Hoja Santa cheese looks as though it's been gift-wrapped by Mother Nature.
Pronounced OH-ha SAHN-tah, the goat's milk cheese is aged in the minty leaves of a Texan plant called hoja santa ("sacred leaves," in Spanish). It's a gift for the palate, too (unlike some cheeses wrapped in chestnut, grape or fig leaves) -- not too funky, with a clean finish reminiscent of sassafras, eucalyptus and lingering mint.
A relatively recent discovery in fromage terms, this cheese arrived on the scene courtesy of Texan Paula Lambert, a self-proclaimed "urban cheesemaker" who has been crafting it since the early 1980s. After seeing hoja santa used to wrap salmon at a local restaurants she had a "Eureka!" moment a few years later while pondering the French banon, which is covered with chestnut leaves. Wishing to create a Texan incarnation, she found herself stumped for greenery: "I wanted to use something local," she recalls, "and had a hoja santa plant in my garden. Then I remembered [those] fish dishes and voila!"
This mix of cakey, creamy goat's milk cheese and mint is a truly unique gastronomic experience. If the typically strong flavors of wrapped French cheeses are a bit much for you, give it a try. Purchase it directly from Lambert's Mozzarella Company online for $21 per pound or in specialty food shops where available.
Have you tried hoja santa or other wrapped cheeses? Got a favorite?
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