News Of The Cheese
April 1, 2002 - Volume XII

A Production of the Putney Co-op Cheese Department
Oh, what a friend we have in cheeses!

Our quarterly inventory is over - hoo-ray. I know counting cheese is important, but it's more fun to find new ones to introduce to all of you.   So, once I finished counting, that's what I did. And here's some of what I came up with:

Organic French Camembert should arrive on Friday, if all goes as planned. The Organic French Brie has been quite lackluster lately, so I am getting rid of it.   I found a worthy substitute in the Camembert; it is tastier, more authentic, and actually cheaper per pound than the Organic French Brie.   It is made from cow's milk, and weighs 250 gm [about 8 oz.], which is the size Camembert is supposed to be.   I hope it will be to your liking.

Also coming from France is St. Maure de Touraine , and it is one of my favorite cheeses right now. With a recommendation like that, how can you go wrong?   This incredibly delicious goat's milk cheese is unpasteurized, aged, and has a bloomy rind rolled in ash.   It is slightly acidic and piquant, with a wee bit of a goaty flavor. An unusual thing about St. Maure - there is a hollow straw running through the center of this narrow cheese. Why? As the cheese ages, it is turned to ensure even ripening, so the straw acts as sort of a rotisserie skewer. As is the case with most aged chèvres [goat's milk cheeses], St. Maure starts out soft and as it ages, it gets more firm. The flavor also develops, becoming more pronounced, and finally, if you can wait that long, it gets very strong with a heady aroma. If you like a good, strong goat cheese, wait until the rind looks dry, wrinkled, and shrunken.

Another goat cheese you may like is the Canadian Chèvre Noir Reserve from Fromagerie Tournevant - the same people who bring us the excellent Biquet 4 oz. fresh chèvres.  Chèvre Noir Reserve is of very limited supply, only a small amount is set aside to age for two whole years. Our distributor is very excited to be able to get their hands on it, and so are we.   It is by far the best goat cheddar available in North America. If you are unable to eat cow's milk cheeses, and miss the snap of a sharp cheddar, you will be very happy with this cheese.   We are selling it in 250 gm pieces which have been coated in wax.   Look out for them, as I have a feeling they won't be here for long.  

From Italy, we are getting Rustico with Red Pepper . A true crowd-pleaser, this sheep's milk cheese has red pepper flakes spread throughout the paste.   It is spicy, but not too much. The price is very reasonable, so you will not have to feel extravagant using it as a cooking cheese or as a table cheese. Personally, I would grate it over pasta, after cutting myself a few slices to eat on the way to the table.   It may be a long journey from the kitchen to the dining room table - why pass out from hunger on the way?

News Of The Cheese
March 4, 2002 - Volume X

A Production of the Putney Co-op Cheese Department
There's so much going on in this cheese department, I hardly know where to start.

We had a great cheese demo with Marcia from Cobb Hill Cheese Company on Friday, March 1 st .   Marcia brought her wonderful Ascutney Mountain and Four-Corners Caerphilly cheeses with her, and from the looks of it, she was very busy handing out samples, selling cheese, and answering questions.   Cobb Hill is in Hartland, Vermont, and they produce excellent raw cow's milk farmstead cheeses. I am trying to set up more cheese demos for the near future, most likely they will occur on Friday during the late afternoons, so make sure to stop by.   We will even have a book signing with a local cheese celebrity from a "rival" [haha] cheese department.   Henry "The Cheeseman" Tewksbury's book about Vermont cheeses will be officially released on April 1 st , and plans are in the works to get him in here with some Vermont cheese makers for a Big Cheese Event.   It'll be a gala day!   As Groucho Marx once said, "That's about all I can handle."

So what's new?

English Cheddar from Borough Market , a division of Neal's Yard Dairy in London. Jason Hinds, expert cheese-monger and very nice man, hand-selects each wheel from carefully chosen farmhouses in England.   This is the real thing, this cheddar.   This is what other cheddars wish they were. They are all pasteurized cow's milk, aged at least 6 months [the wheel we currently have must be aged about one year, as it has gotten a bit crystallized], and NEVER aged in plastic or wax, like some substandard American cheddars.   Borough Market cheddars are ALWAYS aged in cheesecloth.   What can you expect? Sharp and pleasantly acidic, but not bitter or flat.   It has quickly become a staff favorite.   Try it, the price is right.

Canestrato Appenino(TM). I went to the importer's web-site [rogersintl.com], as this cheese is heretofore unknown to me.   You can go there, too, or you can take my word for it when I tell you that Canestrato from Italy has the rich, creamy, burnt-caramel flavor one would expect from a firm sheep cheese, and is nowhere nearly as salty as Pecorino Romano. Canestrato is made only from the milk of Apulian Gentile or Merino sheep, the curds are pressed in Apulian reed baskets to squeeze out the whey (giving the rind the characteristic cross-hatches), and then rubbed with salt and aged for at least six months, sometimes up to one year. This cheese is a find! I haven't seen any other cheese departments around here carrying it, and they have no idea what they are missing. It is a one-of-a-kind item.

Chaource . This rich, excellent A.O.C.* [pasteurized] cow's milk cheese is from the Champagne/Burgundy region of France.   Its recipe and fat content are nearly identical to those of Brie , but this cheese is much smaller [250 gm], a bit richer, more complex, and slightly more acidic [or tart] than Brie, again with an edible, bloomy rind.   As it ripens, it gets a bit runny around the edges - this is when you want to eat it, by the way.   If it is too young, it will be too chalky and the flavor won't have developed.   But when it is ripe... mmm!   If you are feeling like a nice little celebration, serve with Champagne.

Speaking of which, here's the easy way to solve the vexing dilemma of how to pair wine with cheese: by region!   Serving Spanish cheese?   Spanish wine!   You can get more specific if you know the region where the cheese and wine are produced, but if you don't, then just keep it simple.   In all honesty, most Europeans aren't as hung up on pairing as we Americans seem to be - their rule of thumb is usually "if it tastes good, eat and drink it."   Anyway, here's a good wine pairing suggestion for Vermont Shepherd : any of Charles Dodge's wonderful Putney Wine selections.   It doesn't get much more local than that, now does it?

**In last week's News Of The Cheese [2/28/02] , I discussed the Italian D.O.C.   Now is your chance to learn about the French version: A.O.C., which stands for Appellation d'origine contrôlée.   The French government created this to ensure the authenticity and preservation of artisanal cheeses.   For a cheese to receive an A.O.C. label, it must meet very specific standards as defined by law, such as: the breed of animal from which the milk comes; the area from where the milk comes as well as where the cheese is made; the cheese making and aging process; the fat content, rind, size, shape, and other physical characteristics; and other characteristics such as color and flavor.    The A.O.C. cheeses we currently carry are: Brie de Meaux, Camembert de Normandie, Chaource, and Reblochon .