Went to my local cheesemonger today and saw they had some Petit Vaccarinus.
Its stinky, but not quite at the Epoisses level (my wife has banned that from the house unfortunately). But it is intense, and insanely delicious.
To round up a cheese platter, I got some Stilton, Fromage d’Affinoise, couple of Cheddars and a double cream Carolina Moon from Chapel Hill, NC.
Got me thinking. I think a good ripe Vaccarinus might just be my favorite cheese ever. What’s yours?
You’re lucky the real Eppoisses isn’t available here. Or not
Very tough question.
Maybe 36 month old Comte’.
Or Gorwydd
Or Perail
Or St. Maure
But I eat the most of sharp cheddar, followed by Trader Joe’s creamy goat cheese
My local cheesemonger always has Epoisses available. Wife banned it after I left one in the back porch fridge and left for a work trip for 2 weeks. The smell was… pronounced.
Blue goat cheese — the name I’m forgetting. A very small artisanal shop in Copenhagen had it…
The acidity and liveliness of the goat milk is fantastic with the deep roundness of the blue mold.
Turned lactose tolerant at age 25, so I’m leaning a little more towards aged hard cheeses these days…
Prairie Breeze aged cheddar
That’s actually one of the cheddars I bought today!
Brillat-Savarin, followed closely by Vacherin Mont d’Or.
I did not know there were prairies in Somerset. It’s mildly hilly. 
My favorite. I ate a great one, warmed, with truffles, at Les Enfants du Marche in Oct.
Favourite cheese … this is so much like favourite wine, I have so many and the particular instance depends on situation. So “it depends”.
How is Vacherin Mont d’Or different from Petit Vaccarinus do you know? I’ve never figured out if they are the same thing, just different name. Or if there’s a difference?
Brillat-Savarin is the favorite right now. Oh. My. God.
But if I had to go to a deserted island and could only bring three:
Gruyere
Västerbotten
Aged Cheddar
If I could only bring one, ouff - that’s tough. Be Gruyere or aged Cheddar. But I couldn’t make a choice between those two. It’s a coin toss.
EDIT. And then I forgot about Comté as I wrote this and now nothing makes sense anymore… 
How does Västerbotten pair with Surströmming? 
I was in Burträsk a long time ago and they were very proud of that cheese there!
Stay away from Surströmming! 
Actually, when served correctly, it can be rather nice, but if you eat it out of the can (like the dare videos on YouTube do) you’re gonna hurt. 
Västerbotten is a bit of cult cheese back home because of the small production and singular classification, so it tends to sell out each year. It adds to the allure. It’s like a more bitter Parmesan, basically.
Yeah I’ve been to the “birthplace” of it. I like it, but I’m not sure if it is worth the hype. Even though I do like hard cheeses, my favorites tend to be stuff that smell like 3 week old socks and that you can spread on a piece of baguette.
I’ve had decent surströmming but let’s face it. We don’t need to preserve fish using that method any more. We have refrigerators and freezers these days.
Have you tried Wrångebäck cheese? It’s the new cult cheese from the old country. I’ve been away too long, so I’ve missed the hype and never tried it. Mum is coming in April, maybe I should ask her too bring some…
Agreed on the fermented herring.
Never tried it. My local cheese store actually has that sometimes. They do import it to the US.
I’ll buy some next time I see it.
Let me know if its worth it if you do!