Named for an abbey deep in the Ardennes forest, surrounded by the mighty trees of Ardennes forest, imbued with the aroma of the Ardennes forest, aged in the shadow of the Ardennes forest, packaged in boxes made with the wood of the Ardennes forest, reminiscent of the flavor of the bark of the Ardennes forest, there is a cheese.
This cheese has a name.
That name is Mariolles.
It is from the Ardennes forest.
Origin: The Ardennes forest... France
Milk: Cow, unpasteurized
Rennet: Animal
Affinage: 3-4 weeks
Notes: Beer washed rind, 45% fat, ripened with herbs and brushed regularly to keep only that good red bacteria growing on the surface. It's got AOC status, too. So there you go.
Thoughts: Every part of this cheese screams washed rind, from the goey-brie-like paste to the warning-orange-red rind to the savory and meaty flavor. A little sour, a little salty, in fact at first this cheese has a bold almost spicy flavor. For the bold at heart, though, there is a great reward. The rich flavor at the beginning warrants a taste by itself but it quickly drops off and reveals a mellow and intensely savory aftertaste, highlighted by a hint of fruit here and there. Thoroughly delicious and a prime example of why fortune favors the bold.
No hurt... no curd.....
No pain.... no Brillat Savarin?
Also:
You can't actually get the unpasteurized version of this cheese in the US... sorry. 
No comments:
Post a Comment