Squeaky Cheese and Caprese

Went to the cheese factory with my cousin and his girlfriend as Wisconsin is all about milk and cheese.

Didn't go for any tour of sorts but it was quite cool to see the factory and how cheese is made. The cheese from the factory is definitely a whole lot cheaper than buying from the supermarkets.

Saw this HUGE wheel of cheese in the store and I found this mouse toy-thing on it super cute!

When you're in the cheese factory, you naturally have to buy cheese right? So check out my stash! The mascarpone will be made into tiramisu another day. 

Squeaky cheese

What I really really wanted to try was squeaky cheese! So called because these cheese curds would give a squeaky sound as you chew. It's not audible to anyone except the chewer. Why does it squeak? I reckon it's because the curd is rubbing against your teeth like a rubber (although it's not tough or elastic). We realised that after 2 days, these cheese curds didn't squeak anymore. I guess only fresh ones squeak. That aside, it was really delicious and they've got fried ones too but I didn't get to try them.

The other cheese that I bought were mozzarella balls and what do you do with fresh mozzarella (besides pizza)? Caprese!!

I used a whole punnet of fresh cherry tomatoes that my aunt got from the organic vegetable box. I halved them and then tore up the mozzarella balls till it was about half the size of the halved tomatoes. We didn't count how many mozzarella balls we used but add as much as you'd like. After which, I thinly sliced/cut about 3-4 fresh basil leaves and mixed them all up together with drizzled extra virgin olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

It was super fresh and very delicious! The sweet tomatoes were constrasted with the herbal taste of the basil and then balanced off with the mild creamy mozzarella. What a great starter to roasts or any meaty mains.

Smiling face or Halloween tomato?

As we had some mozzarella balls remaining, I made another batch of Caprese but instead of cherry tomatoes, I used a whole large tomato. Had to cut up that face. Aren't organic vegetables and fruit so fascinating?

As you can see, my Caprese goes very well with a light fruity wine. I couldn't remember what we ate for our mains. Just loved the refreshing taste of tomatoes with mozzarella and basil. Perfect for summer!