Cheese Of The Month Club: Something Stinky From The State Of Denmark

Achievement: #13. Cheese of the Month Club

Cheese of the Month - January
We’re back with a fresh edition of Cheese of the Month; let’s dig in and see what PennMac shipped for March!

Cheese of the Month - March
Our March shipment had the theme, “A Taste of Denmark.” We didn’t know a ton about Danish cheeses, so we were pretty pumped to make a board and try them out.

Cheese of the Month - March
We picked up some choice meats from Parma Sausage in the Strip District and paired them with PennMac’s selections: fontina, herbed havarti, cream havarti, and a pungent Danish blue.

Cheese of the Month - March
First we sampled the fontina, a cow’s milk cheese that was mild and versatile, pairing well with both sweet dips and savory meats. The flavor had strong notes of cream, with a hint of something that reminded us of hay. It was sort of like if a mild New York cheddar and a Swiss cheese had a soft, spreadable baby.

Cheese of the Month - March
Second, we tried the herbed havarti (another cow’s milk cheese), which was peppery, buttery, and stinky, but not in an unpleasant way. It was great by itself on a crusty baguette, and also with thick-cut bacon.

Cheese of the Month - March
Next we tried the cream havarti, which is also the base of the herbed havarti. It was remarkably rich, and soft enough to spread with a butter knife. It was excellent with honey, but also good with stone ground mustard.

Cheese of the Month - March
The final cheese of this group was also the most powerful: the Danish blue. Once again a cow’s milk (we were four for four this month!), you could smell it from a couple feet away; it was definitely the cheese the most needed a pairing.

Cheese of the Month - March
Both crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth soft, we really liked it with the dried pork shoulder we had, for both flavor and textural contrast. It also worked well with a sweeter mustard, like honey mustard.

We will return in the second week of April with another four-pack of cheeses. Please do tune in!

Cheese of the Month - March
“Wait for cheese while you take more pick-sure?! I think this are animal cruelty, MommyDaddy.”

2 Comments

Filed under #13, #13-17, cheese, cheese of the month club, pennmac, strip district

2 Responses to Cheese Of The Month Club: Something Stinky From The State Of Denmark

  1. Woubbie

    Beautiful plumage, the Danish blue!

    Havarti is one of my faves.

  2. Conte

    Well, the Danish cheese may be smelly, but at least you can’t claim that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” at this time.