Cheese #4 – Perl Wen

This week I’ve been thinking a lot about expectations. The amount of expectation you have about something seems to have too much influence over how much you’ll enjoy it. Everyone’s had an unexpected night out, one with no expectation, that turned out to be amazing. And we’ve all had nights that you really hope will be great that actually turn out to be a bit of a disappointment. Well, the same seems to apply to everything – books, films, albums, people etc. But maybe those 2 nights out were actually as good as one another but it’s just that your expectations were different. I don’t think it’s right. We should be able to judge everything purely in it’s own terms. Not on what we’ve read or heard or seen before the event. This weekend I went to an owl sanctuary. It was Leah’s birthday wish that we did this so I thought I’d better, y’know? So, I got up at 8:30am on Sunday, drove for an hour through wind and rain to Ebbw Vale, all to see some owls. To say my expectations were low might have been an understatement. However, I loved it. Owls are amazing. There’s loads of different types. Big ones, small ones, scary ones, cute ones, laugh-out-loud funny looking ones. I really enjoyed it. Maybe if my expectations were higher though, I wouldn’t have been so bothered. Lisa’s friend, Carwyn, has a thing (he’s given it a name, I can’t remember what) where he tries to expect absolutely nothing good every time he does something. Therefore, he’s always pleased with what he gets. Maybe this is a good idea? It makes some sort of sense. Maybe I should lower people’s expectations of me too. Then people will only ever be impressed by me. Actually, I’ll probably just live up (or rather, down) to my expectations and no one will ever be excited, let alone impressed.

Anyway, this week’s cheese is one I picked out from a shop, one that I’m sure I’ll be visiting quite a lot in the coming months, called Madam Fromage. It’s called Perl Wen and was served to me by a very courteous and accurate young man. I think he counted out my change coin by coin. The cheese looks exactly like brie and according to my research is a young cheese (only discovered in 2000 it was so it’s as old as a young boy. Or girl). Apparently, it’s cross between brie and Caerphilly. I’m not that familiar with Caerphilly but the thought of it doesn’t inspire. So, expectation-wise, I think I’m expecting a slightly crapper version of brie. Let’s see…

Well, it does taste a lot like brie. Maybe it’s a bit milder than brie. The rind is exactly the same and gives a slightly bitter taste in the mouth but the centre is lovely. Really creamy and soft. Yep, that’s a good cheese. From Wales too!