Laughing Cow Light Queso Fresco & Chipotle Cheese

No one could miss the huge trendiness of chipotle peppers over the past couple of years - the term "chipotle" has become a marketing buzzword, and while a true chipotle is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeno pepper, the flavor has been pretty thoroughly hijacked by marketers who seem to use it for anything with a bit of chile heat and a touch of smokiness.

But you can really tell when a flavoring has jumped the shark when it starts showing up in inoffensively bland triangles of sticky cheese. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Light Queso Fresco & Chipotle Laughing Cow cheese wedges.

I'm kind of apathetic about Laughing Cow cheese.  Kind of wet, kind of sticky-soft, kind of plastic-y, they're okay for stuffing celery or making some cheap and lulzy appetizers, but I'd never just unwrap one of the triangles and chomp on it because the texture is just not to my taste.  There always seems to be some in the house though, because Maryanne and Lynnafred enjoy it. And so it was that a container of this chipotle variety found it's way into the Cheese Drawer of the fridge (what, you don't have an entire section of your fridge devoted to cheese? Whyever not?) assisted by coupons in the Sunday paper and Lynnafred's delight at spotting something with chipotle as an ingredient.

If you already like Laughing Cow cheeses, you will probably like this one.  The texture, consistency, and mouthfeel is identical to all the other varieties. If the label didn't specifically mention queso fresco, you'd never know it was there.  The chipotle is detectable in a vague, hmm-I-think-there-might-be-some-kind-of-spice-in-here way, but it certainly adds nothing in the way of spicy excitement - there is barely enough there to tinge the flavor and I guarantee you won't be dipping your tongue in icewater and crying for momma.

No, I won't be actively seeking this out any too soon.  But I bet that a few days after the pictured box of cheese is gone, there will be other one in the Cheese Drawer when either Lynnafred or Maryanne buys a replacement.