After spending months tasting mostly French cheeses, it's hard not to compare our diverse American cheeses to their European counterparts, especially Adelle from Ancient Heritage Dairy in Scio, Oregon. A taste of Adelle is like taking a bite of a phenomenally aged French goat's-milk cheese with an oozy texture and a flavor reminiscent of hazelnuts. What's remarkable about Adelle is that, despite this similarity, it's not a goat's-milk cheese.
In contrast to a French goat's-milk cheese like Pouligny Saint Pierre, Adelle's complex taste can be attributed to a combination of milks – that of East Friesian sheep and of Ayrshire Cows. While its rich taste and creamy consistency come from cow's milk, its meaty pungency and finish come from the addition of sheep's milk. Anne Saxelby, owner of Saxelby Cheesemongers, refers to mixed milk cheese as an "American innovation."
The reason for this American technique of mixing milk from different animals has to do with the seasonality of certain milks. For instance, sheep usually stop milking in October. "We could not afford to stop producing cheeses from October until the spring," says Kathy Obringer, co-owner of Ancient Heritage Dairy (with husband Paul). "So, one season, we used the cow's milk from a neighbor in exchange for cheese lessons, and we mixed it with our frozen sheep's milk."
This summer Slashfood blogger Max Shrem is apprenticing at renowned Paris cheese shop Fromagerie Trotté. In 'Le Cheese Course,' Max will share his impressions and opinions of French cheese à la francaise!
When it comes to firm sheep's milk cheeses, most Americans are more or less familiar with Italian Pecorinos, like Pecorino Romano, and, of course, the renowned Spanish Manchego. But, in the Ossau valley in the French Pyrenees, cheesemakers also craft unique sheep's milk cheeses, like the famed Ossau-Iraty, and the less known Abbaye de Belloc.
These cheeses stand out due to their particularly sweet delicate flavor and firm, creamy texture that gradually melts on the palate. Among them, Abbaye de Belloc remains a gastronomic gem with its exceptionally well-balanced, smooth, unctuous texture, a result of the milk of the red-nosed Manech ewes (not to be confused with Santa's red-nosed reindeer, Rudolph).
"The best way to appreciate this kind of consistency is to eat a very thin slice," says Fromagerie Trotté's Jean-Philippe Trotte in Paris. "The thinner the slice, the better you'll take in the very sain [French for uncontaminated, healthy and wholesome] taste of the cheese's milk."
This summer Slashfood blogger Max Shrem is apprenticing at renowned Paris cheese shop Fromagerie Trotté. In 'Le Cheese Course,' Max will share his impressions and opinions of French cheese à la francaise!
Those interested in the aesthetics of chèvres that come in striking shapes and sizes will certainly be seduced by Pouligny Saint Pierre, a classic French goat's milk cheese shaped like a pyramid. Hailing from the region of Berry, close to the renowned châteaux of the Loire valley, this cheese has a distinctive floral aroma and grassy, nutty taste.
When it comes to French goat's milk cheeses like Pouligny Saint Pierre (and many others like Valençay) there are key differences in flavor and texture between ones imported to the United States and those eaten in France. In the United States, Pouligny Saint Pierre is sold fresh and has almost no rind, giving it a mild, fresh taste and cakey yet creamy texture. In France, however, because the cheese is made with raw milk and is aged to various degrees by affineurs, it comes in many more varieties.
There's no doubt about it: The cheese boom is in full swing.
Over the past several years, specialty shops have blossomed across the country, from southern California to Maine (including Blue Fog Market, Fromagination and The Cave), all with super-dedicated cheese selections. This month renowned Brooklyn, N.Y., restaurant Franny's became the latest eatery to open its very own specialty food shop, Bklyn Larder, just down the street.
Aside from an array of prepared foods cooked by chef Travis Post, Bklyn Larder has its own cheese room, with an appropriate humidity and temperature for aging and storing cheese. "This will enable us to carry larger amounts of cheese," says Francine Stephens, who, along with co-owner and husband Andrew Feinberg, co-founded the restaurant back in 2004.
In September of 2007, Feinberg attended the Slow Flood cheese festival in Bra, Italy to seek out unique and tasty cheeses to eventually carry at the still-in-the-planning-stages Larder. They can all be spied through the glass window of the shop's aging room. (Food voyeurs -- you know who you are -- beware!)
A culinary trip down to Georgia often includes shrimp and grits, barbecue, crispy flounder and red velvet cake. Now Green Hill, a creamy bloomy rind cow's milk cheese, can be added to that gastronomic list thanks to Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, Ga.
Tasting a piece of Green Hill is like opening a taste bud treasure chest. Its lush creamy texture melts dreamily on the palate, leaving a pleasantly mild tang.
While Green Hill shares many characteristics with its imported French cousin, Camembert, it boasts a uniquely buttery consistency. And whereas most imported Camembert has become industrialized for the United States market, Green Hill remains a standout handmade farmstead cheese.
Usually, the thought of goat's milk cheeses conjures up images of small, freshly ripened, creamy-to-crumbly chèvres, like the French Valençay or Brad Parker's ashed log, which come in pyramid and log shapes, respectively. Little Bloom on the Prairie, from Prairie Fruits Farm in Champaign, Ill., defies all such expectations. When ripe, its texture turns into a succulent cream that slowly oozes from its rind. (Trust us, that's tastier than it sounds).
Little Bloom on the Prairie is a goat's milk cheese with a bloomy rind similar to Mont Vivant, but with a luscious consistency that make its texture more comparable to a rich Brie. Still, even though the cheese's silky touch matches that of a bloomy rind, its flavors are distinctly herbal, floral and even grassy (tastes often associated with goat's milk cheeses). In short, based upon its texture and appearance (this bloomy rind cheese is in the format of a smaller Camembert), Little Bloom on the Prairie seems like a typical runny cow's milk cheese.
As with life, however, appearances can be deceiving: A bite of this fromage reveals an unexpected yet pleasant tang.
Pressed onto a baguette, crumbled over salads, or eaten straight, we can't get enough of goat cheese in springtime.
This year, voluptuaries and gastronomes seeking a decadently rich and creamy goat's milk cheese will go wild for Rainbeau Ridge Farm's Mont Vivant. Unlike other mold-ripened goat's milk cheeses (like Selles sur Cher or Valençay), this offering from Bedford Hills, NY has an exquisite bloomy rind (unusual in goat's milk cheeses) that seems to impart a more complex and cakey texture, as if it were a cross between Valençay and Brie.
In the U.S., many rich cheeses like Brie, Camembert and triple crèmes like Pierre Robert are too buttery and lack a distinctive kick of flavor. St Pat, on the other hand, provides a sensational surprise to the palate with a sweet, nutty vegetal taste reminiscent of artichokes. Tucking into a luxuriously creamy half-pound wheel of St Pat is like partaking of a springtime cheesecake.
Those mourning the loss of their beloved, stinky French Roquefort (which just saw a hefty tariff bump) will delight in this wallet-friendly blue from the good old U.S. of A.
Mineral Point (Wis.)'s own Tilston Point is not the most attractive hunk of cheese we've ever seen, with a yellow-orange hue and blue veins that lend it the appearance of a past-its-prime cheddar. For its unctuous flavor, though, it's worth it: Tilston Point features the complex, luscious texture of its French counterpart along with the earthiness of a Stilton. Its refined flavors range from sweet to mineral-like and linger on the palate. Tasting this fromage is like getting stuck to a bench, enraptured, in front of Monet's water lilies. (OK, maybe we're getting a littlecarried away. Long story short: It rules.)
Hook's Cheese Company's Tony Hook and wife Julie have been handcrafting cheese including cheddar, Colby and Monterey Jack for more than 30 years. In 1997, they began perfecting a series of blue cheeses and in 2004 created Tilston Point, their sole washed-rind cow's milk blue, aging it for 10 months to a year. The company gets all of its milk from family-owned small local dairy farms boasting anywhere from 11 to 50 cows.
It's National Grilled Cheese month, folks, and boy are we fans. Americans chomp upwards of 2 million sammies each year. Of course, as is typical of populist foods nowadays (burgers, fried chicken, mac 'n cheese) even high-minded artisans like Terrance Brennan and Thomas Keller have gotten into the act to put their spins on the classic. Brennan will take it one step further at Artisanal, his New York bistro and paean to all things fromage, with a grilled Cheese Sandwich Contest on April 29. It should be quite the showdown, with food-lebrity judges to boot.
But wait! You don't need to be local to enter this thing, and still have till Friday to wow the cheesemonger with a creation that will win you one of 12 places in the cookoff. And we're going to help you cheat. With the deadline looming, we went straight to Brennan for tips and were unsurprised to find that he hews close to a simple, winning formula: Use good bread, great cheese and no more than three ingredients.
Fave fromage? "I just love a good Comté," he says. His bread of choice, which he prefers on the crunchy side, is pain campagne. "It's a good bread and it's still kind of a little airy. [With] a baguette, you have too much bread. It's a texture thing." Stay away from using Parmesan for filler, he warns, but feel free to dust the outside with a few shavings as a seasoning agent to get a swell crust.
Not on the East Coast but need a fix? Head to L.A., where the Grilled Cheese Invitational began with a few dudes in an artist's loft caught up in a dare over which of them was a grilled cheese god. Seven years later the summit has more than 100 participants and processed cheese giant Kraft as a sponsor. Not bad for a simple little sammie.
Got a recipe that would destroy the competition? Let us know in the comments.
Though we've been covering goat's milk cheeses for the past couple of weeks, today I'd like to concentrate on an American blue raw cow's milk cheese from northern Vermont called Boucher Blue.
This sweet and creamy fromage has an earthy flavor reminiscent of the famous French Fourme d'Ambert. What sets it slightly apart is a unique taste of chestnuts and vanilla and a long finish on the palate. While Boucher Blue is certainly tasty eaten plain, it would also make a great addition to a fresh spring salad, such as one with watercress, prosciutto and hazelnuts.
Boucher Blue is handmade by brothers Daniel and Denis of the renowned Québecois Boucher family, whose 1,000 acre farm boasts 120 Holstein and French Normandy cows. The brothers have deep roots in the region: Their family has been cultivating land for nearly 400 years. Long ago they tilled the land by the Lake Champlain and St. Lawrence River valleys in what was once New France (now Quebec). Their ancestor Pierre Boucher was celebrated after the French and Indian War for making peace with the Iroquois.
When I think of Dutch Gouda, the word Boerenkaas comes to mind. Boerenkaas means "farmer's cheese." Several years ago, when I began selling cheeses, I was shocked by the amount of industrial Gouda being sold as artisanal. When purchasing artisanal Gouda, look to see if the cheese is a Boerenkaas. Currently, there is an incredible array of different Boerenkaas cheeses being imported from L'Amuse cheese shop in Santpoort-Noord, Holland.
Many of the Boerenkaas cheeses from L'Amuse have a deliciously crunchy yet milky creamy texture with well distributed crystals. The paste color is a deep yellowish-brown, and its aroma has notes of hazelnut and caramel with some meaty and cellar notes. Depending on the type, it can have a particularly long finish with hints of caramel. Formaggio Kitchen sells several Boerenkaas cheeses that are worth trying.
I highly recommend the Boerenkaas Veenweidekaas (pictured above). This one comes from a four hundred year old farm built on a dike in Zoeterwoude. Lidia and Theo van Leeuwen ripen their cheese more slowly by adding less salt. This ripening process allows the cheese to develop incredibly rich pronounced tastes. Like many French cheeses produced under AOC regulations, Veenweidekaas must also be produced according to certain regulations. They require sustainable production in consideration of the land and the wildlife that share the farmland. After the jump, find out various ways to eat Boerenkaas cheeses.
Cheese, like chocolate, can help create a romantic ambiance. While certain cheeses may carry an unappealing funky aroma, others are full of a captivating sweet luscious creaminess. Even those stinky cheeses can become agents of cupid with the right condiments and wine. Cheese can definitely be romantic.
When selecting cheeses for Valentine's Day, pick out ones that have complex textures and flavors. Try an aged Gouda, such as Reypenaer, or something fresh, rich, and buttery, like Robiola di Roccaverano. My main advice is to overwhelm your palate with culinary enjoyment without over consumption. A stomach ache is never romantic.
This year, Anne Saxelby is teaming up with Ronie-Sue's Chocolates to sell a pairing of cheeses with chocolates. As Murray's Cheese announces, "Valentine's Day is for cheese lovers." They're selling a "love box" full of cheese, chocolate covered almonds from Spain, hazelnut chocolate, and more. Of course, if romantic cheese means heart-shaped cheese, you can find those as well. Try Coeur du Berry, a fresh goat's milk cheese from the Loire Valley.
That's right! Buy it while you can still find it and afford it. A recent New York Times article explains that as of March 22, the government is raising the tariff on Roquefort from 100 to 300 percent. Yes, the tariff is already quite high. So, if you're already shocked by the markup on artisanal cheeses, you can stop blaming vendors and start getting frustrated with the federal import tariffs.
Cheesemongers from various stores, such as Murray's Cheese, stated that they will most likely stop selling Roquefort. The NY Times article states that we will still be able to find cheap "everyday" Roquefort from Fairway for $8.39 per pound. That's about how much it costs for high-end Roquefort in Paris. So, I think I'd rather abstain from the "everyday" kind. The "everyday" type is okay for sprinkling on salads, but the normal to fine ones, such as Roquefort Société and Roquefort Vieux Berger, have complex one-of-a-kind flavors and textures.
Roquefort isn't the only cheese with a tariff. Have you ever wondered why imported cheddars are so expensive? To protect American cheddars from foreign competition, there is a heavy tariff placed on British imported cheddars. This seems like another great reason to start buying local artisanal cheeses or to move to France.
Some of my first memories of eating artisanal cheese come from the French family I lived with in Tours, France. Before ending the meal with a dessert, my host mother would serve one or two cheeses without any condiments. At first, it seemed strange eating the cheese plain with a fork, sometimes with bread and almost never with fruit or honey. But after a month, not pairing cheese became normal. When I returned to the U.S. after a year, I was surprised and intrigued by the American obsession with cheese pairings.
What is it about American food culture that tempts us to eat more than one food at a time? It's as though our insatiable desire distracts us from enjoying simplicity. While managing the cheese shop Formaggio Essex it became my job to pair cheeses with different crackers, honeys, jams, and much more.
I have to admit that I fell for the "American desire" to add more. After several months of tasting cheeses with different condiments, I quickly developed a talent for pairing. While I think pairing is an important skill, especially in cooking, I believe it's still important to return to a less elaborate cheese course. Often, the intensity of a cheese can only be appreciated when tasting the cheese plain. Learn when to pair and when not to pair after the jump.
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