Amish Cheese

I should probably have titled this post "I Love Cheese". Because I do. I daresay I have never met a cheese I didn't like. I have often commented that I could much more easily give up meat than cheese (and I like meat!) because I love cheese just THAT much. My son is just like me. From gouda to gorgonzola, he's a cheese hound like his mama. If you ask A. if he'd like a cookie or cheese after supper, at least 50% of the time, he'll pick cheese. Me too.

My daughter likes cheese too. It's just that she seems to have the most discriminating palette of the family (she gets that from MY sister, I believe!). I never knew C. would even eat eggs until I happened to pick up a dozen jumbo brown cage-free eggs at a farmer's market. And she couldn't get enough. And, when it came to cheese, she had her favorites. She would eat American cheese. She would eat mozzarella if it was on something. She would sometimes nibble on mild cheddar.

I happened to pick up some Amish cheese at the aforementioned farmer's market. It looked tasty and, at $3.99 a pound for any variety, wasn't all that much more than I paid normally at the supermarket. You know what?


Best. Cheese. Ever.

I'm not normally a fan of mozzarella cheese just by itself, but this stuff is amazing. The cheddar has such rich and robust flavor that just a tiny bit goes a LONG way. The swiss doesn't last more than an hour around here because we all pick at it constantly. C. will eat any and all of it. And, for a child who can be fussy about eating dairy, that's a great thing!

I love cheese. And up until a couple months ago, I would have said, "Cheese is cheese." Don't get me wrong... we still eat Aldi cheese just like we used to. But I don't underestimate the quality of homemade local goods anymore! Keep your eyes open... and if you happen to see some local-made cheese, give it a try!

Check out Tammy's Recipes for more tips at Kitchen Tip Tuesday!