Cheese of the Week - Morbier

I figured that I would start a little blurb or two on cheese, weekly or so is what I have in mind, we shall see what happens.

We are going to start with Morbier. I first had this cheese over Thanksgiving Holiday at a Wine Festival in Ft Walton. It is a very soft and creamy cheese (prolly somewhere in between Munster and Gouda in regards to consistency only). Overall I would say it has a mild taste but has a bit of a sour, somewhat nutty flavour afterwards. Nothing strong about the sour taste at all. One thing I will say is that the smell of this cheese when cut from the wheel is very pungent. I would not travel far in a small car after picking some up at the market.

The line separating down the center no longer has a practical purpose, but in the past its presence served a use. Morbier was made from leftovers as it were. The leftovers from making Gruyère de Comté (a nutty tasting cheese in its own right), were set in a mold and covered with vegetable ash overnight. The following day, additional leftovers from the morning yield of cheese would then be added. The ash prevented the rind of the cheese from forming and eased the addition of the newer left overs.

Although this cheese goes well with run of the mill beer it is better with a nice not-so-intense red.

Of course, I could not start this kind of thread without homage to this...