Prima Donna: a Dutch cheese that thinks it's Italian

I always like trying new cheeses and came across one yesterday in our local deli that's a real curiosity: a Dutch cheese that's made to taste like parmesan. It's called - and this has to be an idea of some marketing department - Prima Donna and is made by a company called Vandesterre in the style of a Gouda. (It can't be classified as Gouda because of the fat content which is only 45% compared to the minimum 48% required for Gouda.)

It's much softer and more pliable than a parmesan but has quite a kick though less bitterness than a mature cheddar. Unlike many cheeses it tastes pretty good straight out of the fridge (as I can testify as I'm nibbling it right now!)

I suspect it would be very good to cook with and might also pair well with full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot (by no means true of all hard cheeses)

The only downside is that it's quite difficult to cut as my cheesemonger found (above). You can see that it split when it was cut. But who cares when it tastes this good?

There is apparently a milder version so look out for the red label and the word 'maturo' if you want the real McCoy.

Wild Garlic Yarg and Old Remeker

A couple of other good cheese discoveries this month, the first being Wild Garlic Yarg. Normally Yarg, as I've mentioned before, is wrapped in nettles but this, as the name indicates, is covered in wild garlic leaves which suffuses it with a delicate but unmistakeable flavour of garlic. Oddly it also has a slightly more supple texture than the nettle version - I don't know if that's because the leaves have a higher moisture content or because of the ripening technique. A really nice summer cheese anyway.

By complete contrast you should try Old Remeker a Dutch cheese made in the style of an Old Gouda which I tasted at Paxton and Whitfield the other day. It's hard and crystalline in texture - quite similar to an aged Parmesan but with a rich, fruity flavour. Really superb

I'm now off on holiday for a couple of weeks so won't post unless I come up with an exciting cheese find. Enjoy the rest of August . . .

Another discovery and a bargain

While I was in Paxton & Whitfield checking out Blue Monday I discovered another fascinating cheese I'd never heard of before called Terschelling Schapenkaas. It's an organic, Gouda-style sheeps' milk cheese from the island of Terschelling in the far north of Holland.

Despite being only four months old it has a beautifully smooth texture and full nutty, tangy flavour - much mellower than many sheeps' cheeses. I discovered it was imported by a company called Boerenkaas which is run by a guy called Chris Macfarlane who used to work for Neal's Yard. You can also buy it direct from their stall in Borough Market on Fridays and Saturdays, for £28 a kilo which isn't cheap but well worth it in my opinion. (Apparently you only get 2 litres of milk a day out of these sheep!)

The bargain was a great hunk of Montgomery's cheddar P & W was selling off as cooking cheese from a truckle that had gone slightly over and started to blue but which still had a fantastic flavour. That was just £2.79 for 455g! I can see that there will be a weekend of toasted cheese coming up . . .