Abbaye de Belloc

I got this at the recommendation of a lady who was doing tastings for Fromager d'Affinois at the Cheese Store (a soft Brie-like cheese, I think I liked it but wanted to get hard cheeses) but saw me get Midnight Moon and mentioned that it was one her favorites too. Then as I was writing up this post, I realized I'd had it before at the cheese tasting class I went to. Fortunately I'm fairly consistent in my tastes.

 

Cost: $24.99
Official description: Sheep, hard-ripened, Pyrenees, France. (previous post had the additional description: "Hearty, Robust, Caramel. There are 3 capital regions of sheep milk cheese: La Mancha, Spain (Manchego), Tuscany, Italy (Pecorino Toscano), and the French Pyrenees. The milk of this region results in a caramellish finish in the cheese.")
Did I like this: Yes.

Milky and salty though overall fairly mild, relatively soft in texture. Previously I also noted that it had a nutty finish.

Cave-aged Gruyere

Picked this up from the Cheese Store on a bit of whim, I just knew before that I like Gruyere in grilled cheese sandwiches.

Cost: $19.99/lb
Official description: nutty, satisfying, versatile. Raw cow, hard-ripened, Switzerland.
Did I like this: Yes.

Good, solid cheese to have around for snacking on. Not particularly distinctive in one way or another, except perhaps you do get the taste of cow's milk in it, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Fiore Sardo

This was recommended by a guy at the Whole Foods in Union Square after I got half a pound of Midnight Moon and told him that was my favorite cheese.

Cost: $15.99/lb.
Official description: I don't remember the entire description on the Whole Foods placard for this, but it something about being a good salty sheep's milk hard cheese. The cheesemonger said it's good with both snacks and grated over pasta.
Did I like this: Yes.

I think it's pretty similar to Midnight Moon, though without the crystals and of sheep's milk instead of goat's milk. Perhaps the key is just that I like salty hard cheeses. This one tastes pretty creamy, too. Interestingly, the bits of this cheese near the rind have more of that blue cheese taste, but I don't mind it.

Monte Enebro

Outside of going to a cheese tasting or class, I've decided to start asking cheesemongers for their suggestions on a new kind of cheese to try along with old favorites I'm re-stocking on. A guy at the Garden of Eden told me this was his favorite cheese.

Cost: $30.99/lb.
Official description: Aged goat cheese. Sharp to strong taste. Imported from Spain.
Did I like this: eh.

I think I'll stop buying aged goat cheeses from now on, since I didn't much like the Cheese Store's Crottin either. I'll try new ones but typically I have cheese as a snack with apples or with a scrambled egg breakfast on the weekends and anything that's like a blue cheese for me is best with some honey and I have to be in the right mood for it. So if I'm going to have some at home, it should probably only be in really small quantities like leftovers from a tasting and not an independently purchased block.