Who Dumbed Down the Cheese?

I grew up in upstate New York. I like my cheddar cheese to bite back. One of the best bits of culinary advice my mother gave me was to use sharp cheddar in macaroni and cheese. Unfortunately, finding truly sharp cheddar here in Washington is nearly impossible.

Julian decided to make patty melts for dinner last week. For the uninitiated, a patty melt is a burger served on rye bread with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese. We asked the cheesemonger at the Murray’s kiosk at the QFC for a recommendation. We wound up with an Australian cheddar. The results were…meh. The cheese just wasn’t sharp enough.

I tried the cheese in a sandwich the other day. It wasn’t bad uncooked; however, the sharpness was probably dissipated by the cooking. Mom was right.