hrj

I'm not the only person who brings "the produce of my estates" to 12th Night to give out as presents. I was the grateful recipient of a cheese produced by Duquessa Juana (as well as some candied ginger and onion marmelade from other friends) which I will review herein. I tried to hunt out on her fb page the description from when she was doing the cheesemaking, but evidently there were several batches around the same time with slight variations, so I'll have to wait to be corrected. I <i>believe</i> it's a cow's milk cheese. It definitely came wrapped in a grape leaf and with a light white mold on the exterior of the leaf but not on the rind inside. It's a young, semi-firm (but moist) cheese with no perceptible rind (due to the wrapping) and maybe the slightest beginnings of interior ripening. The taste is nicely sharp without (as noted previously) significant ripening changes, so more of an acidic feel than the beginnings of ammonia. A faint bitterness that gives it a robustness that stands up well to other flavors. (I'm having a hard time not slathering it with the onion marmalade for every bite -- the two go together extremely well.) It would pair well with strongly-flavored red wines and goes excellently with cider (probably also with beer, but I'm not a beer drinker so I can't make specific recommendations on that end). As noted, it pairs well with caramelized onions and to my mind would also go well with kippers or sardines. As I say, very robust. There's a slight herby flavor that I can't quite identify -- possibly the influence of the leaf wrapping, but I know some of the cheeses from this general batch had additives and I'm not sure if this one did.

Definitely a cheese I'd try again, given the chance.