Day 638 : SCS Version 9.0, Dispatch #4

Our last and final dispatch from Mexico and Texas and boy am I thrilled to move on to two new locales. Mexico has been a tough country for our SCS focus because although they do make cheese, there is not nearly as great a variety of cheeses produced -- the majority of their cheeses tend to be soft or pliable and melting and although there are regional cheese specialities they can sometimes be tough to find exported out of the country...so for our final spotlight we're going to be looking at different old world cheeses that have been appropriated by each locale.

From Texas, we have Sand Creek Farm's raw milk Gouda. Sand Creek was the first Texas based farm that was licensed to produce and sell raw milk cheeses, quite the feat if you ask me! Their raw milk Gouda is crafted with grade A Jersey cow's milk, light and buttery with a nice toasty nutty finish. This is an easy snacking cheese that appeals to the masses. The fact that it is crafted with raw milk adds a farmsteady, honest, small production feel to the cheese; this is not some plastic mass produced Gouda cheese that you would find on the shelves of Gristedes, this is an artisanal product. It manages to keep the integrity of the cheese it was inspired by but yet becomes its own thing all together!

Image courtesy of http://www.houstondairymaids.com/

And from the Chiapas region of Mexico, Queso de Bola or otherwise known as Queso Ocosingo modeled loosely on the makeup of Edam. Crafted with pasteurized cow's milk with the addition of cream, this cheese has a yellow-ish tint to it with a round, buttery and creamy mouth feel and a surprisingly crumbly crunchy crystallized texture. Just like Edam, it is covered in a wax exterior during its aging process which produces a hard outside that does not impact the taste and flavor profile of the cheese. Sometimes the cheese can be hollowed out and consequently filled with meat in the form of a queso relleno or stuffed cheese.

Isn't it interesting that both cheeses discussed today originated in Holland, not in France or Italy....and next week we move onto our tenth state country spotlight.