My love for cheese

Piggybacking off my last post, I mentioned that I adore cheese. Love it. But there's a dark period that I had to endure for a bit before I ascended to real cheese.

This shit. Here. Processed cheese. Cheese that is manufactured to where it legally cannot be called cheese. And melting is a selling point for this particular product. I had to eat this bile for years. It's not only an insult to cheese itself, it's not something that should be consumed by a human being. It tasted horrible, it felt like the plastic it was wrapped in and worse of all, it didn't melt. I had an Italian cheeseburger which was a sub with french fries in it with the beef inside it. The slices of cheese in it were wrinkled and warm, but not melted. I had to take out the 'cheese' and go out and get some at the local bodega.

Since then, I made it a rule to buy real cheese, and always real cheese. Never again.

Just now, I made a nice grilled cheese sandwich. Delicious. What I used to do was put a cheese sandwich in the microwave and come out with a half-melted, half-petrified disaster. It wasn't burned, but hardened. No idea if there's another word for it but petrified is probably the best way to describe it. I've learned from my mistakes.

Here's a list of cheeses I've tried over the years.

1. Cheddar. Basic yellow cheese. Works when I need it to work. Sometimes it comes in a white variety and that has some flavor to it if sharp.
2. Monetary Jack. A decent cheese to eat with fruit often combined with Colby or peppers. Pepper Jack has grown on me in recent years.You need that slight spice to bring out the mild taste.
3. Swiss. Hot damn, when I first tried Swiss, it was like an epiphany. I tried real cheese and then I tried this. Now I knew I was never going back to that sandwich slice shit. When it melted, man.
4. Mozzarella. This one isn't good for eating alone, you have to cook with it. Great on pasta and noodle dishes and obviously pizza.
5. Provolone. A nice cheese with some sting to it. I tried a provolone block at my last job and not only did it stink, it had a taste that went to your nose. Now that's real cheese.
6. Havarti. This cheese is good for melting and it has a nice dotted pattern. It's definitely a good cheese for burgers.
7. Muenster. I LOVE muenster. The orange rind, the salty ting, the soft texture, it's a good cheese overall, good for snacking, sandwiches and macaroni. I would say this is my favorite cheese overall.
8. Gouda. Gouda has a particular texture and was my go-to pick with a summer sausage. The smoked variety isn't bad either.
9. Brie. Don't like it. The crunchy crust and soft texture don't do it for me.
10. Blue. I'd love to eat it as is, but the Blues I've tried have been very rich. I can eat it as is, but it goes best with something, in a salad or another dish. 
11. Truffle cheese. This type of cheese I didn't get to eat much but the few times I tried it, it was absolutely delicious. It had the right combination of sting and stink. It may have been the mushrooms or the cheese itself but it's a great combination. There are plenty other types out there, so I haven't touched the surface.
12. Parmesan. It's a tough cheese but it has a flavor to it. I was mad I couldn't eat it alone and I usually don't eat it unless it's with some pasta dish.
13. Kerrygold Brand cheese. At my last job, I sold both Dubliner and Ballyshannon blocks. I adored Ballyshannon more than Dubliner but lo and behold to cut costs, they got rid of the latter and only sold the former.

I could go on an on, but I love cheese to death. If I don't restrain myself, I could eat a whole block of the stuff with no regrets or guilt. There are more cheeses out there to try and I'd love to take the opportunity to do so. Not too long of an entry, just an indulgence piece I wanted to write about.

One last reiteration: Fuck fake cheese.