Is There No Good Cheddar In Oulu !

[zynamide]

Hi,
I'm very new here, and in Oulu as well , can anyone tell me where can I find some real good cheddar ?? or maybe It's hiding in plain sight because I don't know the Finnish name ! any pointers anyone ??
Peace !

[sinikettu]

City Market often has some real English cheese.
But be prepared for silly prices

[irnbru]

Prisma represents with some decent cheese. They have consistently had red leicester these past few months and only €500's a kg.

[Rosamunda]

... but if the OP is American the s/he is not looking for "real" Cheddar at all and definitely not Red Leicester


Both Prisma and Citymarket sell "Pilgrims" and a couple of other English cheeses, and then they also sell French Comté and Swiss Gruyère which are similar hard cheeses.

The Finnish Valio Mustaleima has quite a strong taste so might be worth a try if that is what you are looking for.

[ajl]

the Pilgrims stuff is not okay, except the longer aged white versions are better than the orange stuff (I don't call it cheese).
My kids don't eat processed cheeses but the Pilgrim variety strongly reminds me of that.

[MikeD]

I'm hardly a cheese expert, but the two obvious places in Oulu to go look for something you can't find in Prisma or Citymarket are Stockmann and Kauppahalli (there's a cheese shop there).

[Rosamunda]

the Pilgrims stuff is not okay, except the longer aged white versions are better than the orange stuff (I don't call it cheese).
My kids don't eat processed cheeses but the Pilgrim variety strongly reminds me of that.

I agree (especially about the orange stuff), but since the OP was not too specific about what he/she is really looking for....
OTOH, if s/he had asked for West Country matured farmhouse Cheddar, then the answer would be simple. Nowhere.
My folks live in Somerset so I am lucky to be able to buy Cheddar when I go visit them. And it freezes quite well. So I never buy it here.

[penster]

Not sure whereabouts in Oulu you are but I know that CityMarket in Kaakkuri sells Pilgrims and Cathedral City cheddar. They also sell 'Dubliner' Irish cheese too, if you like that. I'm sure the Raksila branch of CityMarket would sell at least one of those. Not sure about Prisma though. Stockmann also sell Cheddar, usually found at the cheese counter, either mild or mature. Then there's the cheese place at the Market Hall - they usually have cheddar and Wensleydale at this time of year.

[Estesark]

Dubliner Irish cheese is the best "cheddar" I've had in Finland, despite not actually being cheddar. Cathedral is too soft, and all varieties of Pilgrim's Choice except the most mature are too bland.

The lack of readily available cheddar cheese is one of my biggest complaints about food shopping in Finland, and I've heard the same thing from other English ex-pats too. I just tend to stock up when I holiday back home, because even the breezeblock-sized supermarket cheddar in England is far tastier than a similarly-priced Finnish "edam".

[sammy]

even the breezeblock-sized supermarket cheddar in England is far tastier than a similarly-priced Finnish "edam".

Of course it is - Edam is not even supposed to be like "cheddar" (Not that I particularly like Edam-type cheeses myself, far too mild to my tastes... but they're meant to be mild)

Years ago, Valio used to make a cheddar-type cheese - it was called Juhla. It's too long ago I could really remember how exactly it compared to English cheddars - but as you can see from the old pic below, it had that somewhat crumbly texture (the big one on the right). Alas, this and a few other good cheeses have now disappeared from the shelves



That said, I would gladly buy mature British cheddar, too, if it were more readily available! But I suppose it is also question of demand...generally speaking cheddar is not really even *known* much here, people mainly buy Oltermanni, Emmental and what have you. Many of them -bar the "lo-fat" ones (bleurgh)- are actually good cheeses as such; they're just different.

Haven't got much experience of the Oulu Market Hall, but if there is a cheese shop as someone said, they probably have more variety than your average supermarket.

[Estesark]

Of course it is - Edam is not even supposed to be like "cheddar" (Not that I particularly like Edam-type cheeses myself, far too mild to my tastes... but they're meant to be mild)

Yes, of course. My point was that the taste:cost ratio for cheese is a lot better in England than in Finland. To get a tasty hard cheese in Finland you have to pay many times more.

[Upphew]

Yes, of course. My point was that the taste:cost ratio for cheese is a lot better in England than in Finland. To get a tasty hard cheese in Finland you have to pay many times more.

But it is a matter of taste? I want my cheddar as packed slices of orange goo, thank you.

[sammy]

Yes, of course. My point was that the taste:cost ratio for cheese is a lot better in England than in Finland. To get a tasty hard cheese in Finland you have to pay many times more.

Somehow the idea that everything -except perhaps snow - is better and cheaper in England does not surprise me anymore But what I haven't got used to yet is the eternally recurring theme of "why isn't English product X available in Helsinki/Oulu/Muonio/Nätkelmäjärvi/Hästfittan"

"Proper" Cheddar (or any cheddar for that matter) is probably difficult to find here because there's no adequate demand for it. It's not the kind of cheese the majority of Finns like, that was my point. Re: the disappearance of Valio's Juhla cheese from the selections long time ago... actually, I'd presume that if you say "cheddar" here, many will nowadays associate it with the processed orange-coloured slices that comes in single-packaged plastic wrappings - a true invention of Beelsebub!

edit: look what Upphew just posted exeunt, pursued by a bear

[oompah18]

We received junk mail from Lidl advertising British food this week, including 2 types of cheddar, and micro roast beef dinners, fish in batter, English mustard and the like. I was in a Lidl in tampere and couldnt find any of this stuff anywhere mind, but apparently it is on this week. So I guess if there is a Lidl in Oulu, you might try there....

[Rosamunda]

Yes, I bought some of the Lidl cheddar (the regular one, not the one with onions). It is quite strong - it does make the inside of your mouth tingle (ie stronger than Edam!) and it's the right colour AND it is English (Staffordshire). But it isn't crumbly or gritty like a really matured West Country cheddar. Not bad though.

Also bought crisps (OK) and some shortbread (not so good) and some Newcastle .