All but the Winnimere and the Harbison are new to me. The port wash on the Harbison is very exciting for me, I love port wine cheeses and spreads. Even Kaukana, I just love it, I used to eat it with my dad when I was little, so it’s total comfort food for me.
Anyway, I tried some of each after I took this picture, and they are all very good to awesome. I was expecting to like the Sweet Annie the best, but that didn’t prove to be the case. At first taste, it was too similar to Manchego (which I just don’t care for- it’s bland and dry and nowhere near sheepy or flavorful for my personal preference, and yes I have tried many different versions), but a couple of hours at room temperature (which is 60 degrees in my house), it really came into its own. It’s closer to Ossou Iraty, which was what I had hoped based on the description. Quite nice. I would buy it again.
The real standout though is, for me, is the Humble. It’s not going to last long.
by SevenVeils0
7 Comments
Good god you brought the heat!
Delicious. Nice lineup.
Omg the Winnimere…..
Pleasant Ridge and Harbison are my all time favorites
Love Saxelby’s–used to work there.
Harbison is king! We got the Prosecco washed one at work and it’s the best cheese I’ve ever had
So, I have now tasted each of the cheeses a few times in a few different ways, and they are all amazing, but to me the real standout, aside from the Harbison and the Winnimere (which is the one that I have yet to open- I have had it many times and have a good idea what to expect, and I’m allowing it to ripen more, but the Harbison was nice and squishy and funky-smelling through the packaging).
Calderwood is just incredible. It tastes like roast beef and pistachios.
Sweet Annie, which I expected to be the standout to me, isn’t really. It’s very Manchego-adjacent until it really has a good couple of hours at room temp, whereupon it becomes much creamier and the flavor really develops much more (this is true of all cheese, of course, but it’s really extremely dramatic here).
Rush Creek Reserve is delicious, I got the extra aged version and it’s great.
But the Humble. Just, wow. Here’s the description c/p from Saxelby’s website, and it is spot on. It’s not fruity like Jarlsberg, it’s just straight up fruity. Like actual fruit. I can definitely see the pineapple comparison, but it’s more complex than can be nailed down to just one or two fruits.
“Humble is mellow and buttermilk-y up front, but quickly gives way to a long pineapple-forward finish. A creamy and fruity delight.”
I had it for dinner tonight, just thin slices on a toasted bagel thin with a tangerine/Seville orange marmalade. Along with a mortadella/deli sliced chicken sandwich with just a good smear of Dijon mustard and some chopped cornichons. Oh and butter lettuce. I put the bagel thin with the Humble on it into a warm, but turned off, oven just long enough to soften it but I pulled it just before it started to hit the melting point.