A cheese as silky, complex, and gorgeous as Upland’s seasonal cheese Rush Creek Reserve needs no gussying up. A cheese unicorn only available during the winter months, the creamy wheel wrapped in spruce bark tastes of the freshest raw milk possible, cream, dijion mustard, and sometimes bacon.

But..... after cutting off Rush Creek's lid and spooning its lushness over a piece of crusty bread, I always wanted to

show Rush Creek Reserve the world!

Or at least take it on a trip to a gas station.

This is what happened when I took Rush Creek Reserve with me to eat Slim Jims.

I had heard that Rush Creek Reserve is amazing with french fries (thanks for that rec, Erika!). So obvs I wondered, would it also be amazing with something from the gas station if I needed to make a run after all my favorite fry spots have closed? Would it also stun when paired to foods designed to last in their packages for centuries? Does Rush Creek reserve have salty-crunchy cravings, too, or like wasabi powder?

I quickly went to work setting up strict testing methods.

Methodology:

I would limit my purchases to savory/non-sweet selections, represent regionally (people like different gas station treats in different parts of the country, I have some great treats imported from Mexico in mine) and, not be afraid if the clerk looks at me funny for buying out her chip aisle (she didn’t, she was stoked at my selections).

Discovery:

Funyuns, Korean bbq Kettlechips, a Slim Jim, chili and lime Sabritones, Lay’s Original Potato chips, and Diamond Wasabi almonds.

The results:

1. Funyuns:

   • Biases: I had heard great things about this pairing before. Powdered with onion flavors and who knows what else, Funyuns are the fried circles that charm at gas stations all over the country, and are the only thing I have found that competes with the scent that Ranch Doritos leave on your breath for hours.

   • Flavor: Though made of corn, Funyuns taste like, well, just onion powder mixed with a little bit of lime powder. Topped with Rush Creek, I couldn’t put the them down. It wasn’t that the taste was exquisite. It was that couldn’t stop myself from dipping the rings into Rush Creek and trying to decide if I liked it. I’m still not sure. But could I eat half a Rush Creek with Funyons in twenty minutes while binging on Buffy? Yes. Did it bring out flavors in the cheese? No. Was that okay? Sometimes?

   • Texture: This was the lightest combo around. On top of Funyons, Rush Creek tasted like rich peaks of whipped cream, but silkier. Downside- once in a while my onion ring broke off in the cheese.

   • Staying Power: I had to drink water to purge the taste before moving on to the next sample.

   • Would I do it again?: Yes, especially if I had an extra Rush Creek to eat plain afterwards.

     
     

2. Korean bbq Kettlechips:

   • Biases: I really wanted this to work.

   • Flavor: You couldn’t taste anything but the chips. The chips are nice, though! Would try with other less-flavored chips. I wanted to buy pickle potato chips but they didn’t have any.

   • Texture: Reeeeeeally nice. Rush Creek seemed to thicken on top of the Kettlechips and the chip offered the perfect crunch to the cheese’s cream.

   • Staying Power: Low.

   • Would I do it again?: Only with other flavored chips.

     
     

3. Slim Jim:

   • Biases: I’ll always remember the day a customer came to a wine tasting I was pouring at and asked me to hold his Slim Jim while he sipped our daily selection. I hoped this would be a surprise hit here, too.

   • Flavor: Unremarkable. But I had a hard time getting past the texture so I would give it another try to be fair.

   • Texture: It felt like I dipped rubber in cream like I was a member of a food fetish group. Unpleasant.

   • Staying Power: None.

   • Would I do it again?: No.

     
     

4. Chili and lime Sabritones

   • Biases: These crunchy, puffy, spicy, lime-y Mexican squares are awesome and I wanted them to win right from the start.

   • Flavor: I loved these together. The good and the bad of it was that the lime and chili caught most the nuances of the Rush Creek from the tasting experience but it made the cheese taste like rich and creamy butter. On a Sabritone!

   • Texture: Very cool. Imagine eating a creamy, oozing cheese on vegetarian pork rinds. It made me wish I bought pork rinds.

   • Staying Power: Lingered for minutes.

   • .Would I do it again?: Yes, especially if I had an extra Rush Creek to eat plain afterwards.

     
     

5. Lay’s Original Potato chips

   • Biases: It seemed too basic.

   • Flavor: Lovely! The BBQ Kettlechips’s issue was that they overpowered Rush Creek. Lay’s instead supplied a light potato-y flavor and a sprinkle of salt. Though the thin crisps didn’t have any ambitions other than to support the cheese, their simplicity was refreshing.

   • Texture: Pleasant. Next time I’d buy potoato chips with ridges or ruffles because loved the texture combo of the thicker, stronger Kettlechips with RC.

   • Staying Power: Gone quickly.

   • Would I do it again?: Yes.

   
   

6. Diamond Wasabi almonds

   • Biases: I had little hope.

   • Flavor: Surprisingly good. To me. My husband did not like it. I threw this one in just for fun without thinking it would work, but the hint of heat from the wasabi was perfect, and the toasted almonds brought out bacony notes in the cheese. My husband is wrong!

   • Texture: Fun. It was hard to dip an almond in Rush Creek without getting it all over my fingertips but it was worth it. Do they make longer almonds?

   • Staying Power: Medium.

   • Would I do it again?: Yes. On top of a Lay’s.

Tried anything better with the winter cheese unicorn? Email me at kirstin@itsnotyouitsbrie.com. I’ll list it if it sounds amazing, and be prepared to send me snacks that are locally only found in your area for research purposes.