Tesco Finest Black Garlic Infused Aged Sheep’s Cheese
Nothing is certain in life but the inevitability of death, the inescapability of taxes, and Nature’s iron rule that a cheese infused with something else will never be very good. This sheep’s cheese continues that venerable tradition.
Sometimes, infused-cheeses can scrape into the “just about OK” category – the “Green Bomber” garlic-infused Cheddar from the Snowdonia Cheese Company is an admirable example. That cheese is quite intensely garlicky, which at least is exciting, if not necessarily enjoyable. However, in most cases, infused cheeses merely dilute a probably-acceptable substrate cheese with a baffling and incongruous addition, to the ultimate dissatisfaction of both parties. When asked “OK, this is all very well, but would this cheese be better without the addition?”, infused-cheese advocates are almost always forced to answer with a pensive pause, then a reluctant nod.
Here, the underlying cheese isn’t named – never a good start. It’s a hard-ish sheep’s cheese, apparently hailing from La Mancha in Spain, but it’s rather rubbery and tasteless. Tesco Finest Manchego is pretty good, and far better than this. This cheese is riven with deep veins of dark garlic paste, giving it a rather disturbing diseased appearance. While the visuals are concerning, the flavour is milder than expected, which is frankly disappointing.
I am a big garlic fan, and I also quite like cheese, but I am not convinced there is a need for this particular pairing. This cheese looks pretty unpleasant, and it does taste better than it looks. We reluctantly ground through the whole block, but it was mediocre and we wouldn’t bother to get it again. It doesn’t even fit into the “unpleasant enough to impress at a cheese night addition” category.
As it’s marginally tolerable to eat, but with no real reason to exist, I rate this 4 out of 10.
I love cheese. Most of all I love the strongest Cheddars available; ewe’s or goat’s cheese are also often hits.
I think you have a solid point about these flavoured cheeses. There are a few that I do like (Dob Glos and Chive to name one) but I am trying to think of a cheese that is improved by such an addition and, like you have said, I am struggling. Do you remember that Port-infused cheese I found a few years ago? That was a very…interesting….experience.
Christmas is usually the time when these flavoured cheeses make an appearance so I will try to find a worthy candidate!
Yep, I think that on a cheese board these can provide a bit of variety. But they’re never really “good”, i.e. “I want to go and buy and eat more of this cheese”.