The Stinky Cheese Girl

In lab yesterday, we had cheese tasting. As I have mentioned before, one of my goals this year is to cultivate myself to like strong cheeses. I'm pretty serious about that; it's on my Things to Do Before I Turn 20 List. I like to think that I eat almost anything, but cheese is one thing that is tougher for me. I will love cheese by the end of summer, if it's the last thing I do.

Soon, the class began to "smell like feet." Among other things uttered my by peers, "it smells like a dirty belly button!" We had a taste of fresh yogurt, mozarella, cheddar, jarlsberg, asiago, bucheron, catiembere, limburger, stilton, roquefort, and American. The yogurt had a sour milk aroma, but I actually liked it a lot. Mozarella and cheddar were typical. The jarlsberg was...much more offensive. It was very pungent and even slightly nutty. Moving on, I did like both the bucheron and camembert cheeses. Very creamy, soft, and not as rancid tasting as the asiago. My favorite of all, though, was the limburger. It definitely has a very pronounced aroma; I liked how it had hints of spiciness, sweetness, and saltiness. Slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

Roquefort. I still can't get myself to stomach the mold-injected, cave-aged cheese. The taste is definitely distinct--slightly metallic from the mold and near rancid from the sheep's milk. I think I'll have to look into psychotherapy to really love this stuff. A wise 80-year-old man said to me, "Roquefort is the Annette to your Sebastian Valmont." I couldn't have said it better myself.