How much does cheese cost?

[jambo]

Hi all, long time no see. Hoping to finally get to kiwiland in 2012. Been wondering about a few things. One's the price of cheese. I've seen people complaining about this before. I don't eat anything fancy or smelly. Just the likes of Cheddar and Red Leicester. I pay about £6 a kilo here. What will I be looking at paying for your run of the mill type cheese in NZ?

[jambo]

should have added that I do like a bit of gruyere now and again. is there something like that in NZ and how much would it cost? Thanks.

[IanW99]

You can check out supermarket prices by using one of the online shopping websites such as Countdown

Ian

[Sam B]

NZ gruyere doesn't taste like gruyere at all, so if I want it for onion soup then I buy imported stuff which is very expensive. Parmesan is also very disappointing. Red Leicester doesn't exist, or I've never seen it. The cheddar equivalent here is called Tasty. It is fine. In general cheese is pretty expensive, much more so than in the UK.

This is all my opinion of course, some people may love the taste of NZ cheese. I find it pretty bland. There are lots of small cheese makers cropping up with some very good speciality cheeses, but again, these are very expensive.

[jambo]

Thanks Ian and Sam. I tried the link but couldn't find any cheese.. I even searched for Tasty cheese but no luck. How much would you pay for a kg of this sort of cheese.

[IanW99]

Thanks Ian and Sam. I tried the link but couldn't find any cheese.. I even searched for Tasty cheese but no luck. How much would you pay for a kg of this sort of cheese.

A simple search on cheese from the website posted brings up many cheeses, the first 'tasty' is as follows...

mainland cheese block tasty 1kg
was $14.79 (now) $10.99

Ian

[fury147]

http://shop.countdown.co.nz/#url=/Sh...earch%3Dcheese

[chocolate cake]

If you're from the UK or Europe and like cheese, you'll be disappointed with the choice of cheese in NZ. There's none of the Wensleydale's, Red Leicester, Gloucester etc. Of the main cheeses 'Tasty' is acceptable, 'colby' and 'mild' both very plain, and 'Edam' nothing like the Dutch version.

On a smaller scale there are Havarti's, Gouda's and Emmental's, but taste nothing like the real thing and way more expensive. Also the same with the french soft cheeses Brie and Camembert. I'd have to say for milk producing nation, NZ is very disappointing for cheese.

[jambo]

Thanks for the link fury. Just what the doctor ordered.

I'm not hugely bothered about a big choice of cheeses chocy cake. I like Red Leicester because it's pretty bland. The choice on that website looks like it's more than enough for me, although from what Sam says it's a shame about the gruyere.

[newarrival]

If you're from the UK or Europe and like cheese, you'll be disappointed with the choice of cheese in NZ. There's none of the Wensleydale's, Red Leicester, Gloucester etc. Of the main cheeses 'Tasty' is acceptable, 'colby' and 'mild' both very plain, and 'Edam' nothing like the Dutch version.

On a smaller scale there are Havarti's, Gouda's and Emmental's, but taste nothing like the real thing and way more expensive. Also the same with the french soft cheeses Brie and Camembert. I'd have to say for milk producing nation, NZ is very disappointing for cheese.

But you would have to consider the history of cheese, too..., in Europe the cheese- making nations are mainly from mountainous (sp?) areas, where people had to be self contained and therefore made their own cheese/ had to keep the milk in a way that it didn't rot. We have a cheesemaker here in the sounds who has a scientific background as well as a long history of cheese- making in the family. she travelled, lived and worked in Europe and looked at the way cheese was made there. But still the results of her work taste completey different to the cheeses I knew. A lot has to do with climate, too, as far as I know, lots of cheeses in the Austrian/ Bavarian Alps are kept in caves (or at leaast used to...) which has an influence on the taste, too.