This extremely hard cheese has an earthy smell that permeates everything around it. As such, it can be off-putting as a standard accompaniment cheese. Still, its salty, sharp, bright taste lends well to dishes that can stand up to its aroma. It is, most often, shaved overtop a salap or pasta dish, giving it a more refined palate.
One particularly interesting thing about this cheese is the fact that it never melts. At all.
Description:
A deliciously light and floral cheese. The cheese is infused with organic homegrown lavender. The lavender gives it a subtle earthy herby lavender taste. The taste of the cheese is elegantly creamy with only a hint of sharpness. The texture is soft and perfectly spreadable. It smells full of nice floral scents.
Uses:
This cheese is often given as a gift. As with the flower meaning of lavender, when given as a gift it shows that the giver believes the recipient is graceful, elegant, and precious to them. As for eating it is often eaten on crackers or fancy bread. It is especially popular to eat during spring picnics.
MicroCheese
A funny “cheese” that apparently grows from the remains of old cheese. This cheese is actually a species of microgreens that somehow retain the flavor of cheese in veggie form. Depending on the type of old cheese used, the taste tends to vary quite a bit so no two MicroCheeses are quite the same. Using a sharp tasting cheese leads it to be a sharp tasting green. If a milder cheese is used, it develops a milder taste. Texture wise it is similar to a thin leafy plant with a long sprout stalk. When still planted and growing in from the old cheese it has a very distinctive funk, likely due to the old cheese. When it’s plucked, it has a faint cheesy smell.
If you don’t want to include too many extra condiments in your sandwich, the MicroCheese is a perfect addition. You can also mix it in stir fry for a little extra flavor. You get your veggie serving either way! Its also great for anyone who likes the taste of cheese but is lactose intolerant.
Eggy Cheese
Named based on the color of the cheese and the shape in which the cheese is formed, this is a popular snacking cheese due to its packaging. The cheese is firm, but easy to eat in bite size pieces. Tends to melt in the mouth. It’s a mild cheese with a bit of a salty taste. When this cheese is formed into an egg like shape, the cheese is covered in a waxy covering to protect it from the elements. Many children often see one of these packaged in with their school lunches. To eat the “yolk” or cheese one just needs to peel away the waxy covering and dig in!
Peapoddar
Nobody knows whether this cheese is named for the green outer shell that it develops upon hardening, which bears a striking similarity to peas, or for the fact that its taste strongly resembles said peas. Its earthy scent has a grassy note to it, and its texture is crumbly and powdery, much as if it has been frozen and defrosted. While not particularly appealing to eat on its own, this cheese can often be an appealing addition to various salads and to garnish vegetables.
Scream Cheese
The holes in this cheese are often said to resemble screaming expressions, giving rise to its name — or perhaps it gained its reputation for its unbelievably spicy taste. Its texture is so soft that it’s bound to melt in your mouth the moment you bite into it, which only makes it easier for the cheese to coat your tongue with fire and brimstone. While not recommended for regular consumption for any but those with the most unfeeling tongues, the cheese is a common tool of pranksters and mischief-makers everywhere in the Cave who may attempt to switch this cheese in over more innocent and edible ones, or as the medium of dares between teenagers to see who can handle its heat.
Name: Speed Cheese
The way this log of cheese seems to fade away from one end to another isn’t merely a color difference; turns out, this cheese is moving! Quickly. At all times. To be enjoyed, it must be caught (no easy feat!) and it’s rind fastened down to a cheeseboard, usually via adhesive or the sheer willpower of the server. Even when restrained, this cheese is somehow still speeding along in place, heedless of the laws of the universe and matter in general. Despite all this, once you can finally get some down on a cracker or something (the best way to eat Speed Cheese is as quickly as possible, spread on whatever you can find to put it on, bread or meat or your friend’s arm), it’s said to be very tasty- but if you want some, act quickly, it tends to go fast!
Name: Kissing ‘Shroom Cheddar
This cheese, when cut and aged in individual slices, soon grows a special type of fungus that looks strikingly similar to pairs of cartoonish, lipstick-laden puckered lips. The Kissing ‘Shrooms themselves are rarely consumed in their whole form along with the cheese, most likely due to their frankly disturbing appearance (Who would want to eat cheese lips? Creepy!), but are often removed, chopped, and added to other recipes, in which it works like many other mushrooms and adds a delicate earthy taste… a pretty worthwhile ingredient if you can forget that they were originally lip-like growths on a slice of cheese. The actual cheese itself is fairly unremarkable; most Mycenians will only use it when nothing else is available and not have much to say about the flavor other than, “Yep, it tastes like cheese.”
This cheese, traditionally found near entrances to the cave in the deep of winter, is completely encased in ice when harvested. Being so close to the boundary, it is imbued with a combination of the Bone Monster’s augery and the influence of the magical winter outside. It leeches heat and exudes cold for many months, serving as the refrigerant in many Mycenian’s kitchens and foodstores. When the ice melts completely the magic is gone and the food will quickly spoil, leading to the Mycenian idiom “They’re such a cheese-checker”, meaning obsessed with avoiding waste. no one knows why it resembles a slice of processed cheese, nor how it grows.
Taste station 8:
Pemoos:
They have a very nutty taste, but are soft on the inside. It is very creamy and goes well on sandwiches or even spread on chips. The delicious cheese lasts 6-7 months in the fridge if left untouched. It takes around 4 months to ferment if making it yourself, but a much cheaper version is usually available in grocery stores.
We may have potentially misinterpreted the prompt but we did, indeed, “craft some cheese out of something [we’ve] got laying around the house,” So hopefully it still counts? (please let us know if it doesn’t we want a cow.)
Name: Blottzarella
This is a pale, fairly bland stretchy fresh cheese that would really have benefitted from some added basil, pepper, salt, any seasoning really. It’s stretchy but nothing to write home about. It could have some potential applications, maybe mixed with a stronger, better cheese, or it might suffice as wallpaper paste. It also has a very satisfying asmr slice so that might be a good avenue for those of you who get sound tinglies. Have you ever chewed gum that’s lost all it’s flavor? That’s basically this cheese.
I also used the cheese to make homemade pizza (dough was made using the whey and a homemade sauce too) and it’s the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth look at it:
Name: Xiaolongbrie
Xiaolongbrie is a soupy cheese with a soft outer shell. Best served piping hot, xiaolongbrie can be eaten whole; biting into it will release its nutty juices and flood the mouth with a delectable host of flavors. The outer shell has a mild, creamy taste, while the slightly nutty juice within includes little flecks of other flavors. The varieties of xiaolongbrie are nearly endless, yet they look identical to all but the most seasoned cheese connoisseurs, so each bite is a surprise. This mysterious aspect of the cheese makes it a hit with kids and Mycenians with a taste for adventure; careful not to burn your tongue, though!
Name: Cheesewich
Cheesewich is named for its shape, its source, and its flavor. A sandwich-shaped plant-based cheese, cheesewich has an earthy and spinachy flavor with a bit of a peppery kick in the center green stripe. Cheesewich smells much like it tastes, and it crumbles easily; it is often used to garnish salads and pizzas, though some prefer to eat it by itself. Due to chemical properties in the cheese, it can also be used as an effective insect repellent.
Cheese 2: Bao Cheese
A pillowy soft, pale cheese with a light, milky scent, this cheese is a favorite for cheese connoisseurs. However, due to its two step process to create, not the easiest of snacks to make on a whim. After the pasteurization process, bao cheese has to be steamed in bamboo boxes for up to an hour to premium softness. Once ready, bao cheese can be paired with virtually anything. A popular style amongst young mycenians is a sprinkle of either rock salt or powdered sugar.
Cheese 13: Brick Cheese
Denser than concrete, rough as velcro hooks, with a lifetime guarantee, this is definitely not a cheese for eating unless in the most dire of straits. Used mostly as a building material by most mycenians, it takes boiling this cheese in milk or water for a whole day before it softens enough to chew. Surprisingly, for such an ugly looking cheese, it has a pleasant, almost rosemary scent. Sold most commonly in blocks, brick cheese is also jokingly referred to as emergency rations as, due to its density, a 1 inch square softens and expands in boiling liquid enough to fill a small soup pot and serve two grown mycenians. However, once cooked out, it has a dry, spongy texture and an oddly sour-salty taste.
A sweet aged cheese with delightful air pockets, flavored with fresh strawberries. It is easily spreadable at room temperature, making it great for dinner parties, as when it is whipped, it is an easy and delicious dip for biscuits and cookies. It is considered a dessert cheese, it pairs excellent with wine, and is great on a bagel in the morning for a quick breakfast on the go!
Made without a rind, Ismil doesn’t become hard or dry to help retain its dewy composition. It’s flavor is much like it’s texture, smooth and mild, with an earthy, lightly spiced encore to follow. It’s small size is treasured by its fond onlookers, but is often critiqued by those who struggle to understand the appeal. However, it’s size is convenient, and is often given as small tokens of appreciation to the guests at hotels and restaurants. It’s best served at room temperature, which brings forward the aromatic flavors of spice and herbs, which makes it a popular addition to picnics, where it’s paired with drier companions like crackers or toasted baguettes, or occasionally paired as a side with spicier foods to soften their bite. Additionally, the packaging is often made to reflect the type of herbs used in making the Ismil, which varies greatly depending on its geographic origins.
Mixing Station
Verdant Bloom
This cheese is deceiving at first, because of its simple appearance many assume it to be a traditional gouda, but they’d be mistaken. Because of the biodegradable content in Milkshroom dairy, it makes a perfect candidate for the germination of slower growing plants. Before the pressing and waxing process, seeds or seedlings are folded into the cheese and are continued to be added throughout the pressing process. Once complete the wax is added and the germination process begins, and the cheese is checked every two days to ensure progress is being made. The plants, usually herbs or mild flowers, absorb the moisture in the cheese, creating a sharp, dry cheese that crumbles when sliced thinly and breaks through the rind (usually at one to three points) and blooms, hence the name. The herbs are usually harvested and used as greens on the salads or herbs in pasta the cheese is served with. It is sometimes also eaten on its own by lovers of hard cheeses.
This pungent wedge of delectable milkshroom cheese has a deep, earthy scent with subtle undertones of an almost minty fragrance what wafts up the nose when consumed and lingers long after having been eaten. The texture is soft, almost creamy between the firmer layers of green, the latter chewy to the point of being nearly rubbery, but quickly dissolving in the mouth. There is a light nuttiness and sweetness, which is brought out wonderfully when warmed, and the potential for delicious cheesebread is high. It holds its shape well due to the stabilizing effect of the green-hued layers, making it ideal for sandwiches. While the creamier sections would be fantastic spread on toast or whipped into a sauce. However, it is the contrast between the differing textures of the individual layers that gives this cheese such unique appeal, and would add depth and complexity when melted on bread. It is readily absorbed by the toast when heated, and the firmer parts help seal the slice so that nothing oozes out. Until, of course, one bites into it, and then the richness of the varied flavors mingle together for a uniquely cheesy experience.
Excerpt from a personal journal written by Ceino-royal archivist of Zalisk year XXXX
Flora Orientalis acidis imitantur vitea caseus (Flora Mimic Cheese)
An unusual cheese. It appears as a normal wheel of mozzarella but if matured near a plant,in this case it appears to be a wonderful specimen of a sakura tree, The cheese will start to take on the color of the plant’s flowers or fruit. This particular sample of cheese must have been matured for quite a while as its started mimicking the structure of the tree itself. Often will take on the taste and smell of it’s mimicked plant and tends to have a silky,petal-like texture.
I foresee this becoming quite popular because of it’s customizable properties. If one were to age it by a honeysuckle or other fragrant flowering plant then it could become quite popular indeed. Though I believe it might be most popular in the area of cooking as I suspect one might be able to make it mimic the taste of various herbs and thus expand the range of seasoning capabilities. Further research will be required to confirm or deny this hypothesis
Observational exercise by Alvis, prince of zalisk age: ??(suspected to be 7)
coctione caseus (cooking cheese)
I hate latin cause its sooo pretentious!! There I said it. more seriously.
This cheese is really weird. It looks a bit like someone let the white parts of a hard boiled egg rot and mold but somehow left the yolk fresh as the day it was cooked. The inside yellow bits taste like egg too while the outside tastes like..pickles? i wasn’t suppose to lick it though I think cause ceino is looking my direction with a funny look on his face. ...Its suppose to be edible right? He said it was a new kind of cheese…
If its actually edible I think it’d be pretty popular in salads! i’ve seen the cooks put eggs,cheese and pickles in salads and sandwiches before so maybe this cheese will save them some space in the pantry? Cheese lasts longer than eggs too,right?
Cheese #12: The Sponge Cheese
Now, this fascinating cheese has been named the Sponge Cheese for a variety of reasons. The first, and perhaps most obvious reason is that it looks much like a kitchen sponge, the type many Mycenians use to clean their dishes.
But that isn’t all there is to this cheese- This cheese, much like a kitchen sponge, also has the ability to soak up fluids. Many a Mycenian could keep this cheese in their cabinets to pull out and clean a spill whenever necessary, but that’s about as far as its niche extends.
The cheese itself doesn’t taste great, and it certainly doesn’t taste much better after a thorough cleaning of whatever you’ve spilled onto you kitchen floor, but it is a tool that you could use much like a sponge.
This controversial cheese, known more commonly by its colloquial name “Nugget Cheese,” came onto the scene two years ago when it was found growing naturally in a rocky cavern. Initially, explorers didn’t realize that the stones they thought they were trodding on were actually cheese. When the stones beneath their campfire cracked open from the heat and began to ooze thickly, releasing a dry, musky smell, the discovery was made. Pebble cheese is not a particularly paltable cheese. The rind is rock-hard, making it impossible to eat, and the earthy musk of the cheese itself is too much for most palates. However, this cheese is popular amongst those with looser morals, as when painted with a golden shine, it looks identical to a nugget of gold.
Wellington
An artisanal cheese with a ripening period of at least 3 years, the Wellington is a common sight on an hors d’oeuvre platter for a dinner party or a fancy gathering. It typically has no discernable fragrance, but a slightly nutty scent can be whiffed when it’s gently roasted. The rind is smooth and waxy to the touch, and the cheese inside is soft and easily spreadable. Tiny flecks of cured meat are suspended in the cheese, giving a pleasant burst of savory flavor to what would otherwise be a mild taste. High in demand with a price point to reflect it, the Wellington is hard to procure outside of specialty cheese shops.
Name: fusoggio Description: This cheese’s crunchy crispy crust brings the bacony flavors of your average smoked cheese to a new level; they’re basically dehydrated smoke flakes. The creamy center of this cheese is gooey and melts incredibly, to the point where if you do decide to melt this cheese it looks like a puddle of little bacon bits because of how the crust collapses in on itself. Use: Ideally, don’t. Just kidding! This cheese is pretty delicious in a very acquired taste way. It’s also pretty unstable at room temperature, meaning it’s very quick to melt if it’s just a bit warm, and if it doesn’t melt smoothly it gets especially lumpy and hideous looking. For all these reasons this cheese is an ideal garnish on meat dishes in incredibly fancy restaurants.
Food Photography
Name: Cheddar Cheese Description: Small square slices of yellow (orange?) cheddar cheese, to be eaten with crackers (pictured) and slices of pepperoni or salami (not pictured). Tastes like cheddar cheese! Creamy. Smooth. Delicious when paired with crackers and smoked meats! I do love me a little charcuterie spread (or does it need to have fruits to be charcuterie?) Mycenian applications: To be eaten as part of a spread of meats, cheeses and other small, bite-sized delicacies such as fruits and crackers and perhaps even mushrooms as we ARE in a mushroomy full cave. Best served on a wooden board on holidays or at least festive saturday nights with The Gals (tm) and paired with a nice suspiciously red beverage.
Paper Cheese
Something about the crafting process gives this cheese perfect, clean angles. The nicest thing anyone has ever said about it is that it’s “fibrous” (which is not actually an ideal characteristic of cheese). It’s not aromatic like most cheeses but rather incredibly bland. You might even say it tastes like cardboard.
It’s primarily sold as a novelty doorstop.
This cheese has a nutty flavour to it and a musky scent. It is often gifted and eaten during the Winter Watch. The paper wrapping around the cheese must be made of decorated aubergine skin, and this is what inspired part of its name. The other part of its name is inspired by the cheese’s secondary use because its texture resembles a chapstick. It has a slightly oil consistency, which allows it to both moisturise the lips and to provide a glossy sheen.
This cheese defies expectations. Somehow, it never tastes the same way twice, although generally Mycenians agree that it carries a bitter undertone and that too much of it will make your tongue go numb. The hard rind takes a bit of sawing to get through, and the inside is nearly just as tough. Cooks prefer to shave off small slivers of it to add to dishes instead of serving it on its own. Although the first few crumbs are mild, the taste quickly grows in intensity, and it’s hard to make all of the other ingredients match when everyone experiences the cheese differently. Very few Mycenians choose to eat MM on its own, but true fans will go so far as to grate it onto bread for an interesting grilled cheese sandwich.
This cheese masters the balance between a buttery, milky taste and the deeper savory flavor of mushrooms. When you slice the cheese and take a bite, expect a creamy start followed by soft bits of mushroom cap. More of an every day use type of cheese, it still makes a great gift. Unless you’re gifting for someone lactose intolerant. Or someone who doesn’t like mushrooms. If your giftee is not one of the above, it’s great for parties, gifts, or just at home snacking.
Cake cheese is an interesting species. A bakery customer discovered it on accident when they had taken a bite of what they thought was sweet yellow cake. The bakery has since shut down due to the customer’s lactose intolerance, but the baker has gone on to study this magnificent cheese further. Its texture is as light and fluffy as a cake and tastes faintly sweet as well. It smells overwhelmingly of frosting and sugar, though, strong enough to turn the stomach for those with smaller sweet teeth. In a wheel, the cake cheese can be cut and consumed like a cake, and is a good alternative for those disinclined to the sweet treat. It is also good for pranking a friend who may be expecting a birthday cake.
Tasting station: cheese 10
The holy cheese is one that is only used during religious ceremonies and is non-offensive in every aspect. It is a rarity among the Cave already, but has been monopolized by different religious groups as part of their services. Some groups use it as a spiritual cleanser when melted and drizzled over the recipient’s head, and others use it as a palate cleanser due to its blandness and taste-absorbent properties. It has a faint musky odor that is easily drowned out by other scents such as incense. Its texture does not stick to one’s teeth, either, resulting in easy transition between consuming loaf of body and wine of blood.
Klyna sniffs her chosen cheese suspiciouly, wrinking her nose slightly in distaste for what smelled like old algea and dust… She took a braching breath, face turned away from the cheese. Before cutting herself a small chunk to taste, making sure to get one of the sprouts in the slice so she could get the full flavor… What ever that flavor may be.
For a moment after placing the slice of cheese in her mouth she was pleasantly surprised. Despit the smell the flavor was strong but also creamy, earthy, and almost sweet. She could see it as a desert cheese… Until she bit down on the sprout anyway. What had been an odd but pleasant cheese changed in an instant, suddenly her whole mouth tasted like old wood and chalkdust.
When filling out the opinion card she was honest about how it tasted, but also admitted that despite everything she would happily attend a gathering serving this cheese with a spread of mild bread and bold fruits.
She suggested the name Blooming Cheese for the untitled cheese she’d tasted.
Tasting Station
(#10) Hole(y) In One
This cheese was given its name because it is both filled with holes, and is so good, biting into it feels as good as hitting a hole in one. Ineki and Kelph describe the taste as creamy and sharp at room temperature. Even slightly chilled, the cheese begins to harden and dry out quickly, so it’s recommended to eat it fresh, and goes excellently with warmed bread. Though it’s unclear as to why this effect happens, a small percentage of Dras have reported that the cheese has a soapy aftertaste and do not care for the treat at all. It is hardly odorous, but when it begins to mold, the stench is heavy, wet, and hard to clear from the nostrils. Generally this cheese is best for a small snack, but is especially useful for warding off guests who overstay their welcome if a small molded wedge is sneakily placed in the common room. The stench will have them out in a jiffy.
1. The Tasting Station
Cheese #12
Moss-shroom cheese
The Moss-shroom cheese has a strong and very spicey taste, so much that it got the nick-name “tongue burner”, eat with caution! Contrary to its taste, it smells flowery, or sometimes like fresh grass, and it is said to emit a soothening scent. The cheese´s texture is rather sandy but easy to ingest. Due to this sandy texture it can be used as a skin cleanser, usually Mycenians apply it as a face mask, cleaning the pores and giving your facial skin a healthy look!
Cheese #8
Grottles - These odd, ‘nuggets’ of cheese actually still contain living colonies of tiny creatures within it, giving it the odd property of slowly changing its shape, and even subtle locomotion. This gives the cheese a a fairly unique texture, as the courser insides of the nuggets continue to wiggle and pulse slightly as it’s being eaten. The smoother outer layers of the cheese is mostly scentless and tasteless, while the inside has a fairly strong taste and smell to it. The taste itself is extremely sweet, making it an odd favorite cheese to children and those with a particularly sweet tooth.
Cheese #13
Devil Rolls - Named for their tough outer coatings, this cheese reacts to air by hardening over the course of a couple hours. This process turns the cheese from a mottled blue and white to a distinct red color, and gives a sensation like biting into a chilled chocolate bar. The cheese within the shell, however, is extremely soft and easily spreadable. This has led the cheese to being used as a sort of ‘food glue’ for more crafty foodworkers, though care still needs to be taken as the shell will still shatter if put under too much pressure.
Despite the radical change in texture, the taste of the cheese is completely unaffected by the transformation. A somewhat spicy cheese, Devil Rolls are great for heat-lovers as a pepper stuffer or simply spread over slices of toast. For those who aren’t fond of the heat, the cheese actually loses most of its taste when sufficiently chilled, making it even better suited for food-based crafts. In either case, the cheese is largely scentless.
The Tasting Station - Cheese #4
The cheddar cake is a sweet cheese named for its layers of blocky goodness. It’s often used in dishes that require a smooth, creamy, rich, and sugary flavor. Cheddar cake is also enjoyed on its own in small servings, used as a pick me up for a quick boost of energy. It is odorless and popular due to the lack of smelly notes. It is renowned as the favorite birthday cheesecake throughout the cave and regarded very highly, enjoyed by young and old alike.
The Tasting Station - Cheese #10
The holy grate is a semi-soft yellow cheese with a incredible aroma. Even when it isn’t melted it smells like it is a pot of fondue, but pleasantly earthy and welcoming. It has been used for trapping mice in the cave, among other vermin, due to its full odor. The taste is not as bold as the scent, but still provide a hearty addition to stews and curry due to its high melting point. It is also used as appetizers during ceremonial gatherings.
