I ordered a wheel of cheese in a can
Last weekend an acquaintance told me about Cougar Gold cheese, a kind of cheese developed in a creamery on the University of Washington Washington State University campus, manufactured by students, which will remain "indefinitely" good-to-eat if kept refrigerated in the can. There are claims from the university that people have eaten 30-year-old cans of Cougar Gold.
Indefinite cheese? Perhaps this is the ultimate food. I have never eaten an ultimate anything before. I hope it transforms me into an ultimate being?
The cheese is apparently one of a very small number of cheeses that can cure inside a can, apparently because it's made with a culture that emits less gas than other cheeses, so it won't bloat or pop the can. It is only sold in 30 oz containers. It is cheddar... you can get several flavors. Big time cheese fans or people from Wisconsin know and care a lot about it and I get the impression that it is quite popular here in the US, but I have never heard of this shit before.
Here are some links to stories about or pictures of people eating cans of increasingly old Cougar Gold cheese:
The cheese is kind of pricey at 33 dollars for around 1.8 pounds of cheese, which is a LOT of cheese. Sometimes it's on sale, but not today. And once you crack that can you do have to have a plan to eat or cook or I guess freeze? those 1.8 pounds, so it seems like not the kind of thing I should eat alone. But despite the price and inconvenience, this is a really weird food/experience and I am glad to buy myself a weird treat sometimes. I plan to eat it with friends. I'll post here whenever that happens.
You can see the creamery's website and store here.