Cheeselog

March is “Misunderstood Wines” month. Check out the details of our class on the “Events” tab above.

In our cheese classes, I often speak of the magic and wonderment of blue cheese. The blue mold, mixed into the milk or curd before pressing, proliferates throughout the cheese (often assisted by piercing the cheese with steel needles). However, what many people don’t realize is that the “blue” part of blue cheese is really not very blue until it is exposed to a flush of oxygen when it is cut. This morning, we were able to capture this phenomenon. The first photo is a piece of Maytag Blue after just being cut in half. Notice the veins are yellowy-green.

A mere 10 minutes later, the same piece of cheese has exploded in color. Its mold, once lying sort-of-dormant, is now a sea of blues and grays. Even more color will develop as more time passes.

Amazing what a breath of fresh air can do!

There are some new and exciting changes on the menu:

1. Back by SUPER-POPULAR demand: Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese! Rejoice!
2. The full menu is available ALL DAY on Saturdays. Order any item all day long (11am-10pm)!
3. We carefully paired each item with the perfect wine and listed it on the menu so ordering is simple (and delicious).

We hope you enjoy the additions!

On Thursday, February 4, I was lucky enough to attend a portion of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture conference in State College, Pennsylvania. I was asked to attend so I could offer feedback to cheese makers about the quality, presentation, and price of their products. First, let me say that the cheese makers I had the pleasure of meeting were some of the most entrepreneurial, experimental, hard-working people I’ve ever come across. I was proud - and honored - to share a room with them. And to think - they were asking my opinion.

All in all, I and my co-judge Jenny Harris of Tria in Philadelphia, tasted about 30 cheeses. Arduous, huh? We tried new products from established and newbie cheese makers alike. Of all of the cheeses I tried, most would have a welcome spot on our shelves. In fact, you can watch for a number of them to be arriving soon. Of course, there were some cheeses that needed work. What amazed me was that these artists (and scientists) wanted honest feedback. They were incredibly eager to make their cheeses tastier, more attractive, and more approachable price-wise.

One of my favorite cheeses overall was from a young Pennsylvania Dutch couple from Nittany Valley Organics. They showed a wonderful Pepper Jack, Baby Swiss, and Smoked Cheddar. The best story, however, was the “experimental” cheese that they formed into a wheel and allowed to age (at an odd angle) in their cave. This cheese was one of the ugliest pieces of food I’ve ever seen and I say that with great admiration. He had aged this wheel sort of on its side so if you can picture a huge wheel of cheese (about 18 inches across) that was round except for one side. It looked like a flat tire. But my was it delicious! Just goes to show you - you can’t judge a cheese by its cover :)

Look for some new creations to head our way from Chapel’s Creamery, Yellow Springs Farm, Gootessa, Keswick Creamery…. the list goes on and on! I’ll let you know when they arrive.

Before the judging began, I sat through a lecture on various bacterial cultures. I knew there were myriad cultures to choose from when making cheese and that each one would have a different effect on the final product, but when I say I had no idea how intricate this science was, I mean I HAD NO IDEA! I will be writing about the two educational sessions (this one and another by Peter Dixon about food safety for the artisan cheese maker) separately because I learned so much that I must dedicate another entry to it.

Till then, signing off!

Ah…. the sloth of a Sunday afternoon. Except Not. Today I prepared for a private cheese class for the Northwestern University Alumni Association. While researching Northwestern I learned that their mascot is a Wildcat named Willie. However, their original mascot was Furpaw, a bear cub. Obviously, someone realized that a bear cub was not in fact very ferocious and pushed for a new mascot to be adopted. Cause really - when you want to intimidate your opponent, the last thing you want to be is a bear cub, whose only tactics are to: A) snuggle; or B) sic my momma on you. So, go Wildcats! Certainly better than my school’s mascot (what the heck is a Maroon anyway?!?!?!)

After prepping for the cheese class, I attended my first ever preschool open house. I’ve waited in lines for Metallica tickets that were more touchy feely. I sure hope we get into this school because it’s the only place I want to send my daughter. And I can’t go to another open house. Please.

So, back to tonight’s cheese class. It’s always fun to prepare for one of these because even though the basic topic is one I have taught many times, the cheeses and wines always change. It’s fun to select them and then pray that they taste good together. In general, there are rules for pairing wines and cheeses, but once in a while, you happen upon a really unpleasant combination. When that happens in a class, you have to pretend like to did it on purpose in order to illustrate the importance of careful pairing. Remember: every mistake we make is totally on purpose.

Tomorrow night is the last session of our Evening in Uruguay Wine event. 8 Wines. 6 Cheeses. A bit different from tonight, where we are tasting 11 cheeses ranging from Buffalo Mozzarella to Beemster 4-year Gouda to Honey Goat. For wines, we have a wonderful Kabinett Riesling from Germany and a yummy Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara. The best part of my job is that I get to drink as I teach (it’s only responsible to experience the class with the students).

So, bring it on, Wildcats! Cheesetique is ready to rumble!