Taste test: Trader Joe’s Comte Cheese

Trader Joe’s Comté at the top, coop at the bottom

The cheese monger at my local coop noticed me browsing the Gruyere section and commented that he likes to buy Swiss Gruyere or its French equivalent, Comté, to shred on pizza. About a 50/50 ratio of swiss and mozzarella. The benefit of the Swiss is that is melts beautifully, and also keeps its integrity (instead of separating and puddling) if a slice is reheated. I was sold and picked up a small block of Comté at $22 a pound plus an equivalent block of Gruyere at $19 a pound (the cheese guy says he uses them interchangeably, depending on what’s on sale.)

Other side of the labels shows aging duration.

Then I went to Trader Joe’s and found Comté for $10.99 a pound. Label says it is aged over 6 months vs the co-op cheese aged 6-9 months, so equivalent. (I have tasted the stages of aged Comté at the Gourmino booth at the suspended Fancy Food Show. The longer-aged versions, like 2 years, develop a nutty feral flavor akin to dry aged steaks. But they are rare and expensive and you’re unlikely to find them at retail.) So how do they compare?

To my palate, the two cheeses are almost identical! There’s a subtle note of complexity in the more expensive cheese, and it is slightly darker perhaps due to a darker rind, but these differences are tiny and certainly not worth paying twice the price. Comté from Trader Joe is a winner, just like the Roquefort we mentioned a while back.

Gooey Cheese Sandwich made with Trader Joe’s Swiss blend.

There is also a shredded “Swiss blend” at Trader Joe’s which is definitely worth trying. It’s $5 for a 12 oz bag, so less than $7 a pound. I tried it out on a cast iron skillet-grilled cheese sandwich and the results were excellent: lots of that gooey-ness my cheese monger talked about. Check it out.