what i live for #615: stinky, oozing cheese
see this?
it’s cuz of my undying love for pungent vittles like this that i am cultivating an unsavory reputation at work: she who bears smelly foods whose aroma pervades the offices.
there’ve been enough incidences now that have given me cause for concern: the lion’s head meatball soup that elicited some “what’s that smell?!” commentary, a colleague asking me “do you have sauerkraut?” because i had the pictured cheese on my desk, and some other moments i’ve repressed by now out of sheer embarrassment (like the time i brought in chou dofu / fried stinky tofu…i kid, i kid…though i do enjoy the stuff).
oh well, it’s my own dang fault. i could be a normal person and snack in the lounge or outside. unfortunately, i am far too lazy to take such considerate action.
back to the glorious cheese. this is robiola bosina, an italian soft-ripened cheese made from cow’s and sheep’s milk. i LOVE odoriferous cheese with a runny consistency, the kind that when you take out of the fridge and turn your back on it for like five minutes, you’re stunned to find it’s changed from solid to semi-liquid under such mild conditions. it’s naughty and delicious.
though its smell is strong (and offensive for some), the flavor doesn’t dominate. it’s milky, earthy/woodsy, and perfect for any bread, dense and doughy or light and fluffy (i was going to say “artisanal bread,” but that would make me most loathsome). i usually just dip roasted hazelnuts in it and the taste is divine.
i have a sick unconditional love for cheese. in my convulsive fits of glee at the cheese counter, i have stupidly spent ungodly amounts of $$$ on various samples. the very idea of a cheese buffet drives my desire to visit france. i don’t know what i’d do if i was lactose intolerant.
man, just talking about it gets me all worked up.
*wipes drool away with sleeve*
October 19th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
People who don’t appreciate smelly food need to be exposed to them more regularly. Having the heady, rugged odiferousness of a strong cheese, stinky tofu, or durian pummel your nostrils is a way to celebrate olfaction in the purest sense. The “offense” people are experiencing is actually the expansion of the mind to accommodate greatness.
Jenn, you should be hailed as a hero by the members of your workplace for introducing them to scents unsmelled.
And consider this: dogs have the best sense of smell and they regularly sniff butts and shit. They are experts at smelling.
Related: I brought an egg sandwich to Spanish class every day my senior year of highschool and made my classmates and teacher smell it.
October 19th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
So I guess what you’re saying is that you really like to cut the cheese.
October 20th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
mmm… Cheesermaphone.
October 23rd, 2007 at 1:42 am
oh sissy. you are so adorable. you and your food. the never-ending saga. it continues. You are your experiences with food. It’s like a valley girl describing newly designed Uggs and its many unique features. let’s hope everyone comes out alive.
October 23rd, 2007 at 1:45 am
Sister, i notice photo number 9526 in your set of flickr photos has a snippet of the tip of your cowboy shoe pointing up. That’s adorable. I can imagine you sitting there, bored, and imagining the many ways you can create an interesting, unique, and enticing picture out of a rather bland environment.
October 24th, 2007 at 12:27 am
why’re you holding out on me, esse? I bring the Mark Bittman no-knead bread, you bring some Taleggio, we go out in civic center and rumble.
Otherwise, rye crisp and laughing cow at dusk. Some Franzia for my homies. What you say?
October 25th, 2007 at 1:16 am
whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? your neighbourhood is MY neighbourhood. I don’t think I would have gone but my friend wanted to go.
October 25th, 2007 at 2:23 am
*pinches nostrils shut in disgust*
October 25th, 2007 at 10:58 am
I think you mean “butthole,” Anthony!
October 26th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
derek: let’s make deviled eggs and eat ‘em til we pass out from sulfur exposure
paul: yes. and you know from experience.
nat: we’re neighbors! wanna go throw flaming molotovs at Q sometime? i kid, i kid.
sister: you know me TOO well.
nico: velveeta or epoisse, laughing cow or taleggio, i am so there. but let’s rendezvous w/our dairy under some public art / sculpture crap. that’s ultimate SF.
anthony: smells better than your godforsaken bedroom.
derek: yup