Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar - this is advertised as
a super-sharp Cheddar with Parmesan notes; it is not,
though it's pleasant enough. The texture is crumbly and
with crystals coming on, but the sharpness and Parmesanness
are negligible. The flavor is creamy and sort of generic
cheesy, sort of on the lines of Cabot Seriously Sharp but
with a funkier texture. Okay, there is a strange umami that
distinguishes it from normal Cheddars, as though someone
dissolved MSG in the milk before making the cheese. I'd eat
this if offered but would not be inclined to buy it unless
for cooking. Tasted against some other found cheeses.

Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, aged at home a month or two
- a bit of aging remedied the softness and wetness of this
cheese but did nothing to sharpen it. It's still what used
to be called medium Cheddar, way too milky for my taste and
even now too soft and gummy. I'd eat this if offered but
would not be inclined to buy it either unless for a longer
aging experiment.

Cabot Classic extra-sharp Cheddar - crumblier than the above
but still not very sharp, too creamy or milky or something.
Not worth the premium. I might classify Seriously Sharp as a
crap cheese; this one barely avoids that category.

Kerrygold Dubliner, aged at home 6 months wrapped in paper
bag - this originally was another mediocre cheese but
having been forgotten in the back of the drawer turned into
a rather tough, rubbery substance with quite a lot of flavor.
The namby-pambiness of its original incarnation gave way to
an admirable concentration. Another six months and this
might become a decent grating cheese.

-
Pepsi Wild Cherry - Lilli got this by mistake, as at the
store it was adjacent to the diet Pepsi. So instead of
taking them back, she saved them for me. The aroma is
like normal cola. Pepsi with almondy flavor on the palate.
Finish was pure Pepsi. Substantial caffeine hit.

Coke Zero Sugar - a curiously dead taste despite that
familiar Coke aroma. A little caramelly. An irritating
lack of sweetness with more than a hint of artificial.

Tasted against Diet Coke, which seemed to have more
flavor, though of a citrus toilet-bowl-cleanery sort.
An irritating sweetness along with the artificiality.

Fanta Eerie-sistible Orange Vampire Mix - the
publicity says "Sink your fangs into this Fanta Orange mix
with an extra bite of citrus," but there was nothing
special about it except a hint of extra bitterness;
maybe it's because I don't have fangs or the
advertising-sensitive gene. In fact, to become interesting
at all, it needed a boost, which I provided in the form of
a splash of orange juice (the club bar wasn't open for
another 15 minutes).

Rhythm Superfoods beet chips - the ingredients list
is just beets, and the flavor is just beets. These
are sort of crispy but deficient in the quality control
department, so some of the chips are thicker and break
into hard shards. I could have used some salt for
contrast and some oil to crisp up the chips (these,
being geared to the health market, are baked, not fried).

Far West Fungi shiitake mushroom jerky - a little salty
but pretty tasty in the teriyaki jerky way, the balance
more towards salt-soy than sweet. Pronounced mushroom
flavor, which did not mimic but was an adequate stand-in
for meat.
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