes especially well to sweet condiments. Made by Mary Quicke of Devon, England, this farmhouse cheddar has a hint of cigar box. In other words, it's musty. Or, to use the words of writer and cheesemonger Liz Thorpe: "it's cellary."
You can tell that this cheese was wrapped in cloth, larded, and then stored in a damp place. Those earthy notes are what make a cheddar a true "farmhouse cheddar." If you don't like boot-stompin' goodness, you're better off with a different style, a cheddar without the word "bandaged" anywhere near it.
Quickes Cheddar has a caramel-sweetness that I love. It makes me think of eating a caramel-covered apple in a leaf pile. The blend of toffee notes and autumnal leafiness is just lovely. If you eat the apple paste first, the slightly bitter notes of this cheese disappear. And the mustiness gets tamped down.
I found Mitica's Apple Paste at Quince, my neighborhood cheese shop, but you should be able to find it at various gourmet shops or online.
Bandages. Dark cellars. When did cheese become so gothic? Speaking of which, I don't know if you've read Laurie R. King's Mary Russell novels? Turns out that Sherlock Holmes's successor is a cheesehead. She keeps bleu cheese in her sock drawer at Oxford. Somehow, I thought that made her worthy of recommendation to you and your readers.
ReplyDeleteCurious. Do you suppose it was a bleu cheese sachet? I quite like that idea! Thanks for the reading suggestion -- I'm not familiar with the Mary Russell books. But I will look. Toothsome.
ReplyDeletecheck out "marys dairy diary" written by mrs. quicke herself. she talks exactly how she writes!
ReplyDeleteMmm, apple paste sounds delicious. Never seen it, only guava, but I bet I could make something similar if I look hard enough!
ReplyDelete