The Good: Melts well, Exceptionally easy to work with, Nothing truly bad in it, Good price, Decent flavor!
The Bad: Not as exciting as the Smoked Gouda with bacon?
The Basics: Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda is delicious, if utterly simple.
I love cheddar cheese. But more and more, my wife has been opening me up to other types of cheese. I have been pleasantly surprised to discover how much I like a good gouda. Gouda tends to be a more mild cheese that is flavored with a smoky taste that reminds one of nights in front of a campfire and Yancey's Fancy's Smoked Gouda is a great example of that, even if it is not the most smoky and intense cheese I have ever enjoyed.
I found Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda cheese at the grocery store and I was surprised to find a block on sale at $3.99/lb as part of a pretty amazing cheese sale. At that price, I was sorry I was not able to stock up on it!
Basics
Yancey's Fancy is a manufacturer of Artisan Cheeses here in upstate New York. The intent of most Yancey's Fancy cheeses is that they will be cheeses that hold their own as snacks that may be served to consumers in fancier settings. They specialize in cheddar cheeses that have different flavors infused into them: champagne, jalapeno, various nuts, etc., as well as more exotic cheeses like gouda. Yancey's Fancy cheeses come in wheels (usually ten or twenty pounds each) and most stores chop the wheels into blocks. On-line, it is fairly easy to find the cheese in one pound blocks.
The Smoked Gouda cheese is exactly as its name implies. This is a solid creamy yellow-white cheese without any garnishes, additional flavors or embedded spices.
Ease Of Preparation
Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda cheese is a cheese, so more often than not, it is used on its own or as an ingredient in a recipe. Preparation of the cheese is pretty simple: if it has been purchased in a smaller quantity than the entire wheel, remove the plastic wrap it is sealed in. When that is done, simply peel back the wax coating on the outer edges. This happens with remarkable ease. The Smoked Gouda cheese seems to not adhere to the wax. This makes it a very easy cheese to separate from the wax coating and it may be placed on a cutting block or plate ready to be cut!
The Smoked Gouda cheese is exceptionally easy to work with. Our block went quickly in our kitchen as I used it in sandwiches, omelets and atop hamburgers. This cheese handles exceptionally easily, slicing simply with my cheese plane or grating finely with our cheese grater.
Taste
On its own, the Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda cheese has a tangy scent that instantly evokes mental images of fires and warm places. The smoke scent is distinct and fairly mild, but prepares the consumer for a flavorful cheese.
Placed on the tongue, Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda is salty and coats the tongue with a rich, smoky flavor that is complete and saturates the mouth. The Smoked Gouda is so rich in its flavor that it spreads over whatever it is melted on. This cheese is simple, lives up to its name and is worthwhile for that.
Nutrition
Yancey's Fancy New York Artisan Cheeses are not intended to be all that one lives on. But for those who try, the Smoked Gouda cheese is not a terribly healthy choice. A serving size is considered a one inch block (1 oz.). In that, there are 100 calories, 70 of which are from fat. This cheese has 25% of one's daily recommended saturated fat intake and 11% of the RDA of sodium. On the plus side, it does have 20% of the RDA of calcium and has six grams of protein.
Obviously, Smoked Gouda cheese is a dairy product, so those who are lactose intolerant will have problems with it. This cheese is made primarily of gouda cheese, trisodium citrate and natural smoke flavor. That makes it mostly natural, despite possessing two preservatives.
Storage/Cleanup
As a cheese, Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda cheese should be kept refrigerated. So long as that happens, it ought to stay fresh for several weeks. I am utterly unable to write about shelf-life as our one-pound block was gone within a week of being opened! So long as it is kept in an airtight, cold environment, it ought to remain fresh and supple.
New York Sharp is a cheese, so it is not going to stain or ruin anything unless it is ground into a fabric. Baring that, cleanup of nonporous surfaces is as easy as wiping them with a damp cloth.
Overall
Simple, delicious and melting beautifully, Yancey's Fancy Smoked Gouda is worth buying for any cheese lover!
For other Yancey's Fancy cheese reviews, please check out my takes on:
New York Sharp Cheddar
Horseradish Cheddar
Smoked Bacon Gouda
7.5/10
For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page on the subject! That is available by clicking here!
© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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