Cheese Alert: Comté

I've resumed my exploration of the world of interesting food and drink. It's expensive, but I am now making enough to cover costs.

Over the last three days, I consumed a small portion of a brown-crusted cheese named Comté, which the etymologist in me assumes has to do with the English word 'county'. It is therefore a county cheese, defined geographically as well as methodologically. The block I exhumed looked much like its Wikipedia image.

I cut into it with a heavy steel knife, and it separated into slices without decrepitation or scuffing. The fat content appeared moderate; it was still pretty stiff, but smooth in texture. It was possible to make thin, almost translucent yellow slices. The slightly greyish brown rind had a mildly salty odour and was minimally pungent.

The predominant taste was nutty; I suppose that most people would be familiar with the taste of the Swiss cheese with characteristic holes named Emmental, and it has some similarity. However, there is a faint underlying tang of the sort associated with other cheeses with greenish or bluish mold in them. It is generally a sweet and accommodating cheese, which would work well on a dessert cheese platter with a Riesling on the side.

I quote from the Wikipedia article: " The texture is relatively hard and flexible, and the taste is mild, slightly sweet, and 'nutty'." It reminds me of me, somehow.