{"id":13303,"date":"2014-02-03T14:54:45","date_gmt":"2014-02-03T19:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/?p=13303"},"modified":"2016-03-31T14:49:08","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T19:49:08","slug":"colombian-cheese-the-good-the-bad-and-the-meh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2014\/02\/colombian-cheese-the-good-the-bad-and-the-meh\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombian Cheese: The Good, The Bad, and the Meh"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Well, we have talked about it before<\/a>. Colombia is a country that completely\u00a0worships cheeses<\/strong>. Whether it be with guava paste, hot chocolate, fruit salad, or – heaven forbid! – hot dogs or sandwiches, nary an opportunity is lost to add a bit of fermented curd to the mix<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Well you might say, then, Gentle Reader, “so what? Cheese is amazing.”<\/strong> I will cede you that point, my confident cheese-o-phile, on most occasions.<\/p>\n

There is, however, something I’m still not prepared to cede. At the very real risk of offending the many Colombians among you<\/strong>, I’m afraid my conscience demands that I admit something.<\/p>\n

Colombian cheese often leaves me… well… kind of … meh<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is nothing I love more than a good wine accompanied by a complicated and varied cheese board<\/strong>, replete with deliciously gooey camembert; tooth-hurtingly good brie; a brisk, sharp extra-tasty cheddar, almost too-intense blue vein; hell, even some Czechoslavakian sheep’s milk cheese would get me going<\/strong>. This is why it pains me to say, Gentle Cheese Lover, that, speaking very generally, I don’t find Colombian cheese very tasty.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before I get booted out of my beloved adopted country for taking such an unpopular and unpatriotic stance, let me just say that I do like at least\u00a0one\u00a0<\/em>type of cheese. This brings me to…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Good<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Cheese<\/a>
Cheese with more flavour than an early nineties rapper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paipa is one of those towns that helped me fall in love with Boyaca<\/a>.\u00a0There are many reasons for this, one being the local product that Paipa-ians are understandably proud of.\u00a0Paipa cheese\u00a0<\/strong>is made by masters of the cheese craft. It’s full-bodied, rich and sharp<\/strong>, and just becomes even more magic when heated. Whilst in the slightly chilly but warm-hearted Paipa, I had the best\u00a0bue\u00f1olos<\/a><\/em>\u00a0<\/a>I’ve ever had, so good, because they heavily featured this gloriously mature (keep it wrapped up in cloth in a cupboard, not in the fridge), flavourful cheese. Paipa, we salute you<\/strong> and your devotion to the Cheese Art. I’m told the otherworldly La Guajira is home to a variety of cheese rivalling Paipa’s for its right royal flavour kick, but I personally haven’t been lucky enough to try this claim out for myself. If anyone has any lying around, I’m more than happy to give it a go<\/strong>, though.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Bad<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Bocadillo<\/a>
Cheese and guava paste? Not OK, guys<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, really, I’d struggle to find much Colombian\u00a0cheese\u00a0<\/em>itself that has enough character to be definitively bad<\/strong>. We’ll discuss this more in the next category. However, there is something I’d say, from my perspective and with my gringo palate, is definitively bad – at least for me. And that is this Colombian obsession with combining sweet things with perfectly inoffensive cheese<\/strong>. Hear me out first: I think a perfect contrast on the aforementioned cheese plate would be strawberries, grapes, or even fig paste. Furthermore, I can handle the whole hot chocolate and cheese<\/a> thing. I don’t understand it, but I’ll continue to do it. I even, for reasons beyond my own understanding, actually quite like the agua panela and cheese combo<\/strong>. However, I will not stand for the sacrilege of combining admittedly tasteless cheese with guava paste<\/a>. Nor will I stomach it when anybody, friend or foe, takes a perfectly delicious Dutch Edam, and smothers it all in arequipe<\/strong>. There are some things that I just take exception to. Sorry, but that’s me!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Meh<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Campesino<\/a>
Campesino Cheese. I’m embarrassed to say that I just don’t get it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, it is in this category that I probably, sadly, part ways with a lot of my audience. Don’t hate me<\/strong>: it’s just my personal opinion. Coste\u00f1o cheese sometimes gets a bit of flack for being a bit salty; but you know what? At least it registers on the palate<\/strong>. A lot of Colombian cheese has no taste. Nothing whatsoever. This is what honestly baffles me about the whole Cheese Obsession. I could understand it if the majority of the cheeses were delicious, but this is just not the case. Cheese, like the above Campesino, is often described appreciatively as\u00a0smooth<\/em><\/strong>. Personally, I find this description to also just mean\u00a0bland<\/em>. Perhaps this is just me coming from a world of cheese that is a front-on assault on the taste buds, but I’m finding it very hard to change this.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What’s your opinion? Is “smooth” just a polite way of saying “boring,” or is Colombian cheese actually amazing, and deserved to be had with everything, even guava paste? I know this is a passionate topic, so please let us know your perspective below!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Well, we have talked about it before. Colombia is a country that completely\u00a0worships cheeses. Whether it be with guava paste, hot chocolate, fruit salad, or – heaven forbid! – hot dogs or sandwiches, nary an opportunity is lost to add a bit of fermented curd to the mix. 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