After reading many scathing articles on Alex James' new brand of cheeses for Asda, the snobbishness of the lofty food critics wailed true. Acclaimed food writers are judging the cheeses without even sniffing them first. Eat your words, Xanthe Clay, and a bit of the stuff you're writing about. Some are even writing nonsense to convince people they're not worth the money.
Admittedly, the idea of 'Tikka Masala' cheddar doesn't sound all that appealing, but as the man himself says, the nose on that cheese is just a bit of cumin - a bit like (the very respectable) Gouda. He hasn't exactly mashed a microwave ready-meal into mature cheddar. 'Cheddar with Pinch of Cumin' sounds a much duller name to me, anyway.
The cheeses are a hit, amongst most students at least. I can say this with confidence because I held a cheese party to canvass opinions. Comments ranged from “bland as a pair of M&S briefs” to “nom nom nom”. For me, the good old ‘Best Ever’ cheddar is perfection, it’s very strong and rich. The 'Tikka Masala' is pretty good too.
All nine cheeses in the brand are only £1.50 a pack, can’t argue with that, unless you lie about the relative prices per kilogram. There are ‘blankets’ to fit perfectly on a slice of toast, blocks of cheese and one innovation – ‘Spudsworth’, essentially a bag of cubes for melting in the microwave and pouring over a jacket potato (or straight into your mouth). My next recipe idea is to make a chicken pie with the 'Spring Onion' cheddar.
I asked Alex James some questions when he came to visit our Student Union with free cheese for the malnourished amongst us.
Who is your cheese audience? Kids, students or are you aiming to convert the posh?
Alex: I was making really posh cheese but my kids didn’t like it. The Cheese and Tomato Ketchup cheddar idea came from one of Britain’s leading food critics who said ‘just bung a bit of ketchup in there’; it was his guilty pleasure. It’s a different thing from eating a cave aged gruyère or a Montgomery cheddar - I really love posh cheese but I really love everyday cheese as well. I tried the whole range on MasterChef judges and top chefs, I’m completely confident with how good it tastes.
You say you like posh cheese and everyday cheese, are you calling Tikka Masala cheddar everyday cheese?
AJ: No that’s like punk rock. The distinctive nose in that cheese is actually cumin. It’s traditionally mixed with Gouda in Holland, so it isn’t actually that spooky. They are provocative names. It made The New York Times, Tikka Masala cheddar, but you can only get it in Asda in Britain, why are they talking about it?!
How would you use your cheese in your cooking?
AJ: The Tikka Masala is more of a cheeseboard cheese. But cut the Sweet Chilli into cubes, microwave it in a little ramekin and dip soldiers in it like a fondue. The cheeses are designed to be convenient.
What cheese would you be if you could be a cheese?
AJ: The cheese that experts tend to rate the best is gruyère, but I disagree with them, cheddar really melts on your tongue. I’d definitely be cheddar, extra mature.
No comments:
Post a Comment