A few hours ago I came home with some dead posh cheese.
I tried it after my dead posh (for me) home-cooked meal. Honestly, I've sunk my teeth into more tasty stuff while almost horizontal in a dentist's chair. I won't tell you what "cheese" it was, but if it had been on a curry-house menu in the UK, it would have been classed under "Blandoori".
So, what cheese discoveries have you made in your ex-pat life, what can you recommend as a competitor to seriously-strong cheddar, what Monty-Pythonesque varieties haven't been mentioned, and for goodness sake, Gromit, which flippin' French supermarket has an equivalent of Cornish Wafers?
PS... I know you can probably procure the latter by the pallet via dave's bargain booze basement in Calais, and other exp-pat boutiques, but I'm talking weekly shopping list.
I love a good Stilton. I once took one to Sarawak as a present for a friend. It got some weird looks & we got some serious questions at the Brunei border. Have to say though, it travelled well:-)
Oh so it is a sort of cream cracker or water biscuit? There is a splendid book you might like published by Hachette called v boringly Guide du fromage which classifies most world cheeses by family so you can eg try la famille cheddar and go for all the varieties from different countries. It isn't particularly chauvinistic, lots of stuff about cheeses from all over the world & ther's even a page about les fromages industriels (hahahahaha)
If you like strong Cheddar you may like Laguiole or Salers or Cantal (but avoid the youthful ones or they will be as bland as most Cheddar) But for a change, why not try Livarot, Maroilles, Munster, Soumaintrain, Epoisses, St Félicien, proper Vacherin, Camembert - all unpasteurised, obviously. You need to make friends with a crémier :-) Or you could 'do' Cow, then Sheep, then Goat... or a Tour de France. So many cheeses, so little time, ah là là. I like home-made Tandoori-house cheese (Paneer) which is barely 'cheese' at all, but then India isn't renowned for matured cheeses is it.