Old Croc extra sharp Cheddar (Australia) - the slogan
is "Careful, it bites," but that's an overstatement.
It's sharper than any Cabot or Kraft product I've had
lately, which is no surprise - pleasantly cheesy and
with some character. Some crystals on the edges, fairly
crumbly. The label claims "at least 18 months," and I'm
guessing that's pretty accurate.

Mull of Kintyre extra mature Scottish Cheddar - a little
lighter in color than the above, a touch sweeter, similarly
crumbly, also going to cystals, moderately sharp - if I
didn't know otherwise, I might have guessed batch
variations of the same stuff.

Speaking of which, I had a rematch with Cabot Seriously
Sharp Cheddar. It's still not terrific, but what improves
it is keeping it sealed past its use-by date, then opening
it up and letting it dry out a little before using. It
becomes cheesier and smellier, even now not very sharp,
but getting to the right crumbly texture and acquiring a
complexity of flavor that it lacked. I used to do something
similar with Cracker Barrel extra sharp, but that required
at least a year of keeping.

Barber Farmhouse Sweet Red Cheddar - well, it's red and it's
sweetish, but I don't see what's so special. Lacking in
character and sharpness, it would seem to me that the best
use for it would be melting into a greasy cheese sandwich
or perhaps making into cheese crisps as I have started
making from the cheapest odds and ends in the neighborhood.

Cuba Cheese Co, New York state extra-sharp Cheddar - quite
smelly, something I still can't get over even in good cheese.
I'd say 2 or 3 years' aging, yielding a product that is
beginning to go crumbly and have some crystals in it. Flavor
and underlying texture still too creamy for my preference,
though some tartness and tongue-cramping weirdness make it
more interesting.

Silk almond and cashew milk with 10 g of pritein per serving.
Good texture, some chocolate aroma but with beany notes. The
nuts were not much in evidence. Not too sweet, in fact borderline
not sweet enough. I read the label and found one of the major
ingredients was pea protein, which explained the bean flavor
as well as answering the question of where one got protein into
nut milk. An okay product, not to actually be purchased unless
extreme circumstances dictate.

Bixby dark chocolate Maine sea salt wild Maine blueberry
cashew Whippersnapper craft candy snack bar - decent
chocolate coating, well flavored but a little stiff.
Inside, a mixture of chocolate-like but not very
chocolare-tasting filling studded with cashew bits, chewy
dried blueberries, and crispy (brown organic) rice. I
might have considered getting this again, but at a buck to
$1.30 an ounce, they cost more than unadulterated chocolate.

ETi Karam 70% chocolate - quite grainy, with a hard bite. The
label is in Turkish and Azeri, so the purchasers are used to
a product that will stand up to harsh extremes of climate and
who want punchy flavors for their lira. Flavors of bitter
almost burned cacao, raisins, and caramel; I suspect also
that the sugar used is unrefined or brown. Interesting.

Ulker 60% chocolate - a little grainy though smoother than
the above. Vanilla and milk on the nose, same on the palate,
not very chocolaty. Very mass-market, and I suspect the
Turks like more texture in their chocolate than we do. This
is from the company that owns Godiva, so you know that it
has its finger on the pulse of the public.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)