As a reminder to us all, cheese competitions can be a bit like hosting the Academy Awards. There are lots of opinions on what is the best cheese on any given day (or hour). It can be a great boon to the manufacturer (I have always hated this word as it regards cheesemaking - at least the cheesemaking I've come to know-it's such a 'chemical' kind of word, without the least reference to craftsmanship, but I digress). The boon comes in the form of a phone at the plant now ringing off the hook and a nice bump in sales as the word gets out.
The current World Cheese Championship BIS (Best in Show), Vermeer is garnering some criticism (http://www.cheesechap.com/2011/12/do-washed-rind-cheeses-get-enough.html), and there's a really nice selection of Dutch-style and true Dutch gouda cheeses to choose from if this one isn't to your liking. We in the cheese world tend to be a little dismissive of requests for 'low-fat, low-cholesterol' cheese products, our customer's health predilections not withstanding. I myself confess to being a bit non-plussed by these requests, but then have to acquit myself for the 'Walmarting' of America, where every current trend manifests itself in any random pedestrian looking for cheese.
We 'cheese' retailers have found it necessary to become virtual 'Curd' libraries, researching facts on the milk as opposed to that milk, butterfat and protein content, lactose chains -- sometimes it makes my brain hurt. But I always remind myself of the modicum - In all things moderation! Perhaps if we Americans would learn to refrain from eating the 'whole darn thing' in one sitting, our lab tests wouldn't look like a heart attack on the verge.
So for lunch today, I'll stick with 2 2 oz. slices of Pleasant Ridge Reserve, and a couple slices of green apple on a bed of (still winter) greens. And then later this afternoon, I'll take a nice long walk around downtown Delavan.
