Cheese of the Week: Sobey’s gerenic Edam

There is something that I find quite satisfying about peeling the wax off of cheese. Of course, the full ball of even a “baby” Edam is far too expensive (and too much cheese) for me. So this week, while browsing the cheese counter at my not-quite-local-but-close-enough Sobey’s grocery store, I picked up this nice wedge.

It’s a little bit tough, sometimes, to review cheeses that are generic store-bought varieties. I feel like they’re the mass-produced, not-quite-up-to-snuff versions of traditional products. I may as well be reviewing Cheez Whiz, right? But I also don’t want to get into the pretentiousness that so-often characterizes product reviewers — just imagine if I started turning my nose up at certain cheeses because they didn’t have the right “bouquet” for this variety!

No, I’m happy to stay grounded in what’s available here in western Manitoba — and while I’ll dip into the expensive, high-end cheeses from time to time, I’m at my heart the very opposite of a cheese snob: I will gladly eat whichever cheese happens to find my plate.

That said, I’ve tried Edam cheeses before, and I do like them, so I was eager to get into this one.

Mmm, okay — just because it’s shaped like a watermelon doesn’t mean you can eat it like one! Although, look at my well-manicured nails!

Obviously, I didn’t just bite into this wedge of Edam, since I was going to share it with Amy and her folks, but I have to confess I seriously thought about it. When I was a kid, I used to sneak cheese out of the fridge at night, and I would cut off big hunks and then steal back to my room, where I would gnaw at it, bite by bite.

I read once that an old cheese can actually hinder the bacteria that form cavities, so sometimes I would lie in bed, reading under my covers, stuffing my face with cheese, and then go to bed without brushing my teeth, which I’m sure did wonders for my morning breath, but I guess might have actually been okay, from a dental point of view.

Wait, when did Cheese of the Week become a confessional?

Anyway, I decided it would actually be polite to serve the Edam in the traditional manner.

Cutting into the top of the wedge, you can see some of the sunlight bleeding through the top, thinner part of the Edam. Later, we tried to do a photo where the sun came through just the red wax that was left behind. In person, it was actually quite pretty — almost a stained-glass effect — but it was impossible to capture on camera.

Edam cheese is firm enough to cut without mushing, but it’s much softer than most firm cheeses. It’s even softer than a gouda, say, but like a gouda, I think it gets harder as it ages. Most of the Edams you’ll find come with distinctive red wax coverings, but some of the more-aged Edams have black wax, and I’d love to try one of those. I’m not sure if you can age it at home, or it the protective wax seals it up too much. I suspect some of the very old Edams can be quite hard (I read a possibly apocryphal story about Uruguay defeating Argentina in a naval battle by using old Edam as cannonballs once their traditional ammunition ran out) but this specimen was very easy to cut.

Actually, I’d say that this Edam just about perfectly manages to be super soft without threatening to melt or fall over.

Traditionally, Edam is a very versatile cheese, but eating it on a cracker or bread is one of the easiest ways to enjoy its flavour, which is very mild and subtle. Also, this cheese had approximately no smell. It would also go fairly well with fruit, I’d imagine — something like a pear or an apple might respond well to its slight saltiness.

But you wouldn’t want anything that might overwhelm it. This is a soft-flavoured cheese with a buttery mouth-feel and a nice nutty flavour, and it deserves your full attention. Okay, it doesn’t need to be the focus of the conversation, like it sometimes is when I’m preparing Cheese of the Week. But this is not a cheese that’s going to stand up to to, say Caesar dressing or a juicy steak, so don’t even try. Set it out on a plate, cut it into small pieces, and enjoy it with a cracker — and maybe a glass of light-bodied red wine. That’s how we enjoyed it!

(Aside: According to what I’ve read, this cheese keeps well, even without refrigeration, and if you get the fully-covered-in-wax version, it would be a good choice to take hiking or camping. But I’d recommend eating it fairly quickly once you open the wax.)