Cheese wiz?

One thing I've found, with being on the Atkins diet, is that there's a remarkably small number of deserts and snacks that you can eat.  Almost everything has sugar and/or some sort of bread, often in large quantities.  Even the stuff that seems to be getting most of its calories from fat (ice cream, cheesecake, etc) still get an enormous amount from sugar.

And that's very frustrating.  Which has led to me eating a lot of cheeses lately.  One of my favorites, found at Whole Foods, is Sartori Bellavitano Black Pepper.  Semi-soft, creamy, and with bite from the pepper, I bought this a number of times while they had it.

I've long been a big fan of Brie, and recently have tried a couple different Triple Cream Bries.  One from Whole Foods that is good, but not great.  And I tried a second one at a local wine and cheese shop that was great (and if you watch Caps games, you've probably seen an Arrowine commercial.  I fell in love with the place for its wines, especially ports, but the cheeses have had me returning recently).  Much creamier, with less nuttiness.  I actually didn't buy the latter, but it was very good.

My recent favorite has been another that I found at the wine & cheese shop called Comte, aged 36 months.  A bit harder than either of the others, with some texture provided by protein bits (I'm told) that are inside.  And the flavor is just magnificent.  Really, I could eat a pound a day of that stuff, quite happily.  If we had a way to store it, I'd be tempted to look into getting a whole wheel.

But the reason for me writing this is another new one I just tried.  It is White Stilton Ilchester with Lemon Peel.  I figured that it'd be a good match for the diet, as lemon is the only citrus fruit that is (well, and its partner in crime, lime).  So I got a piece and sat down to eat it.  Delicious.  Buttery, soft, sweet, with just a hint of tang from the lemon.  I was a little suspicious of the sweetness, however, and had to look it up.  The lemon peel must be candied before being put in, because it has a LOT of sugar.  Incredibly delicious, but a definite no for the diet.  A serious loss.

I probably should have suspected, with it being next to the Wensleydale with Cranberries (which we've had a few times over the last several years, and which is also delicious, and very sweet).  Next time I will be more suspicious (although, of course, I didn't realize how sweet it was until I got it home and tried it).

Anyway, if you're open-minded about cheeses, those are some excellent ones to try.