Cheese Please

After my earlier disparaging remarks about Italian dessert, I feel compelled to remark on a product Italians do extremely well, cheese. Many places in Europe are renowned for their cheeses. Edam and gouda from Holland, brie from France, emmentaler from Germany to name just a few. The list is a long and familiar one. Italy is part of that tradition. While it is true that you can get most Italian cheeses at any good shop in the US, there are versions and varieties that just can’t be found there. For instance, a romano with ash or dirt rubbed into the skin as part of the finishing process. My favorite cheese in the US is cheddar. For me, nothing beats the tang of a well aged, crumbling cheddar. While it is true that I can’t find that here, I don’t miss it at all given all the wealth of aged parmesan, romano, smoked scamorza and so forth. Fantastic cheese can be purchased many places, from the supermarket to meat and cheese type delis to specialized dairy stores. We have discovered a very nice dairy store around the corner from our favorite fruit and vegetable store and near to a bakery we would like to explore more.