In cheese-with-stuff-in news I sorta want to try this. Would anyone like to watch and laugh join in?
L’Etivaz
A hard, unpasturised, alpine cow’s milk cheese from Switzerland, bought from KaseSwiss.
This is a slice of pale yellow cheese. The brown rind tastes dark and musty – not an eating-rind, really. The cheese is slightly soft, and scattered with tiny white spots of crunchy potential
The paste crumbles gently, and lactic crystals crunch and ping around my mouth. Crunchy cheeses make me giggle. The cheese tastes dense and darkly fruity, like pieces of apple picked out from a jar of mincemeat. It’s sweet and nutty , tasting of almond, toasted hazelnuts, and something like I imagine acorns to taste; smooth, cool, slightly green, and gently milky sweet. (The internet says that raw acorns are actually very bitter.) There’s a subtle pine-needle freshness, and a smidge of rosemary and thyme – a refreshing, slightly astringent grassy herbal flavour. There’s a rich, meaty aspent to this cheese, as well – marmite and mushroom ketchup, and just a hint of yeast. I can also taste just the merest touch of woodsmoke – this combines with the rich buttey, toasty, measty flavours to make a wonderfully hearty, warming cheese.