This week’s fromage Friday is brought to you by Trader Joe’s in the West End. Trader Joe’s actually has a good selection of cheeses at affordable prices (the boursin there also retails for $3.49, one of the cheapest price in the city), including their own store brand. Here’s the cheese tray I came up with after my trip to TJ:
Saint André $4.20 – If you’re calorie conscious this triple cream cheese with 75% butterfat is probably not for you! Saint André is a soft-ripened cheese in the tradition of brie and camembert made from cow’s milk and enriched with pure cream. It’s 50% richer than the average camembert but has a similar mild taste, with a whipped yet buttery texture. The rind is edible but may be a little too tangy for some. It also gets tangier as the cheese ages.
Trader Joe’s Cambozola $4.20 – I’m not a big blue cheese eater so Cambozola, a triple cream cross between Camembert and Gorgonzola is the perfect compromise for me. This soft ripened blue cheese, often marketed as the “blue brie,” is a cow’s milk combining a french soft-ripened triple cream cheese and Italian Gorgonzola. It has the best of both cheese: the sharpness of blue cheese and the moist, rich creaminess of Camembert. I’m a big fan!
French Abbaye Ste. Mère $4.03 – This Trappist cheese, made by the sisters of the Abbaye de Belval, is not the faint of heart. Aged for at least 60 days, this soft pressed, uncooked cheese made from Normandy milk, has a zingy, pungent and aromatic taste, a yellow-ish color and a solid, semi-soft texture. It has a distinctive aroma and a salty taste that’s not for everyone.
Port Salut $4.37 – Another Trappist cheese, this one from Mayenne, in the Loire region. Port Salut is a semi-soft cheese made from cow’s milk with a distinctive orange crust and a mild flavour. It’s supposed to have a strong smell, though the one I bought from Trader Joe’s just made me think of creamier Babybel, with an almost plastic texture and very little smell. I would recommend Port Salut for those looking for a mild cheese.
Trader Joe’s Goat Milk Brie $2.49 – You can’t beat the price of this cheese, but you could probably find a similar cheese with more flavour and creaminess. I found this cheese worked perfectly melted in an omelette but didn’t really bring much to my cheese plate. When I think of brie, goat or regular, I expect a certain run-iness that this cheese completely lacked. Still, it’s very affordable, and I could see it be quite pleasing for american palates when mixed on a cheese plate.
Stay tuned for Cowgirl Creamery next week!
Nice mix! If you haven't, you must try Merry Goat Round from Firefly Farm in Md. They likely carry it at Cowgirl. Will be back to see what you choose next week!
I *love* the merry go round. And the MT TAM. And the Humboldt fog. Those are my go to at Cowgirl creamery. and their mimolette when they have some…
I frequently buy the goat brie from TJ's and have found that it comes in varying levels of ripeness. I agree that in a less-ripe state it is somewhat bland and firm but if you go through the stack and give each a little squeeze in the middle you can usually find one that is soft and ripe and those I've found to be appropriately gooey and runny. Sadly there are days when none are ripe but it's worth it when you find one that is.
Great mix. For me, Port Salut is sort of “just okay, nothing special.” But often that's what makes a cheese a good pick for a crowd. It's mild and pretty nondescript with a creaminess which attracts many. This also makes it pretty versatile.
As far as an odor… I've never noticed much of one. Then again, I'm a huge fan of limberger cheese – the stinkier, the better – so I can tend to overlook the smell of less “overt” cheeses.