Meyer Cracked Pepper Gouda product reviews

I was a little concerned about the Cracked Pepper Gouda as I am not a huge pepper eater and so deliberately left it to the end. My husband sliced a little bit for me to try on crackers and after the first bite decided to trial without the crackers - it was actually really nice. Definitely could taste the pepper but was not to over powering so had a couple of slices.

The following night I used a chicken breast, wrapped it in ham and a slice of the Cracked Pepper Gouda and baked it. I was worried it was going to be too strong in taste so only used a small cutting on each of the chickens. It melted beautifully and was a small hint of pepper with the chicken but nothing over powering - granted could definitely of used more cheese and probably will next time. The family all enjoyed it but my husband did complain that he could not taste the pepper where as the girls and I insisted we could.

I made Macaroni Cheese today for lunch and used up the remaining Cracked Pepper Gouda as well as some other cheese I had in the fridge. It was really nice just the perfect combination of a hint of a taste of something else. Everyone enjoyed it and said they would eat again. I did cover my husbands Mac Cheese with more than we had and he really enjoyed it.

Although not something I would usually buy I think would be nice on a good medium rare steak or even cheese toasties. I think the price for it is great.

Making a pizza is the most obvious use for cheese, as far as I am concerned, so it was with some delight, and also some trepidation, that I embarked on this meal. I knew it was going to be a good meal, but I was concerned that the strong heat of the grilling would ruin the cheese.

I needn't have concerned myself. This cheese was perfect when melted - full of flavour, but not all liquid and messy. Gouda seems to be a very heat-tolerant cheese, which opens up so many wonderful possible uses for it. For this pizza, it was the perfect cheese for a topping, as far as I am concerned - it held all the other ingredients extremely well, tasted great and even had just a little "stringy cheese"-ness which makes pizza such a special food.

I also used it in a far simpler dish - a pack of 2-min noodles and some frozen veges, with the last of this cheese thrown in. This was probably the ultimate proof of the quality really, because this is a dish I often make with regular cheddar and while it's good, made with the Gouda it was something special. I could catch the full flavour of the cheese, which surprised me greatly.

Overall, though this cheese is far from cheap - when compared to mass-produced, store-bought cheddar - it's a quality product. Hand-crafted by people who know their business well, this is certainly a cheese you'll not soon forget, and never regret.