Why don't you try...

Introducing a regular feature profiling off-the-beaten-path cheeses you won't find in humdrum supermarket aisles (but wish you could).

Serra da Estrela:

A cheese that won't have you saying "ew(e)"

On a recent trip to my favorite place to start the weekend early, the perpetually bright and buzzing Borough Market in London, I came across this hidden gem: Serra da Estrela cheese, an ewe's variety from Portugal.

I must admit, it was the display that initially hooked me. An oozing volcano of soft cheese housed in what looked like a built-in bread bowl—its thick, leathery rind. How fun! I was on a personal, impromptu mission to sample all things ewe that day (simply because my experience with sheep's cheese had never extended beyond the omnipresent Pecorino Romano in my Italian-American family's fridge growing up), so I had to try it.

The lovely woman running the stand gave me a generous helping on a piece of bread, and in a maniacal reflexive reaction, I handed her £3 for a piece to take home. Wowowow. I hadn't had such a complex-flavored cheese in a very long time, and to be honest, at first I was a bit frightened because its resemblance to Brie, which I'm not a big fan of—yea, yea, get over it—kind of threw me off. But holy Moses, was it delicious! With a milder flavor than Brie, you can actually taste hints of herbs and even strawberries (!) in this gooey delight if you try hard enough, and it leaves your palate with a toffee-like aftertaste.

"It's wonderful to scoop it out and spread it on a warm, crusty bread," says Juliet Harbutt, cheese expert and founder of the British Cheese Awards. "It's a pity to eat it with too may other things or confuse the flavors." She recommends serving it with a crisp, white wine, or even a rosé or a merlot. "You certainly don't want any wine that's too fruity or too high in tannins—it takes away from the flavor of the cheese" Serra da Estrela is lends itself well to the complementary flavors of a light, Trappist-style beer.

Name: Serra da Estrela DOP

Origin: Guarda, Portugal

Age: 45 days

Typical weight & shape: 500g and 1kg (1lb 2oz–2 1/4 lb), round

Milk: Ewe

Classification: Semi-soft

Producer: Various

History: Made from the raw milk of Bordeleira da Serra da Estrela ewes, sheep from one of the coldest and highest mountains of Portugal, Serra dates back to the Romans. Flocks are fed on wild herbs, flowers, and grasses.

General tasting notes: The supple yellow paste is coagulated with thistle rennet, which is mildly acidic, and has the sweetness of toffee with hints of strawberries and thyme. Super-festive.

Best enjoyed: At room temperature, with the top cut off like a lid, as pictured. Dip in breadsticks, hearty bread, or along with marmalade—conveniently sold at the same stand at the Borough Market, in tons of flavors. (You're welcome, Serra cheese stand lady.) Or, follow my slovenly lead and just eat it with a spoon, standing over the sink at 2am to satisfy your beer munchies.

Historical and production information courtesy of The World Cheese Book (Dorling Kindsley) by Juliet Harbutt.

Cheese on the Street 12.26.09

I sometimes stroll the streets of London and accost innocent passersby, asking: "What's your favorite cheese, and why?"

I love Gouda because it's nutty and buttery, like me.

-Joanna, 26

iCheese, you cheese

Terrified of being without handy cheese information at any given moment? Make that fear a thing of the past with the Fromage Version 3.0 application for iPhone and iPod Touch. A guide to over 650 cheeses from around the world, each is presented with a photo, flavor description, and best complementary wines. In this newest version, you can also rate cheeses from 1 to 5, add to your favorites lists ("try," "buy," or "favorites" categories), record where it was tasted, and more.

Cheesoscope of the Month: Capricorn

Capricorn (December 22 - January 20):

Ambitious, disciplined, and hardworking, you are persistent at achieving your goals and set high standards for yourself, which you pretty much always meet. Geez, loosen up a bit, will you? Maybe some Whiskey cheddar will do it. Wash this English sharp cheddar (made with genuine malt whiskey) down with a few glasses of Jameson on the rocks.

The Cheese Lover's Gift Guide - Pt 5 (London style)

For the significant other

Because you shouldn't put a price on love.

Splurge: A cheese-tasting event for two at Neal's Yard Dairy. Tons of tutored tasting events run all year long—January's got winter cheeseboard, beer & cheese, mountain cheeses, and cheddar & stilton tastings, at £50/$83 a pop, for instance. Cheese, food, wine, and super-nice host Chris George. Heaven. Check out nealsdairyshop.co.uk.

Save: A tasting excursion through Borough Market for two (free). For best results, peruse the cheesemongers' tables, putting on a serious/exaggeratedly curious face as though thoroughly interested in buying various blocks of cheese for a party of some sort. Asking questions helps too, like "What would you pair this with?" And say "thank you," for crying out loud. Cleanse your palate with some bread and olive oil from the olive oil guys. Open Thurs-Sat, across from London Bridge tube station.

The Cheese Lover's Gift Guide - Pt 4

For the kooky, eccentric friend

Because she can see the art in everything and loves a good backstory.

Splurge: A gold cheese ring ($599/£350) by Japanese designer Taadaki Wakamatsu at Q-Pot from goodasgold.co.nz. Amazing.

Save: DIY fashion. Nothing screams "BFF" louder than a handmade collection of wearable cheese. And don't fear—no need to get all Project Runway up on her. The essentials: Superglue (£3), belt, Primark (£1.50), bangle, Primark (£2), bag of 12 x 20g Babybel (£3), one stick of string cheese (50p), any extra colorful fabric you have sitting around the house.

First, split open all the Babybels and slice them into half-moon shapes that fit the width of your belt. Glue a strip of newspaper to belt, then glue Babybels onto paper. Done and done. Looks just like ivory, no? Finally, grab a bangle and wrap it with some colorful fabric. Peel string cheese stick and get crazy. Secure to bracelet either with glue or by making a fun knot. Tactile and geometric, this style is perfect for a pal who loves the 80s. Bonus: This lil' booger is actually wearable after the cheese rots!

The Cheese Lover's Gift Guide - Pt 3

For the kids

Because, like the family cat, they can be entertained for hours by the simplest, smelliest things.

Splurge: Jigsaw puzzle of house mouse on a block of cheese (£19/$32; amazon.co.uk), and a Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Maker Set ($17/£10; toysrus.com). Avoid being annoyed with "Is the pizza ready yet?" x a million by having them work on a puzzle while their food cooks.

Save: Squeezable cheese (Primula Cheese Spread, £1/$1.65), animal-shaped cheese (Sainsbury's Kids Organic Cheddar, 5 pieces for £3/$5), and a colored palette (aka paper plates and/or paper tablecloth) (£1/$1.65) to work on. Total: £5/$8. OMG how much fun is this? The best part is, unlike crayons, little Timmy and Sue can actually eat their art tools as they create fromage-filled scenes. So much cooler than an E-Z-Bake oven.

New logo

PS: Mad props to Manny Dominguez for my sweet new banner.

The Cheese Lover's Gift Guide - Pt 2

For the parents/grandparents
Because old people have nothing better to do.

Splurge: A three-day cheesemaking workshop at Three Shepherds Cheese in Vermont for $550 (£330 + ticket to Vermont, if appropriate), where they'll learn to make seven different types of cheese and all about aging, marketing, as well as selling cheese, pairing it with wine, cheese appreciation, and more. One-day cheesemaking classes are $150 (£90). Workshops are held on various dates from May through October. Go to threeshepherdscheese.com for more info.

Save: For a mere £8/$13, you can keep your folks busy all year long with Self-Sufficiency Cheesemaking (New Holland Publishers, 2009) by Rita Ash. This handy, easy-to-follow book featuring twenty-odd recipes for everything from Camembert to Halloumi to cottage cheese provides all the tips, tricks and tools the novice needs to turn their home into a cheese-producing wonderland. For the more ambitious, there's even a section with advice on how to sell your cheese.

The Cheese Lover's Gift Guide - Pt 1

If you're like most of us sad sacks this year, your holiday budget has probably been cut in half—or quarters, or eighths. Don't cry your loved ones a river. Get a little creative for the cheese enthusiast in your life, and make the holidays all the more heartfelt. (And if you still have tons of expendable income, check out our "Splurge" options, you bastard.) Over the next five days, I present my recommendations for the most important people on your list this season.

First up:

The boss

Because he knows how much you really make, after all.

Splurge: The Annual Cheese Experience gift selection from The Cheese Society (£363/$602; thecheesesociety.co.uk). A year's worth of top-quality cheese delivered to her doorstep each month, plus a stainless steel cheese knife, a "cheesy" mousemat, a "Bag for Life," and cheese handbook included in the first box. Can you say "promotion"/"brown-noser"?

Save: An assortment of supermarket cheeses arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner (try Ilchester Mini Cheese selection, 12 pieces for £3/$5; stocking, £1/$1.65). Accompany with a fancy-looking cheese knife set, for the boss who isn't a d-bag.

Hello!

Dear cheese fan,

I'd been wanting to launch a cheese magazine/blog for almost three years now. It all started out in the cafeteria of a well-known magazine publishing house in New York City. My friend Jessica and I, who went to high school together and wound up working for two different magazines under the same publisher, would meet for lunch and get all schoolgirl-giggly over the daily selection of cheeses available in the special gourmet cheese section of the salad bar. Yea, we had it good there.

Naturally, as cheese enthusiasts and budding journalists, we thought: love of cheese + journalism = cheese magazine?! Cheese blog? We can market with the Cheese of the Month club! It'll be amazing! There's nothing on the market like it! But before we could execute our exciting business plan, our full-time jobs at major national publications, which often had us there until all

hours of the night, got in the way of our fromage fantasy—we simply didn't have the time. Alas, although I feel a bit wrong about embarking on this cheesy adventure without my dear Jessica, I'm sure she'll be contributing, and I can't wait see see what she has up her sleeve. (Note to Jessica's boss: Please stop working the poor girl til midnight every night so she can help me out over here.)

There was a phase where I asked literally every new person I met, "Would you read a magazine about cheese?" And the overwhelming response was: "OH MY GOD, YES." Think about it: What other food is as versatile and as adored (worldwide, may I add) as cheese? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert—you name is, cheese is always there, stirring up excitement, in its many manifestations.

And seriously, who doesn't like cheese? Except for vegans, who need to stop being so fancy, and lactose-intolerant, who should just suck it up and deal with blowing a little wind every now and then. (Fun fact: the older the cheese, the less lactose, meaning all you LIs can get away with sharp aged cheddar or any day—so stop making excuses!)

Let's face it: There's something inherently funny about cheese. It very often stinks, it's a common euphemism for farting, you shout it out like a lunatic when you're taking photos. There are enough stuffy food magazines out there touting gourmet this and artisan that—snoozefest. Let's put the "hee" back in cheese and celebrate it with a playful twist, as all food should be. That's what The Cheese Sheet is all about.

Enjoy!