tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737234699043019617.post-8975763982235262622007-09-10T07:45:00.000-07:002007-09-10T09:45:05.106-07:002007-09-10T09:45:05.106-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_2WIgtkJjLOg/RuVu7KMY8EI/AAAAAAAAAKo/E0Oq2BTnWhA/s1600-h/fiscalini.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_2WIgtkJjLOg/RuVu7KMY8EI/AAAAAAAAAKo/E0Oq2BTnWhA/s200/fiscalini.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108611314949353538" border="0" /></a>Awhile back, I tried the <a href="http://www.fatchancemedia.com/2007/07/fiscalini-purple-moon.html">Fiscalini Purple Moon</a>, whose defining feature is that it's purple, and comes wrapped in some playful packaging.<br /><br />You get the picture: It's a "fun" dairy product designed to stand out on the grocery shelf, but not exactly a Big Serious Cheese.<br /><br />This weekend, I decided to give Fiscalini's Bandaged Cheddar a try. I wasn't sure what to expect. Playful? Accessible? And what's with the name . . . is it injured?<br /><br />Actually, the bandages refer to an aging method in which the rind is wrapped, or bandaged, to ensure consistent flavor development across the entire wheel. The name might be quirky, but there's no kidding around going here. This aged, raw-milk variety is a Big Serious Cheese.<br /><br />What defines a B.S.C.? For starters, you need to use traditional production techniques. This is a farmstead variety, which means all the milk comes from cows the Fiscalinis raise themselves. The Bandaged Cheddar is also made in fairly small quantities, and aged with care for at least 16 months.<br /><br />The result, I have to report, is pretty spectacular. As another reviewer put it, Bandaged Cheddar "sings with a luxurious balance of buttery, grassy, and savory flavors."<br /><br />I cannot disagree. Buttery, buttery, buttery. Sing along to that. What impressed me, too, was the cheese's remarkable balance.<br /><br />Each bite hits you with 3 or 4 different tastes at once, each complementing the other beautifully. There's the dry sharpness of a well-aged Cheddar, rounded by the buttery texture, topped off by the cleanest milky flavor imaginable.<br /><br />If you like the full-flavored cheeses of Ireland and the British Isles, you owe it to yourself to try this California version, made in Modesto.GordoBloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05434742975623048346noreply@blogger.com3