CNE 2010 Cheese Tasting — Dairy Farmers of Canada

First off, my face isn't really that oily/spotty in real life, k? Can't argue with Sis though, I do pull a Pac Man Cheeseface. Anyhoodles, Sis and I attended a free cheese tasting at the CNE this year, and I thought it was quite informative. The tasting was led by a teacher from the Cheese Education Guild. Here are the 6 Canadian cheeses we sampled + my notes on them:

• Le Trappeur Brie Double Cream [Damafro] — mushroom-y smell, sweet and creamy finish
• Havarti Creamy [Arla Foods] — a sweet cheese that melts beautifully
• Smoked Gouda [Ivanhoe] — fave fave fave ! I ♥ smoked anything
• Medium Cheddar Caramelized Onion [Empire] — no notes were taken for this one, sorry :(
• Horseradish Cheddar [Ivanhoe] — tasted like liquid horseradish, need I say more?
• 2 Year Old Cheddar [Empire] — mild with a clean aroma, sticky, velvety with an acidic finish

Things I Learned About Cheese:

• take 15-20 sec to taste cheese when you eat it; multiple taste sensations will ensue
• let cheese melt on your tongue and try not to chew it
• buy cheese that requires refrigeration [whoever else hated Babybels, welcome to the club]
• the softer the cheese, the more moisture it has and the less room it has for fat
• contrary to popular misconception, brie has less fat than old cheddar cheese
• Canadian Cheddar is considered the "best" in the world
• to avoid contamination when arranging a cheese platter, serve blue cheese on one
  platter and all your other cheeses on another platter

CNE Deep Fried Butter + Deep Fried Marsbar

[left] Deep Fried Marsbar [right] Deep Fried Butterballs

CNE 2010 [aka The Ex]
Sweet Treats food stand
September 6, 2010
6:15pm — 7:45pm
1.5 hour wait



DEEP FRIED BUTTER

WTF? — Each butterball begins as a toothpicked tablespoon of cold butter that is dipped in heavy batter, then deep fried in hot, sizzling oil. After being taken out of the fryer, each of the 4 butterballs are drizzled with a different Smucker's Sundae Syrup: Chocolate, Strawberry, Caramel and (possibly) No Sugar Added Caramel. As a final garnish, the butterballs are dusted with icing sugar.

TASTE? — My sis and I expected liquid butter to ooze out of the fried butterball... but instead, when placed in the hot fryer, the butter just bursts inside the batter that surrounds it. I felt like I was biting into a hollow dumpling! The sweet sauces drizzled on top of these butterballs are their only saving grace. The taste of melted, salty butter in the same bite with sweet sauces does please the palate. But $5 for four fried balls of dough?! Aw hellz no. Never again.

VERDICT — Overrated! If they have these at the CNE again next year, don't waste your time/money.

RATING — 5/5 stupid stars



DEEP FRIED MARSBAR

WTF? — 1 whole Marsbar is dipped in heavy (cornmeal?) batter, then deep fried. The finished product looks almost exactly like a corn dog.

TASTE? — One bite of this Deep Fried Marsbar, and I felt as heavy as a brick. The Marsbar is likely dipped into a different batter than the Butterballs, as it had a crunchier texture when fried. Melted chocolate does indeed ooze out upon first bite, and for this reason, in terms of taste, I'd choose the Deep Fried Marsbar over the Butterballs. But oh gawd, if the Marsbar were replaced with a solid dark chocolate bar and then deep fried, I think I'd be in calorific heaven.

VERDICT — If you like chocolate and fried stuff and don't care for calories, go 'head and try it.

RATING — 3/5 stupid stars