NCheeseAA: The Final Four-mage
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British Cheddar vs. Vermont Cheddar. Here it is! The match-up I’ve been waiting for — the American Cheese-olution!
As I said before, Vermont Cheddar has been the Virginia Slims of the cheese world, but even if it has come a long way (baby), I don’t think it should beat British Cheddar, the King of Cheese. Note that I said “should” there. While a look at the numbers reveals that Brit Ched didn’t have too much difficulty beating its opponents — Camembert (with 68% of the votes), Stilton (78%), and Roquefort (83%) — it definitely struggled to the death with Parm-Reg, the cheese that would be King. Vermont Cheddar, on the other hand, had slightly more trouble with each opponent and never beat one by as large a margin as Our British Cousin did. But do these numbers really mean anything? Who knows. I tend to go with my stomach rather than numbers and I far prefer British Cheddar over anything we put out in the United States. I want the rounds from Keen, Montgomery, and Westcombe Farms to be singing, “Melt some cheddar in a pot and call it macaroni,” but I think the Vermont variety will emerge victorious in this historic battle.
Mozzarella vs. Mt. Tam. As we come to the final stages of the tournament, our choices come down to how we view cheese in general: as an ingredient, an enhancement to other foods, a loyal helpmeet; or as a flavor experience in its own right. Most of us see cheese as both of those things, of course, depending on the cheese and the situation, but in the mozz/Mt. Tam vote, each aspirant falls quite clearly into one category or the other. Mozzarella goes in, and/or on, everything; Mt. Tam doesn’t, and doesn’t need to. Mozzarella is bland and versatile; Mt. Tam is rich, rich, rich. But as much as I’d like to say that it’s a tough vote to call, it isn’t. Mozzarella has an emotional hold on us as an eating culture that Mt. Tam, its passionate adherents aside, just doesn’t. It won’t embarrass itself, but it won’t win, either. Mozz, with little effort.
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Tags: food
“The Final Four-mage?” Was that really necessary? The pun, she hurts. And I’m from Vermont, so you can guess where my vote in the cheddar-off is going. Cabot’s Hunter’s Sharp, will you marry me?
Oh, I get it now. You think you’re gonna fool me by doing exactly the opposite of what I knew you were gonna do. WELL I AIN’T FOOLED! Tell the Jimmy the Greek that I’m on to him, the bastard, and when I catch up to him I’ll croak him like the toad he is! He can’t hide forever!
This round is a lot easier than the last one. In the last one I felt like all the matchups were really even, with both cheeses in each game having a claim on my heart. This one is more lopsided.
I’m terribly embarrassed that after all this voting and cheese-love-professing we’re ending up with a cheddar/mozzarella final.
I think it kind of makes sense that it comes down to two classic cheeses.
I have to admit, though, that every time I went through the descriptions, I kept thinking I really should get to Cheesetique or Balducci’s and try some of these cheeses I haven’t had. Of course, eating that much cheese by myself probably wouldn’t have been a great idea….