Re: [CH] What is this stuff?
Jonathan T. Smillie (jsmillie@protix.com)
Mon, 09 Feb 1998 19:03:13 -0600
At 09:30 AM 2/9/98 -0500, Naor Wallach wrote:
>>>>
<excerpt><fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><smaller>I checked the
ingredient list. Guess what it says? It says red and GREEN habaneros are
in the cheese. Now, I am not that knowledgeable about this stuff, but is
there such a thing as a green habanero?
</smaller></fontfamily>
<fontfamily><param>Verdana</param><smaller>(Aside from the obvious
non-ripe version)
</smaller></fontfamily></excerpt><<<<<<<<
I've bought habanero cheese a few times, mostly from a producer called (I
think) Crystal Farms here in Wisconsin. It does have green flecks, but my
inclination is to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and assume that
the green flecks are unripe habaneros. Capsicum chinense being the
long-growth-period variety that it is, I suspect that Wisconsin cheese
producers (especially this guy, who sells at the Madison farmers' market,
where you can't sell anything that isn't all your own work) have to bulk
out the cheese with some unripe habs because they don't ripen fast enough
up here. It certainly has a kick to it, although the casein in the cheese
does cut it somewhat.
Bear in mind, too, that it would be illegal to use a different chile in
the cheese and misrepresent it as a habanero.
My main problem with the habanero cheese in Wisconsin is that it's all
Monterey Jack, which when not adulterated with chiles is not a cheese I
personally care for. Now if someone would just make a good habanero sharp
cheddar... mmmm.
Jonathan
***************
<bold>Conservative</bold>, <italic>n.</italic> A statesman who is
enamored of existing
evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to
replace them with others.
- Ambrose Bierce, <italic>The Devil's Dictionary</italic>