I love cheese. I seriously LOVE cheese. I eat cheese almost every day. My favorite is New York Sharp Cheddar, but I’ll enjoy any cheese I happen to have on hand. So far, the only cheese I am not a fan of is Blue Cheese.
Now that the holiday season has officially started (although holiday decorations have been seen in stores for a month already), I’m sure plenty of people are on the hunt for great gifts for their family and friends.
Sometimes its not always easy to find the perfect gift. Trust me, I know from experience. Some people on my holiday shopping list are nearly impossible to buy for.
I hate to say this, but there is also only so many mugs and boxes of chocolate teachers, the mailman, the bus driver and your co-workers really need. It’s not that they don’t appreciate it, but when you are gifted several of them every year, you can sort of lose your interest in them. A teacher actually told me that one year. She told me that each holiday season she gets at least 5-6 teacher mugs. She appreciates all of them, but she only uses one mug at a time. The rest just gather dust in the cabinet.
I have a great idea for a gift – one that people wouldn’t expect. You guessed it – CHEESE!
Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese has gift boxes you might want to consider sending or gifting someone this year.
Crave Brothers was kind enough to send me one of their gift boxes. The box I was sent to review is called the Crave Cheese Sampler. It comes with;
- Cheddar Cheese Curds
- 8oz container of Marinated Fresh Mozzarella
- (2) 8oz containers of Mascarpone
- (2) 12oz coils of our Farmers Rope string cheese
First and foremost… what are cheese curds? I have never heard of them until I received the package from Crave Brothers. According to Wikipedia;
Cheese curds are the moist pieces of curdled milk either eaten alone as a snack, or used for other things.
OK… that sounds a bit odd, but I’m always open to trying new things, and I love cheese, so why not?
Surpringly, Cheese Curds are actually pretty good. They are just bits and chunks of cheese for the most part.
I can see why people love them, they are a bit addicting. Their bite size pieces don’t help either…they are too easy to pop in your mouth.
I have another confession to make… what is Mascarpone cheese? I watch a lot of cooking/baking shows on television, and I have heard the cooks/bakers mention Marscarpone cheese, but I really didn’t look to see what it was.
Marscarpone cheese looks a lot like a very creamy cream cheese. Basically that is what it really is.
Marscarpone is an Italian cream cheese coagulated by the addition of certain acidic substances such as lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid or acetic acid.
The taste is a bit different than store bought cream cheeses, but it’s different in a good way.
At first it seems a bit “bland,” but after a while you can sense a slight sweetness to it. NOT a sugary sweet taste, but there is definetly a type of sweetness.
I can see why a lot of television chefs/bakers utilize this type of cheese. It’s really good. It’s very creamy.
Also inside the box were not one, but TWO “wheels” of mozzarella that looks like a “rope” when you unwind it. It resembles and tastes a lot like the cheese sticks you buy in the store, except this cheese is better because it’s fresh tasting. It’s not mass produced like store bought string cheese. It’s also not as “stringy” as those cheeses either.
This is a real, hearty, “meaty” mozzarella cheese. It’s so much better than regular, store bought string cheese/mozzarella.
I like this cheese because you can chop off a bit piece, or bite size pieces, depending on what you want to use it for. When I made tomato soup I chopped off small (thin) chunks of the cheese to garnish the top of my soup. When I wanted cheese to snack on I chopped off bigger chunks.
Lastly there there was container of fresh mozzarella “balls” in a seasoned oil. I have also never had this type of cheese, but I see it all the time at the deli across the street from where we live. My husband told him my mother-in-law used to eat this type of cheese too. I guess it’s an Italian thing?
I wasn’t sure how I was going to like “wet” cheese, but it’s not bad at all. It’s not really wet, per say. It’s coated in seasoned olive oil which makes it a little soft on the outside, but not in a gross way. I think it adds to the cheese creaminess, as well as it’s overall flavor.
As a cheese lover, I truly enjoyed all of the cheeses in this gift box from Crave Brothers. Best of all, this is really a budget friendly gift. You would expect freshly made, gourmet quality cheeses to be costly. Not at Crave Brothers. The gift set I received to review is only $22.99.
The only downside to ordering this cheese gift box (or any of their cheese or gift boxes), is the shipping. Shipping can be costly, depending on your location or the location of the person you are sending it to. Crave Brothers is located in Wisconsin, so the closer you are the Wisconsin, the less expensive the shipping is. I’m in New York, so shipping is a lot. I checked other locations like Chicago, Los Angeles and Lees Summit, Missouri and found that Chicago and Lees Summit are a lot less expensive to ship to than places like New York or California.
Crave Brothers DOES ship to every state, including Hawaii and Alaska. They also ship to Puerto Rico and military forces in South America, Europe and in the Pacific. I love that they ship to people in the military. I’m sure they would LOVE such a delightful and tasty treat.
Crave Brothers sells a variety of cheeses., including individual products (not just gift boxes). You can also find their product at local retail locations;
- Whole Foods Market
- Kroger
- Mom’s Organic Market: Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC
If you would like to learn more about Crave Brothers Farmstead Classics, visit CraveCheese.com. The brand can also be found on Facebook. That link is found at the bottom of their website.
Are you a fan of cheese? What is your favorite type of cheese?
Kimberly
*I received free product samples to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
Shakeia Rieux says
I love cheese but haven’t tried theirs. The mascarpone sounds good!