Saint Morgon vs. Cheap Feta

Saint Morgon: $6.99/200g at Fiesta Farms

One of the reasons I went nuts and bought three kinds of cheese yesterday was that it was pay day and I suddenly had a bit of money in my bank account (hooray for direct deposit!). Before most of it was funneled towards my VISA bill, I felt like treating myself and spending a bit of hard-earned cash on cheese -- especially in light of my last cheese purchase: a 123-gram piece of sub-par feta bought at the ultra-budget No Frills near my house for $2.18 (which may have been the cheapest piece of cheese for sale in the entire store) because I couldn't bear the thought of not eating any cheese for a week.

So what's the difference between cheap cheese and not-so-cheap cheese? It's probably not fair to compare these two particular cheeses since the two types are vastly different but I've been thinking about the price of cheese ever since laying eyes on the super-tiny tubs of $12.95 Salt Spring Island Chevre at Whole Foods and then seeing the $9.95 Buffalo Mozzarella yesterday at Fiesta Farms. I'm all for paying more to get a higher quality product. If there's anything I've learned reading food books and Gourmet magazine all summer it's that it's all about the ingredients. Case in point: the basil pesto I made with high-end, Whole Foods-purchased parmesan reggiano while housesitting for C. was one of the best pestos I've ever made (I was so proud of it that I made T. and W. try spoonfuls of it fresh out of the food processor).

Anyway, the cheap feta I've been eating in salad all week was fine - it was crumbly and salty and went well with my sweet, garlicky homemade dressing - but it didn't blow my mind. Since starting this cheese project, there have only been two cheese that have done that (metaphorically, of course): one was the anonymous pecorino I had back in May and the other was a free sample of a soft cheese I tried at Whole Foods while purchasing the aforementioned expensive parmesan. Both had overwhelming flavour and you didn't need to eat much to get a sense of that. The cheese I popped in my mouth at Whole Foods (straight because it was the last bit on the tray and there were no more crackers) was like a meal in a mouthful. That's worth paying for.

Desiring a similar treat, I shelled out $6.99 for Saint Morgon at Fiesta Farms and bought an Ace Bakery demi-baguette to eat with it. Even wrapped up in plastic and wax paper, it smelled mildly stinky (like sweaty socks, actually) and the labelling on the bottom of the package assured me that it was "affiné" (ripened). I tried some smeared on the bread after I'd squeezed all the fruit in the fridge. What I noticed first of all was that it was salty. The flavour was mild at first, then started to get stronger but was never overwhelming in the way I wanted it to be. No aftertaste, though, which is a good thing, and though it's a full-fat soft cheese, it wasn't too creamy-tasting either.

But was it worth the cost? I mean, I will eat it and enjoy it (I had some more this morning) but I probably won't buy it again. When you're cheese-shopping on a budget, as I am, I think you want better R.O.I. (return on investment). Which has made me think that I need to sample expensive cheeses before purchasing them. If my "cheap feta" had turned out to be crappy, which it wasn't, it wouldn't have mattered because I spent so little on it but I can't help but feel a little ripped-of by the Saint Morgon...

Note #1: that's not a real ant in the feta picture, it's plastic

Note #2: Maybe the Saint Morgon just isn't meant for eating on bread. The Juniper Grill & Wine Bar in Orangeville uses it in a cooked appetizer: "Escargots, mushroom & Saint Morgon cheese perogy with sorrel sauce" (only $9 if you're willing to make the drive out of town and the rest of the menu looks good, too)

A Shopping List for St. Lawrence Market

- Saint-Andre (soft, triple cream)
- Epoisses (stinky)
- Pecorino di Pienza (semi-soft, aged)
- Applewood Smoked Cheddar (smoked)
- Gruyere (hard)
- Fleur du Maquis (fresh and mild)
- Oka (semi-soft, ripened)

Cheese Recommendations

"3 types of pecorino and honey" (courtesy Flickr)

Apologies to anyone who thought I would be trying a new type of cheese every day. At the moment, I'm having a hard time just remembering to buy cheese on a biweekly basis. After a year of not eating the stuff, you sort of fall out of the habit of including it on your grocery list and when I have tried to buy cheese recently, I am baffled by all the choices. However, I have been soliciting recommendations from friends and family. Here are some of the suggestions for what I should try, in the hope that by making them public I will eventually get around to trying them all...

• "I recommend tracking down some Saint-Andre, a super-intense brie, and Epoisses, a stinky cheese par excellence. And if you're back on the West coast, check out Saltspring Island Cheese Company's Blue Joliette, which—though it looks disgusting—is surprisingly palatable."
• "One of my favourite cheese treats is to get a few types of pecorino (Pienza, Tuscany makes the best), one old and hard, one medium, and one young and soft. then you get a couple of types of runny honey, slice the pecorino and drizzle honey over them. I like to mix and match the honey and cheese. YUM."
• Applewood Smoked Cheddar
• Gruyere
• "As for cheese: you could always try the stuff we called "pikkeltjes kaas" as kids (roughly translated: "cheese with spots"). It’s also referred to a Leydse kaas (sp?) and is, I think, basically a Gouda with caraway seeds or fennel or some such thing in it. Very yummy. Then there’s always the stalwart Gouda. I remember living with an aunt in Amsterdam and being sent to the "kaas boer" (cheese farmer) at the street market for "jonge belegen" -- a young Gouda. (I’m not too sure what the "belegen" referred to...) Then there’s the old, old cheese with the black wax around the wheel. That one is trés yummy, but also trés expensive (at least, here in Canada)..."
• "Lately... I've been buying goat brie, which has opened up all sorts of possibilities for me. I also bought some fig preserve, which goes really well with the brie - highly recommended!"

Please feel free to post your recommendations in the comments section...