Perusing The Cheese Aisle

"After you've arrived [at the cheese counter] it can be a huge leap to actually decide on a particular cheese to buy."

So says Laura Werlin in her book, Cheese Essentials ... a book which has become essential to me in my quest of becoming a cheese connoisseur. (See this post if a "what the heck?!" look just popped up on your face). Now, I'll be honest. When I read that line, I stifled a little laugh. I mean, really. A huge leap to decide which cheese to buy? Is she serious? It's cheese shopping, people, not house hunting. Cheddar or swiss ... white or orange .... how complicated can it be? Answer: Complicated.

I braved the cheese section at Choices Market the other day. I didn't realize I was "braving" it until I walked over and was bombarded with an assortment of 60+ cheeses. I took a deep breath and jumped in, checking out the different labels and trying my best to look like I knew what I was doing. I knew I was nowhere near ready to venture into a gourmet cheese shop but, in my naivety, I assumed that having read 100 pages in my guide book, I was prepared to face the cheese aisle of a grocery store head on. It's one thing to read about cheese in a book ... it's another thing to have it sitting there in front of you with a lofty price tag. (Side note: Who knew cheese was so flippin' expensive?! Call me crazy, but I consider $29.95 for cheese a major investment and not something to be taken lightly!! Turns out cheese shopping is like house hunting after all ...)

In the end, I settled for Havarti because 1) I just finished the chapter on fresh cheeses and Havarti is a fresh, semi-soft cheese and 2) it was the cheapest option.

One cheese down, hundreds more to go. Take that, cheese aisle.

xo

PS - If you've got any good recipes using Havarti, send 'em my way!