I'm getting on my soap box:
I recently judged at a cheese contest. I was very impressed by the rind variety, complexity and overall polish of the washed rind cheeses, particularly the goats. Yet every one of them was an absolute disappointment when it was opened. The best of them were dry and bland, the worst tasted like rotten garbage. Cheese makers in this part of the world apparently seem to think that the rind makes the cheese. These aren't mould ripened cheeses, in reality the milk, curd recipe, starter and aging profile create the dominate flavour and texture. The rind is just icing on the cake, it indirectly affects flavour and texture of the body through moisture and gas regulation and of course it has it's own sensory profile, but it's secondary.
I'm NOT implying the cheese in this thread is less than perfect, just seemed an appropriate place to pontificate. It is a really nice looking tomme.
