We don't serve dessert cheeses very often. They are simply not as common, perhaps, in casual homes and kitchens across America, and we just just don't think to pick them up. We drift first towards cake, ice cream, or fruit for dessert.
But we tried a sample of White Stilton with lemon at our local Whole Foods last week and were immediately smitten by its sweet tartness, almost like cheesecake infused with lemon.
This is an easy, fresh dessert for spring. The cheesemonger at Whole Foods says that she likes this cheese served late in the summer with blueberries and a drizzle of lavender honey.
We found that its slight funkiness (much less than its blue Stilton sibling of course) is good served with over-wintered pears. We sliced a red pear very thin and served it with crumbled cheese and a small pot of very good coffee.
This cheese had small, gritty bits of lemon peel that may not be to everyone's liking. We tried a different brand at Whole Foods and that one seemed to be a little smoother and softer, but unfortunately we didn't get the name of the creamery. Trader Joe's sometimes carries a version of this as well. White Stilton can be found with other kinds of fruit too, like blueberries, orange peel, cranberries and candied ginger.
It's a lovely and easy dessert, and light too. Just a little fruit and cheese after a fresh spring meal.
• White Stilton with lemon, $9.99 for 8 ounces at iGourmet
(Image: Faith Hopler)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Confession time: I love cheese but have absolutely no idea how to serve it or eat it politely in front of other people (not sure the gobs of brie I spread on baguette wouldnât be permissible when dining with the queen). Example, whenever Iâm out and split a cheese plate with friends Iâm never sure how to pair up the berries or pears, crackers, and a cheese â are they eaten together, in a certain order, stacked? Iâm befuddled.
Can you Kitchen writers think about posting a handy guide to serving cheese, like what goes with fruit, crackers, bread, just what the heck that date cake stuff is for, etc.?
Or any fellow readers care to share resources or tips?
view Squirrely's profile
YESSS!!!!! I've served lemon stilton several times and it has always been gobbled up. Addictively good and hard to stop munching on :)
view DC Sarah's profile
Though it may not satisfy those with a hefty sweet tooth, any cheese is really a "dessert cheese." There are digestive enzymes in cheese that, much like some drinks, help you digest the rest of your meal. That's why you see cheese served as part of the dessert menu at many restaurants. If' I was going to sweeten it up a bit, pecorino (and not romano) with honey is a traditional italian treat that's really yummy. White Stilton is, traditionally, kind of a blue Stilton reject. At some point during it's production, the cheesemaker would determine that the quality of the cheese was not suitable to be used to make the english king of blues. Flavorings were added to compensate for inferior flavors in the cheese itself. Nowadays, I'm sure producers start out intending to make it.
Squirrely - a great simple cheese plate (to me), if served with accompaniments would be: a approx. 3 oz piece of cheese, a dollop of preserves and a few slices or bread or crackers. I have a bit of the cheese, then have some of the jam or preserves on crackers/bread and then another bite of cheese (much the same way you'd have a wine pairing with food - a sip of wine, a taste of the food, a sip of wine). The flavors will intermix in your mouth, there's no need to smoosh them together physically on the plate. (That said, I do love a manchego and quince paste "sandwich" with manchego as the "bread"). That date cake, in addition to being extremely good just to snack on, would be used the same way: a nip of cake, a nip of cheese, repeat. The idea is for the whole plate to provide notes for a symphony of flavors, just like each element of a good dinner contributes to the whole.
view the cheesemonger's profile
Thanks cheesemonger! I was wondering if it was more of a "wine pairing" style rather than a "cram everything precariously on a cracker" style.
view Squirrely's profile
One of my favorite things to do is grind up some lavender, stir into goat cheese, top with honey and some fennel pollen -- absolutely delish!
view Nester66's profile
Faith, there is a cheese vendor at the farmer's market (usually on the south corner of Dunedin) who sells something called lemon quark. I think it is a goat cheese, but it sounds similar. It also tastes like lemon cheesecake -- heavenly! Give it a try!
view libbyhunt's profile
I am an admitted hater of white stiltons with "stuff" in them: lemon, mango, blueberries, pear, what have you. I find that the sweetness tastes artificial rather than the wonderful natural sweetness that milk has. For sweeter cheeses, I like aged goudas or any number of blues: St. Agur, Roquefort, Roaring 40s, Rogue River Blue from Rogue Creamery (wrapped in grape leaves that have been mascerated in Oregon pear brandy! yum!). In fact, I think that pairing a little of a stronger blue with a nice dessert wine (Stilton with port, Roquefort with Sauternes, a late harvest Riesling with Irish sheep's milk blue Crozier Blue, Cabrales or Valdeon with sherry) is the absolute best end to a meal one could ask for.
view pomobabble's profile