Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants)

RAVE

IVY’S RESERVE SOMERSET RED is an award winning cheese. It was featured by Trader Joe’s sometime back as their Spotlight Cheese. Here’s my honest review.

WOW – This cheese is so good. I really love this. In fact I had to stop myself. This is yet one more fantastic cheese you can get at Trader Joe’s. Note that this is one of those products that is sold under the original label, an established brand and I think must mean they wanted to carry this a lot. If you haven’t tried it already, I say put this on your list.

IVY’S RESERVE SOMERSET RED is like an “aged cheddar” with a mouthwatering edge of sharpness, a hint of sweetness and a lot of umami. While in the cheddar family this is actually a “Red Leicester“cheese and is produced at Wyke’s Farm in Somerset, England. The label for Ivy’s Reserve Somerset Red describes it as “nutty, mellow & more-ish,” More-ish? Like in “may I have some more, sir?” Moreish is a British term that means, “having a very pleasant taste and making you want to eat more.” That is exactly the effect it had on me. I kept wanting just one more taste, and when I finished my taste test, I saw about a 1/4 of the package somehow had magically vanished 😉

It has a lovely deep orange color. It has the taste of aged authntic British cheddar, a little earthy and a little tangy.

I had to try it melted . Naturally it was fantastic melted too, This might make the best melted cheese sandwich. Trader Joe’s has a picture with a cheese board and I am sure this would be a big hit on anyones #cheeseboard. They picture it with some some chutney, dates, nuts and crackers. Indicating how great this could contrast with the sweet spiciness of say, their MANGO CHUTNEY.

It says “LIMITED” so don’t expect to always find it but if you see it, I highly recommend trying this. At a high end cheese shop I would not be surprised to see this imported farm cheese selling for at least $20 a pound. At TJ’s its about 12-13 bucks a pound with a piece running

$5.49 (7 oz)