Spanish Cheese

[Gerry Dawes]

Whole Foods also usually has a good selection of Spanish cheese. I found some great ones at Whole Foods in Austin a few years back when I cooked a custom Spanish dinner for eight that was contracted by a friend of mine.

If you are interested in Spanish cheeses, have a look at this article I did in Culture: The Word on Cheese magazine:

"Discovering Spain´s Hidden cheese treasures in Asturias", an excellent article by Gerry Dawes about cheese from Asturias.CULTURE Magazine.

Download the article

And this one on the Culinary Institute of America's website: Spanish Artisan Cheeses & Complementing Spanish Wines

I buy Spanish olive oil at Trader Joe's, near Danbury, CT at something like $5.99 and I cook with it every night.

Gerry Dawes,

Gerry Dawes's Spain: An Insider's Guide to Spanish Food, Wine, Culture and Travel

The Spanish Artisan Wine Group - Gerry Dawes Selections

[MsDiPesto]

_{Thanks, now I can expand my palate beyond Manchego!! I like the Spanish Olive Oil too.}

[zoramargolis]

I much prefer Spanish olive oil to Tuscan, which I often find to be assertively grassy or peppery and not nearly as useful for cooking vs. salads. That said, the Trader Joe's Spanish oil is one of the great smart shopper bargains around. It is the most versatile, cooking-friendly oil available right now. I also keep a more expensive Spanish single variety oil, like Columela arbequina or hojiblanca around for special salads or bread dipping.

A couple of Spanish cheeses that I love and try to keep on hand are Valdeon (a mild blue cow's milk cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves) and Capricho de Cabra (a slightly tangy, fresh goat cheese that is creamy and not at all chalky). They are almost always available at Whole Foods and at A&H Gourmet Seafood Market in Bethesda, also known as the Spanish seafood market, a great resource for all manner of Spanish food products except wine. The best part is that not only are these cheeses delicious, they are significantly cheaper than equivalent cheeses from France or Italy, or the U.S. The price of Valdeon has gone up quite a bit, compared to a couple of years ago, when I could get it for $11.99 a pound, but you can still buy a nice-sized chunk for five or six dollars.

[Pat]

I much prefer Spanish olive oil to Tuscan, which I often find to be assertively grassy or peppery and not nearly as useful for cooking vs. salads. That said, the Trader Joe's Spanish oil is one of the great smart shopper bargains around. It is the most versatile, cooking-friendly oil available right now.

Yes, it is a great bargain. I always keep it on hand, but the last bottle in my supply is running low and I haven't been back to TJ's in a while to pick up more.

[Gerry Dawes]

_{Thanks, now I can expand my palate beyond Manchego!! I like the Spanish Olive Oil too.}

Here is an vignette on a single cheese, Monje Blue, from the Asturias. There will be more vignettes. This one is available in the U.S. through Forever Cheese, I believe.

Asturian Journal: March 19, A Visit to Monje, Producer of an Exceptional Cabrales-like Blue Cheese in Panes, Peñamellera Baja (Another excerpt from my article in the summer issue of culture: the word on cheese.)

Monje "Blue," a first-rate Cabrales-type cheese from Peñamellera Baja.