Evolution of Cheese Appreciation

When I was a young whippersnapper there was but one cheese in my life. Cheddar was IT and anything else was too alien and exotic for my conservative tastes. Gradually a few milder cheeses were tested and found not to cause offence, but I still returned to the safety of cheddar. This changed temporarily in the summer of 1982, when ants invaded our kitchen, and found a way into our fridge. They headed straight for our cheese, and I was traumatised one time when biting into a chunk of cheddar, I found ant parts within and other ant parts in my mouth. This incident was disturbing enough to deter me for a few weeks, but once the psychological scars healed, I returned to the comfort food of cheddar for another decade until gradually things changed as detailed below. In brackets are the year of discovery...

CHEDDAR - the cheese of my childhood (1970s)


CREAM CHEESE - as in PHILADELPHIA CREAM CHEESE, I can still eat a whole packet in one sitting (1980)


EDAM - exotic but still mild enough not to scare me (1979)


MOZARELLA - rubbery substance found at Pizzaland 1980 (a dodgy UK chain of restaurants)


PARMESAN - an essential addition to any pasta dish (1982)


FETA - what's this weird white salty lump on my pizza, where's the usual stuff? (1990 onwards)


MATURE CHEDDAR - pungent yes, but also packed with flavour (1995 onwards)


CAMEMBERT - very French but creamy and delicious, discovered at a picnic in late 1998


BRIE - discovered at same picnic in 1998, underneath some olives


DOUBLE GLOUCESTER - twice as nice as Single Gloucester (2005)


STILTON - apparently will induce vivid dreams  (2005)


BOCCONCINI - amazing on pizzas or foodfights (was educated by friend on walk home in 2008)


GRUYERE - ideal for toasting and in French onion soup (2010)