Lou Bergier Pinchin, The Cheese Of The House

Actually, the name means Father of the House, but this a cheese blog, after all. 

This is no ordinary cheese, this is actually one of those crazy progressive tree-hugging earth-saving vegetarian cheeses. Watch out, I hear they only eat whey. Or something. 

But really, though, this is fun even as vegetarian cheeses go. It doesn't use the usual thistle nonsense, instead it's the so-called Kinara Method, with alpine flowers only. This is a fun and oldschool system, but it certainly works cheese magic. The name is in reference to Nonno Magno, the grandfather of the founder, and all that Italian familial love is present in the rich paste of Lou Bergier Pinchin. 

Origin: Piedmont, Italy

Milk: Cow, unpasteurized

Rennet: Crazy Kinara vegetarian

Affinage: 60 days

Notes: Don't be put off by the natural and soft rind, it's definitely still delicious. Funky though it may look, it's a keeper. 

Thoughts: Chewy, ultra creamy, this cheese has everything. Meat notes. Salt notes. More meat notes. More salt notes. Nothing like Italian cheeses to make you think you're eating steak. Delicious milky steak. The texture is what sets this apart, chewy and sticky, it melts on the palate once it heats up. It has a Mochi-like beginning texture, with a milky and fully over-the-top creaminess carrying the flavor along. Mushroom and garlic tag along because, hey, who doesn't like them?

Flat tires on my car tried to kill the Cheese, but the cheese overcame it with the power of awesomeness and tire patches!!!!!