Belgian cheeses keep on surprising you. Belgische kazen blijven verbazen.
Thats the slogan used in Belgium to promote the classic Belgian cheeses. And it's a quite clever line really. See most of the cheeses date back to a simpler time, centuries ago, when they were still made by monks in abbeys. Those same cheeses have been around for ages and for them to promise surprise is a big feat.
Truth is that Belgian cheese didn't even need this 'extremely clever' marketing. The monks have perfected their techniques and passed them down for centuries. After all these years, most cheeses are still made the way the monks did it, sometimes even in the very same ancient abbey as them.
Today I wanted to share with you two gems of Belgian cheeses. The makers of these beauties are not the well known big abbeys such as Affligem, Grimbergen or Passchendaele. Rather, they are people inspired by the monks of old, with a passion for cheese traditionally made with pure products. People who made their own little cheese factory with their family to have a shot at making gold. Round, delicious cheesy gold.
I picked these baby's up in my favorite cheese store, Elsen in Leuven. Who am I kidding, it's everyones favorite cheese store, and probably one of the best in Belgium. As I will definitely talk lots more about it, so I wont bug you with it now. Too much blabla allready, onwards, TO THE CHEESES!
Pas de rouge - Cheesefarm Het Hinkelspel, Gent.
Het Hinkelspel is a cheesefactory originated in 1981 in the very west of Belgian, near the sea. A quick gander at their website tells me their pillars are flavor above anything, health and integrity with environmental considerations. Sounds good.
Honestly I did not know them yet but what an introduction they gave me with this wopper of a cheese. Pas de rouge is a typical abbey cheese, made with the traditional method.
Its from the family of the redbacteria cheeses. They gave it that (untasty) name since a bacteria from the coryne group helps aging the cheese. This bacteria needs a lot of moisture to survive, which is why these cheeses have to be washed during riping.
The result is a strong flavoured full bodied cheese with a surprisingly soft texture. The crust makes it seem aged but its taste is actually quite young. It's creamy and has fruit aromas, but still packs a little punch. I enjoyed this guy so much me and my friend destroyed a huge chunk in 1 meal. I usually try to spread the enjoyment over multiple days, mission failed.
I really loved this cheese, and with absolutely no point of reference I'm gonna rate this guy a 9/10. Is that good? Who knows maybe I'm just generous for the first point ever. Or maybe I should give em 4.5 stars? Or an A-? Im not yet decided, either way, it's a damn good cheese.
Li P'tit Rosse - Bioferme, Werbomont.
As the name suggests, Bioferme is a company that takes pride in producing the finest biological dairy products. Located in the french speaking south of Belgium, it collects fresh milk from the local farmers who graze their cows on the green slopes of the Ardennes.
Through strict controlling of quality and purity of their products, combined with traditional knowledge, Bioferme has won many awards for its fine cheese. This is no different for the little cube of heaven called Li P'tit Rosse, who won the 'coq de crystal' of Libramont in 2001 (thats a crystal rooster FYI).
I can see why someone would give something crystal for this.
When you unwrap the little packet the cheese resides in, immediately a strong aroma rushes towards you and takes hold of you. Its like standing in an old musky abbey basement on worn out leather sandals. The sticky orange crust completely surrounds the creamy golden treasure inside. And when you do cut off the corner and creamy white cheese is slowly oozing out, well, the world just seems a little bit nicer all of a sudden.
The taste of the the cheese is as strong as the smell is, and is not meant for little girls who like roses and perfumes. If you ever need a smelly cheese, this is a good one. I however, love smelly cheese and feasted upon it with great joy and vigor.
The tangy crust is quite sticky and has a really strong flavour compared to the soft creamyness of the inside. For me this was kind of a tough decision to eat or leave the crust since they both made for different sensation. Either it was super silky soft and creamy, or rich full of texture and flavour. And the choice is up to the eater. (Ofcourse if you're economic like me, you eat that crust and you darn well love it!)
Eat these belgian beauties with a crispy baguette, and a good friend. Many thanks to Flor for company, opinions and good advice on cheese photography angles.
