Tesco Finest Chaource

Most cheeses make you choose. The silken caress of a Somerset Brie across the tongue; the throaty roar of an extra mature Cheddar; the foetid, reeking rankness of a Stinking Bishop – you must pick one at a time, embrace it, and look past the flaws. This fractal variety is part of the joy of the vast field that is “cheese”, but sometimes that variety can be exhausting.

Chaource’s charm is there’s no need to choose. Chaource is all things to all people – soft and spreadable yet firm and crumbly; milky smooth and mild yet pert and tasty. Accompanied or solitary; fresh from the fridge, or molten, pooling and ripe, Chaource shines in every venue and with every audience.

The beating heart of a Chaource is crumbly but solid; this solid core is shrouded in a soft, near-liquid layer, a dairy fascimile of the Earths’s mantle, and the most flavoursome part of the cheese. The ensemble is held together with an edible white rind. This gradient from hard to soft, and from mild to medium flavour, is what gives Chaource its enormous versatility.

The nearest common touchstone is a rinded goat’s cheese, but as a cow’s milk cheese Chaource is less sharp, more creamy, and yet more flavoursome. Whether paired with a digestive cracker, eaten on a crunching slice of apple, or consumed alone and unimpeded, Chaource has a delicate but compelling milky flavour, and a charming texture which varies excitingly throughout a single slice. The relatively mild flavour makes it easy to go back for more, and the experience is quite different when the cheese has different pairings. To my mind, a Hovis cracker is probably optimal… or is it green grapes? Or perhaps a piece spread on crusty bread? I couldn’t choose.

For its versatility of deliciousness I rate Chaource 9 out of 10.

Philip

I love cheese. Most of all I love the strongest Cheddars available; ewe’s or goat’s cheese are also often hits.