Tea Leaves

Formaggi Italiani

I have this problem with cheese: very often, I'll encounter some super cheese, and then finish it, and then the next time I'm at my cheesemonger I have completely forgotten what it was that I was enjoying so much the other day. I have this problem with wine, too.

Of course, sometimes I have the opposite problem, which is that I try some cheese, and it's revoltingly awful not at all to my taste, but then I forget about it, and I see it at the cheese shop and say "Hey, I've never had that, I don't think. I'll get some." And then I bring it home and taste it and remember that I've hated it before, and then I'm bitter.

I have this problem with wine, also.

Obviously, the solution is to create a checklist of cheeses I've either tried, or haven't tried and need to try, and carry it with me at all times. I'm considering just tattooing it on my back, and then having a friend read it off to me. The only trouble is that then I'll need to carry needle and ink with me to fill in checkmarks in case I find a nice cheese when I'm out.

Fortunately, Piero Sardo has already created the checklist for me: Italian Cheese: A guide to their discovery and appreciation is a great reference, even if most of the time it just makes me upset that I will only be able to sample about half of these cheeses by visiting my friends in Italy.

Hmmm. On second thought, maybe that's not such a tragedy, after all.