Lox, bagel and cream cheese

[sammy]

Oltermanni isn't bad at all, it's just a bit of a... children's cheese.

If I'm gonna eat cheese, I choose my chesse for the intense flavour. I spend my money on mature cheddar (whenever I can get it), the oldest gouda I can get and stilton. Meaning absolutely no offense but one try of Oltermanni was enough for me.

Fair enough & no offense taken, not even remotely - I also prefer stronger tasting cheeses meself; it's just that some don't... and if you ask me I see no reason for putting Oltermanni down just because it's not our personal favourite It's a bit like music innit... just because we happen like a certain type of music (whatever it may be) it doesnt' mean someone else could or should not genuinely like some other type of stuff... although it's true that it feels a teeny bit satisfying to consider oneself a connoiseur and above the "uncivilised crowd" taste-wise, to consider oneself "in the know" so to speak (been there, done that)... it is a liberating feeling to realise it's all a matter of opinion and nothing much more - and this realisation takes away nothing from the enjoyment you or me may derive from Stilton etc

Despite this.. I have a friend who has never ever touched cheese of any kind. For him cheese is an abomination. And I can't help feeling he's missing something important - so there goes my theory, eh?

[Mook]

And I've heard they take tourists to "Russia" up in Lapland. Take them in snowmobiles up to a "Checkpoint" in the middle of the forest so they can have their photos taken with a Russian border guard... one foot on the other side of the fence (probably about 50km from the actual border!)

You mean there are fake checkpoints? Well, people do think it's the real Santa Claws in Rovaniemi... or that Rovaniemi is the real "Lapland" for that matter...

Jep, been there done that. I don't think that anyone really believes that they're in Russia (well not after the first 5 minutes.

As for Oltermanni... the low-fat one makes excellent cheese on toast - perhaps the only place that the lack of fat is a plus.

[Rosamunda]

My husband sometimes has Oltermanni for breakfast. It's bland enough to be palatable at 6:30am. I can't imagine eating Stilton or even Cheddar that early in the morning! In fact I think many Finns only ever eat cheese for breakfast, so they prefer something not too strong. And IIRC it is lactose-free and contains as much calcium as any other hard cheese.

[sammy]

Jep, been there done that. I don't think that anyone really believes that they're in Russia (well not after the first 5 minutes

Crikey... so this means there's also someone employed as a stunt Russian

"Hey mom, guess what, I got a winter job - horror show, horror show"

But hey, cheese-wise - as Mook sort of suggested - aren't cheeses like Oltermanni sort of meant to be had with everyday toast/bread etc? It seems kind of absurd to compare it with Stilton or Gouda.

(By the way, one might also quite reasonably maintain that strong and intense tastes are for the unsophisticated and undiscerning palates, who lack the ability to appreciate the delicate nuances of mildly flavoured foods... now, isn't the Japanese cuisine for example famous and renowned for those qualities? )

Nah. Who cares. But this reminds me of a funny piece of conversation I once overheard. Two Finnish couples were planning some festive occasion or a party, dunno, and one of the women said "hey wouldn't it be nice to even get some fancy cheeses and wine" - to which one of the men retorted, "yeah - Huttunen and Edam". I nearly choked on me tea there and then

[AldenG]

And I've heard they take tourists to "Russia" up in Lapland. Take them in snowmobiles up to a "Checkpoint" in the middle of the forest so they can have their photos taken with a Russian border guard... one foot on the other side of the fence (probably about 50km from the actual border!)

It's good to know the spirit of enterprise is alive and well in Lapland.

[AldenG]

I was also thinking in the lines of Turunmaa, not Edam... but anyway they're quite different I believe from what people in the US know as "cream cheese".

Indeed. Think peanut butter, but white and cheesy in taste. Unlike many soft cheeses, it retains whatever shape you leave it in. But there is no way to handle it other than with a spreader of some sort. Impossible to pick up "pieces" of it off a surface.

Just had some this morning on a split and toasted bagel, thank you very much.

I sometimes buy Turunmaa at a higher-end market around here. And of course Ikea has a few Swedish classics like Prästost and Herrgårdsost.

What I don't get about almost all American cheeses is a certain "oily" surface I don't find on Euro cheeses, even when, say, they are both cheddar. Maybe that's the plastic texture Cory refers to. Hmm, I don't know that I've ever had Canadian cheese. Would I notice any difference?

[sammy]

Indeed. Think peanut butter, but white and cheesy in taste. Unlike many soft cheeses, it retains whatever shape you leave it in. But there is no way to handle it other than with a spreader of some sort. Impossible to pick up "pieces" of it off a surface.

Is it somewhat (or anything at all) like the Koskenlaskija / Viola type of "spread" cheese (sulatejuusto)? Incidentally, as you may know Viola is a Very Big Thing in Russia => http://www.valio.spb.ru/products/viola/

[AldenG]

Is it somewhat (or anything at all) like the Koskenlaskija / Viola type of "spread" cheese (sulatejuusto)? Incidentally, as you may know Viola is a Very Big Thing in Russia => http://www.valio.spb.ru/products/viola/

Now that you mention it, yes, very much. It remains possible to buy in foil-wrapped bricklets, but mostly it is a tub cheese these days.

[silk]

By the way, one might also quite reasonably maintain that strong and intense tastes are for the unsophisticated and undiscerning palates, who lack the ability to appreciate the delicate nuances of mildly flavoured foods...

Can't wait till Rob A. hears this Karjalanpiirakka ja munavoi vindicated

[Mook]

I think that most medium+ supermarkets have philadelphia cream cheese (which'll be the US one). HAven't seen the equivalent of dairylea though.



Mascarpone is also easy to come by...

[Rob A.]

By the way, one might also quite reasonably maintain that strong and intense tastes are for the unsophisticated and undiscerning palates, who lack the ability to appreciate the delicate nuances of mildly flavoured foods...

Can't wait till Rob A. hears this Karjalanpiirakka ja munavoi vindicated

Hmmm...Some truth in that, I would say!!...mutta on iso ero hienon maun ja mauttomuuden välillä......

[sammy]

Hmmm...Some truth in that, I would say!!...mutta on iso ero hienon maun ja mauttomuuden välillä......

You just haven't had proper ones, then... but some "supermarket" or "tourist" versions...

[Tiwaz]

By the way, one might also quite reasonably maintain that strong and intense tastes are for the unsophisticated and undiscerning palates, who lack the ability to appreciate the delicate nuances of mildly flavoured foods...

Can't wait till Rob A. hears this Karjalanpiirakka ja munavoi vindicated

Hmmm...Some truth in that, I would say!!...mutta on iso ero hienon maun ja mauttomuuden välillä......

That's because so few have experienced the real deal...
Straight from oven, well made piirakka which has been thoroughly sloshed with molten butter and eathen while greasy and crunchy...


Mmmmmmmm....

[Rob A.]

...That's because so few have experienced the real deal...
Straight from oven, well made piirakka which has been thoroughly sloshed with molten butter and eathen while greasy and crunchy...


Mmmmmmmm....

OK...I'll accept that....probably equivalent to some non-Italian eating Chef Boy-ar-dee spaghetti out of a can and then claiming to be a pasta expert....


So I'll just have to be patient until I've eaten maybe ...useaa sataa karjalanpiirakoita.....[I hope this is grammatically correct...??] and then see what I think.....

Oh, and I have also eaten porkkanapiirakka....and those I liked right off...I suppose the subtle flavour in them depends on the quality of the carrots....

[Jukka Aho]

So I'll just have to be patient until I've eaten maybe ...useaa sataa karjalanpiirakoita.....[I hope this is grammatically correct...??]

Useita satoja karjalanpiirakoita.