Churchill Rd Raclette - Delendale Creamery
Churchill Rd Raclette - Delendale Creamery
For this one I have one clear instruction before we begin. Pick up the cheese, step away from the cheese-board, and get thee to the kitchen. This is a cheese that needs - possibly even demands - some heat.
Now I know the kitchen is a bit of a foreign place for the cheese-lover - I mean what use is there of fry-pans or cook-pots? Bear with me though, this journey is worth it.
Before we begin, I'm going to take you on a small flight of fancy. Imagine, if you will, that an honest English Cheddar decided to take a holiday on the Continent, and found itself in Switzerland. Maybe seeking some great waterfall to encounter a perilous foe, it instead meets a sweet and charming Emmental. Romance blossoms, the Cheddar settles - foe forgotten, and the two have a child. Roll forward a dozen years and a few more, and this is Raclette. The bitter-edged teenager child - probably miffed that Cheddar failed to find and defeat that foe.
Raclette is a cheese designed for melting. Traditionally served with black bread or boiled potatoes, with an accompaniment of pickles, it would be stood in front of a fire, and the melting cheese scraped off onto the eater's plate.
By itself and cut from the block (after removing the unpleasantly bitter rind), it is both nutty and sharp, with a texture almost precisely half way between the flexibility of Emmental and the firm crack of Cheddar, and all of this with a distinctive bitter aftertaste.
But if you melt it - what a transformation! The cheese becomes a silky smooth ooze, and the bitterness decreases markedly. Add the boiled potatoes as a carrier, and top with a slice of pickle, and you have a treasure for the mouth. The tang of the pickle offsets the last of the bitterness, and the potato absorbs the oils to make a cheesy heaven far beyond the simple Cheddar toasty.
Well worth visiting the kitchen, and a remarkable eating experience. I am eagerly awaiting winter, and a chance to seek out somewhere with a log fire so that I can do it properly with a like-minded group of friends.
Delendale cheeses are available across the SW of W.A.
http://www.dellendale.com.au/find_our_cheese.html
For this one I have one clear instruction before we begin. Pick up the cheese, step away from the cheese-board, and get thee to the kitchen. This is a cheese that needs - possibly even demands - some heat.
Now I know the kitchen is a bit of a foreign place for the cheese-lover - I mean what use is there of fry-pans or cook-pots? Bear with me though, this journey is worth it.
Before we begin, I'm going to take you on a small flight of fancy. Imagine, if you will, that an honest English Cheddar decided to take a holiday on the Continent, and found itself in Switzerland. Maybe seeking some great waterfall to encounter a perilous foe, it instead meets a sweet and charming Emmental. Romance blossoms, the Cheddar settles - foe forgotten, and the two have a child. Roll forward a dozen years and a few more, and this is Raclette. The bitter-edged teenager child - probably miffed that Cheddar failed to find and defeat that foe.
Raclette is a cheese designed for melting. Traditionally served with black bread or boiled potatoes, with an accompaniment of pickles, it would be stood in front of a fire, and the melting cheese scraped off onto the eater's plate.
By itself and cut from the block (after removing the unpleasantly bitter rind), it is both nutty and sharp, with a texture almost precisely half way between the flexibility of Emmental and the firm crack of Cheddar, and all of this with a distinctive bitter aftertaste.
But if you melt it - what a transformation! The cheese becomes a silky smooth ooze, and the bitterness decreases markedly. Add the boiled potatoes as a carrier, and top with a slice of pickle, and you have a treasure for the mouth. The tang of the pickle offsets the last of the bitterness, and the potato absorbs the oils to make a cheesy heaven far beyond the simple Cheddar toasty.
Well worth visiting the kitchen, and a remarkable eating experience. I am eagerly awaiting winter, and a chance to seek out somewhere with a log fire so that I can do it properly with a like-minded group of friends.
Delendale cheeses are available across the SW of W.A.
http://www.dellendale.com.au/find_our_cheese.html
Wait, what? Are you even eating the same Delendale Raclette that we do. Sharp? Bitter aftertaste? I'll have to buy another block and check now.
ReplyDeleteStephen Gunnell It clearly needs thorough research. I found that when it was eaten properly - that is, melted, there was no bitterness to speak of. Rob has this crazy idea that it can be eaten without heat, but that is just crazy talk.
ReplyDeleteAlicia Smith ... weird, I think you've spent too many years in hot WA summers where all your food comes hot whether you want it or not.
ReplyDeleteStephen Gunnell perhaps you're the weird one for yearning after the unobtainable cold cheese in the WA summers...
ReplyDeleteAlicia Smith we have this modern convenince called a Coolgardie Safe that keeps our gold cool.
ReplyDeleteBut then, gold is pretty cool anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is just like cheese!
ReplyDeleteYes!
ReplyDeleteCatherine Chen crumbs.. Or dribbles.
ReplyDeleteThat's not cheese ?
ReplyDeleteZoey Brown oh yes it is!
ReplyDeleteIn a square form ?
ReplyDeleteIt isn't an entire cheese but it is a section of cheese complete with rind. To my mind people who insist on only cutting their cheeses in wedges out to be fed a diet of cheese spread.
ReplyDeleteOhh okay
ReplyDeleteAre you the one doing it
ReplyDeleteCutting cheese or feeding miscreants cheese spread?
ReplyDeleteBoth which of them do you do ?
ReplyDeleteIf I could afford a whole wheel of cheese I would definitely cut it into blocks. Feeding miscreants cheese spread is too time consuming. I leave that to the Department of Corrective Services Justice. :)
ReplyDeleteBTW Zoey Brown ... enjoy your cheese!
ReplyDeleteLol okay
ReplyDelete