Cheese (2008– )

[gariotin]

If it looks sort of like pix that Rossy posted, it could be a domestic washed-rind goat made in Wisconsin named Darsonval. Was the paste white like that, and it was cut from a bigger wheel?

That's one of my pet peeves about chain supermarket cheese depts - they do not believe that it is important to have staff behind the counter. They just cut & wrap and leave it be.

How are you - weren't you getting married? Hope you served cheese!

[LindsayAnn]

While shopping today (again, at Treasure Island in Chicago IL), I found an old favorite....well maybe not a favorite per-say, but a very yummy cheese nonetheless.

French Saint Albray...a very soft cheese. I believe it is a cows milk cheese, most likely pasteurized (because I cannot fathom Treasure Island, which is a grocery store specializing in Ethnic Foods, carrying raw-milk cheeses...usually I have to venture to cheese shops to find any raw milk cheeses, and even then they MUST be aged under 60 days (I believe its 60 days). Gotta love American food regulations

Anyhow - this cheese is delish.....does anyone have any background information on this cheese. How it is made? Flavor profile (I can taste it myself obviously, just curious about the description its creatures give it, etc..).

Thanks! As you can see I am cheese OBSESSED!

[LindsayAnn]

Hi Gariotin! Thanks so much for asking about my wedding and remembering it! Means a lot to me for some reason (I am a sentimental gal...that could be part of it, wink-wink). I did get married, May 10th. It was a wonderful day, honeymoon in Hawaii was magnificent. I did make sure our reception hall (A golf club) put out a cheese tray (with crackers, grapes, etc....) it was good, but nothing fancy. Just what they offered. That is okay with me though, I like all sorts of cheeses and the cheeses served at the wedding were along the lines of what a typical guest at my wedding wold enjoy. We had 0ver 280 guests come (invited more, got regrets of course though) so we couldn't do just anything. However, I also love sweets, and I hired an outside company (chocolate fountain company) to come in for one hour after dinner was served to set up a chocolate fountain (with a peanut butter river floating around the chocolate flowing fountain, DELISH) with dippers....pretzels, marshmallows, rice crispy treats, strawberries, bananas, pound cake, brownies, and nut clusters...MMMMMMMM!). Dinner was also of course served, along with an hors devour /cocktail hour (stuffed mushrooms, artichoke hearts which I believe were fried or something, cannot remember!, bacon wrapped scallops, and a few other things I cannot recall....we arrived near the end of cocktail hour unfortunately!!

The cheese I purchased does look a little bit like the picture RossyW posted. However, the inside of my cheese is not that bloomy white looking. Hmmm....

[prasantrin]

There was no label, but surely someone who works there would know what it was. There are labelling laws, etc. after all, aren't there? They would have to provide information (nutritional content, for example) if requested.

[djyee100]

sorry, but we're going to need a photo here.

???? Maybe I'm missing something, and I'm not at all familiar with the Treasure Island store setup...but is there any reason you haven't asked at the store? At the markets I go to, if Customer Service doesn't know, it puts me in touch with the buyer for the dept, who answers my questions.

If you live outside the Treasure Island store area, maybe a phone call to the store?

[Batard]

sorry, but we're going to need a photo here.

←

That would be more productive than random guessing ...

[gariotin]

http://www.montchevre.com/products/darsonval.html

I am an idiot and can't copy pix, but look at this cheese and see if it is close.

Congrats on your marriage, LindsayAnn!

[gariotin]

Yes, it is certainly pasteurized - I don't know much about it either. It is a likable cheese and probably mass-produced. Try to find Delice de Bourgogne - it is also a commerical cheese in that same, soft-ripened style, but I think it is more flavorful.

[prasantrin]

sorry, but we're going to need a photo here.

←

That would be more productive than random guessing ...

←

Random guessing can be fun, too. It's like the good-old days, when we could guess who was doing the weekly food blog. The person who guessed correctly always got to feel a bit smug for a few days.

I guess Gouda. Lots of Gouda cheeses have orange rinds. And they're not so bloomy white.

Edited January 28, 2009 by prasantrin (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Saint Albray is a cheese which comes from the Aquitaine region of France.

Invented in 1976, the cheese is similar to Camembert cheese, it has the same attributes, but is not quite as strong. Made with pasteurized cow's milk, this popular cheese is ripened for 2 weeks and formed into a shape not unlike the head of a flower with each "petal" forming a half pound of cheese. The "petals" are formed around a disk, when removed, it creates a hollow center giving the impression of the center of the flower. Saint Albray slices beautifully and when the whole wheel is displayed, this cheese makes an attractive centerpiece to a table. Saint Albray is mild and moist, but still retains its body despite its creamy nature.

Wikipedia entry

[djyee100]

If you're in a cheese obsession phase, and I've been there, I suggest this book: Cheeses of the World, by Roland Barthelemy.

http://www.amazon.com/Cheeses-World-Season...33177387&sr=1-2

A very informative, mouthwatering book. When I read it, I kept running to the store to buy and try out different cheeses. An emphasis on European cheeses, especially French cheeses, but the book was written by a Frenchman, and that's the French worldview for you.

From the book, about Saint Albray: A cheese from the Munster family, from SW France, typically a factory-made cheese from pasteurized cows milk, and optimal after 3 wks of aging.

The book is out of print, but used copies are available on http://www.abebooks.com/ as well. The author has another newer book out, Guide to Cheeses of the World, but that's not the book I'm talking about. have fun with your cheese explorations.

[Reignking]

I recently tried Amadeus, a soft cow's milk cheese from Austria (of course). Slightly pungent, white rind (as seen here), my wife devoured it quickly. Found at Whole Foods at a good price.

[Dante]

Cheese lineup for 12th Night:

Roaring 40’s Blue, Epoisses, Limburger, Vermont Shepherd’s, Brillat-Savarin, Chevre Noire

and, BTW, the Barick Obama from Lazy Lady Farm was quite pleasant- slightly dry, firm, mild, smooth flavour with a bit of sharpness in the finish.

and she's gone back to making her Cowurce, because 'tis the season for such things. Must pick some of that up next time I go shopping.

Sincerely,

Dante

[Reignking]

Bush War on Roquefort Raises a Stink in France

A village of 600 souls in a remote part of southern France, Roquefort clings precariously to the side of Combalou Rock, a promontory overlooking a deep valley where sheep graze in the shadow of limestone cliffs that were sheared off by a seismic jolt in prehistoric times.

But the primal shake also carved out aerated underground crevasses that give a unique economic value to this jagged landscape about 65 miles northwest of Montpellier. They make possible a gastronomical wonder that has delighted gourmets for centuries: Roquefort cheese. And now, in an era of globalized competition for trade, the smelly delicacy and its little home town have become ground zero for the warriors of export-import in Washington.

Edited January 29, 2009 by Reignking (log)

[Dante]

Just got this in from the local ag bulletin- resources and such. I've tried most of these at some point or another, and now feel the need to hunt down the ones I haven't tried:

Marketplace - Cheese

Boggy Meadow Farm Walpole, NH (603) 756-3300 marcus@lovellsmith.com boggymeadowfarm.com

Produces Alpine Swiss, Smoked Swiss, Tomme, Salsa, Jack and more. Made using milk from their own herd. Try our rare farmstead Swiss. See website for details. store open all year round. Also available at the Milkhouse at Great Brook Farm in Walpole.

For more information

Cabot Creamery Cooperative Cabot, VT (802) 229-9361 jdavis@cabotcheese.coop cabotcheese.coop

Cabot Creamery, known for their "World's Best Cheddar," makes cheese from cow's milk supplied by members of their farmer-cooperative. They offer a broad range of specialty, traditional, flavored, and reduced-fat cheeses in a variety of ages, flavors, forms and sizes. Cabot cheese is available in most grocery stores, through mail order, and on the internet at www.shopcabot.com. Their three stores include the visitor's center at the original creamery in Cabot, plus The Cabot Annex on Route 100 in Waterbury, and the Cabot Quechee store on Rt 4 in the Quechee Village Stores. Visit the website for directions and hours. Cabot Creamery celebrates 90 years of cooperative heritage in 2009. As a cooperative, 100% of their profits go to their farmers.

For more information

Cobb Hill Cheese Hartland, VT (802) 436-4360 jbush@together.net cobbhill.org/cheese/

Cobb Hill cheese is made with raw whole milk from the farm's small heard of grass-fed Jersey cows. Available in two varieties, award-winning Ascutney Mountain and Four Corners. Ascutney Mountain is an Alpine-style cheese, aged over 7 months with a rich and nutty flavor, while Four Corners is a cheddared cheese based on a Welsh Caerphilly recipe that is lemony and bright. Cheeses are available year round on the farm and is also found in many grocery stores and specialty shops in New England. In the Upper Valley, it is carried at the Coops in Hanover, Lebanon, and White River Junction, at the Woodstock Farmers Market, and the Taftsville Country store.

For more information

Fat Toad Farm Brookfield, VT (802) 279-0098 fattoadfarm@gmail.com www.fattoadfarm.com

Fat Toad Farm specializes in fresh goat cheeses (chevre) made from milk produced by their small herd of Alpines and Saanens. Rotationally grazed in season with supplemental feeding of local hay and grain, their goats produce milk that is notably sweet and mellow, so much so that their fresh cheese is often humorously referred to as "goat cheese for people who don't like goat cheese." The cheeses produced include plain chevre, a collection of savory flavored chevres, and two unique dessert/breakfast cheeses, Maple Chevre and Heavenly Lemonly Chevre. Cheeses are available from March through December at many local coops and stores, Montpelier Farmers Market or their own farm. Please call ahead for farm hours.

For more information

Frog City Cheese Plymouth, VT (802) 672-3650 frogcity@vermontel.net frogcitycheese.com

Frog City Cheese is a family-owned and -operated cheese manufacturing business located at the Plymouth Cheese Factory on the President Calvin Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, VT. The cheeses are made from raw Jersey cow milk supplied by a farm in Reading, VT. Their Plymouth cheese comes in four different ages, available in a variety of flavors. Frog City Cheeses can be purchased at Hunger Mountain Co-op, Dan & Whit's, Gillingham's, Springfield Co-op, and more. Internet purchases are also available at http://frogcitycheese.com/store.html.

For more information

Hillside Lane Farm, Ltd. Randolph, VT (802) 728.0070 cathy@hillsidelane.com www.hillsidelane.com

Hillside Lane Farm produces a variety of VT specialty products including cheese spreads. Made from fresh low-fat VT cheese, their spreads come in a variety of flavors including ginger garlic, roasted red pepper, and horse radish wasabi and spreadable cheddar. Their cheese products can be found at outlets in Randolph, Co-op food stores, King Arthur flour and more. For a full list of retailers or to purchase online, please visit their website.

For more information

Jericho Hill Farm White River Junction, VT (802) 295-5333 vtcheese.com/members/jericho/jericho.htm

Jericho Jack Farmstead Cheese is manufactured entirely with unpasteurized milk from our cows. It is a saltwater-brined cheese that has a firm body and soft, smooth texture. The wheels are aged for sixty days and beyond. Available at Lebanon/Hanover/WRJ Food Co-Ops, Dan & Whit's, King Arthur Flour, Norwich/Hanover/Lebanon Farmers' Markets, Cabot Store in Quechee, Gillingham's, Woodstock Farmers' Mkt.

For more information

Mack Hill Farm Marlow, NH (603) 446-6261 lisa@mackhillfarm.com mackhillfarm.com

Mack Hill Farm's Icelandic sheep are raised on pasture and hay only and are only milked in the summer. Yogurt, mozzarella, and farmhouse cheddar cheese are available on the farm in the summer and sell out quickly. Please call for an appointment.

For more information

Organic Valley Family of Farms LaFarge, VT (888) 444-6455 jamie.johnson@organicvalley.coop organicvalley.coop

Organic Valley offers award-winning certified organic cheese produced by family farmers without antibiotics, synthetic hormones or pesticides. Their Vermont Cheddar Cheese is made in Vermont from locally pastured cows' milk and is available in a range of medium, sharp, and extra-sharp and more. Please visit their website at for local retailers. Customers should contact consumerrelations@organicvalley.coop for more information.

For more information

Sugarbush Farm Woodstock, VT (802) 457-1757 contact@sugarbushfarm.com sugarbushfarm.com

Fourteen varieties of aged or smoked cheese. Gift boxes can be ordered by phone or by stopping by the farm house from 9-5. Most cheeses available at Lebanon and Hanover Co-op, Dan & Whit's, and Laro's in Quechee.

For more information

Taylor Farm Londonderry, VT (802) 824-5690 taylorcheese@comcast.net www.taylorfarmvermont.com

Taylor Farm is a family-owned and -operated dairy farm that takes pride in the humane treatment of animals and sustainable agriculture. The herd consists of 55 milking Holstein and Jersey cows, each individually named and lovingly cared for in a free stall barn. They offer a line of Dutch-style Gouda cheeses available directly at the farm from 10 am to 5pm, seven days a week. They can also be purchased from retailers throughout VT, and online from their website.

For more information

Thistle Hill Farm North Pomfret, VT (802) 457-9349 info@thistlehillfarm.com thistlehillfarm.com

Thistle Hill Farm offers their French Alpine Tarentaise Cheese made from the certified organic milk of their grass-fed Jersey cows. Every aspect of Tarentaise-growing hay, milking cows and making cheese-is done on the farm by the Putnam family. Tarentaise is available at local co-ops, farmers' markets, and can be ordered from the farm directly through their website.

For more information

Vermont Butter and Cheese Websterville, VT (802) 479-9371 awolf@vtbutterandcheeseco.com vtbutterandcheeseco.com

All-natural goat cheeses available as chevre log (herb, pepper), creamy goat (plain, roasted red pepper, olive and herb), and goats' milk feta. Available at most local co-ops, City Market in Burlington, LACE, Price Chopper, Shaw's, Hannaford's, Squash Valley and many more.

For more information

Vermont Water Buffalo South Woodstock, VT (802) 457-4540 info@bufaladivermont.com www.bufaladivermont.com

Vermont Water Buffalo uses 100% all natural water buffalo milk from their own farm to produce a variety of cheeses including mozzarella, ricotta, asiago, ravello, muffaletta, farmstead, and serantino. These cheeses are available in some VT stores, in Boston, New York, and on the farm. Farm hours are Mon-Frifrom 9am-5pm and on weekends by appointment.

For more information

West River Creamery Londonderry, VT (802) 824-6900 westrivercreamery@tds.net

West River Creamery is a small family operated farmstead cheese plant that uses milk from its own cows. These Holstein and Jersey cows are BGH-free and pastured from May to Nov. They offer a variety of natural rind, European style cheeses, as well as American style cheddar, cloth-bound, Cheshire, natural rind baby Swiss, Middletown tome, and more. Their cheeses can be found at the Hanover and Lebanon co-ops, Lebanon Health Food Store, Green Mountain Smoke House, Londonderry Clark's IGA, Lisai's Market, Harlow's Farmstand, Walpole Grocer, and many more locations. A small self service is available at the farm; pease call ahead for farm hours.

For more information

[LindsayAnn]

djyee100 - you are so right...asking would seem like the obvious thing for me to do. So why haven't I? I don't know... i just haven't. I do live right in Chicago, 7 blocks or so from the closest Treasure Island. I suppose just laziness AND the fact that I thought I would ask all of you first...

I myself LOVE seeing when someone has recently added something to do thread...it is, afterall, my favorite thread in of all those in egullet!

I will ask next time I am there!

[gariotin]

Re:all the Vt cheesemakers

Thanks for the recap - good to use for next trip to Vt.

I LOVE the Tarentaise - it is a beautiful cheese. I once served it to a bunch of French people, who tend to look down their noses at American cheeses - they were very impressed.

[djyee100]

This thread has put cheese on my mind. I didn't hide away my wallet fast enough when I went shopping today, and I came home with a local cheese, Rouge et Noir Camembert, and two classics, Pont l'Eveque and Stilton.

While surfing the website of one of my favorite local cheesemakers, I came across this helpful Library of Cheese:

http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/library.asp

I don't know how available the Cowgirl Creamery cheeses are in other parts of the country, but my fav is Red Hawk cheese, and a good friend swears by Pierce Point.

[gariotin]

Cowgirl cheeses rock! Most WF stores will carry at least the Mt. Tam and the Red Hawk.

I was visiting San Francisco last week and made the obligatory stop at their cheese shop in the Ferry Terminal Bldg. It is one of the nicest cheese shops I know.

[LindsayAnn]

winnemere cheese - what a LOVELY raw milk cheese!

I have had it before, but I forgot how wonderful it is. Go and look/buy some and try it for yourself (If you haven't already had the pleasure of enjoying this cheese) - warning - when ripe its a bit stinky, orangy/pinkish hue rind....and it sure can ooze as it ages.

It is sooo delish. Anyone loving this cheese as much as me? The hubby is out of town this weekend (left this evening back Sunday morning)....so I am taking advantage of this time to enjoy ALOT of this cheese. He HATES when I have stinky cheeses smelling up the fridges....and cannot stand the smell when I am eating them in front of him. What a BIG baby....

[gariotin]

Agreed - Winnemere is a delicious cheese, with big flavors!

Tell yr spouse to put a clothespin on his nose while you enjoy your treasures - life is too short to not eat smelly cheese.

Plus, did you find out the identity of the mystery cheese?

Edited February 7, 2009 by gariotin (log)

[Dave Hatfield]

Ok, cheese eaters I need help. Badly!

Having had two minor strokes in the last month my Doctors have insisted that I get my blood into better shape. Amongst other onerous things I've got to virtually eliminate fat from my diet. This means giving up cheese. Or at least that what I'm told by my wife.

Since I'm not sure life is worth living without cheese I need to find some way to continue eating it.

I'm looking for help. suggestions, tales of the experience of other in this situation, anything. Low fat cheeses?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated

[Katie Meadow]

Hi Dave,

I'm sorry to hear about your strokes. That's scary, to get a wake-up call like that. How are you feeling? I've always enjoyed your posts about cheese, especially because I enjoy them vicariously. For the past several years I have cut way way back on cheeses and animal fats because my cholesterol is borderline high. So believe me, I sympathize.

I don't have any suggestions about low-fat cheeses. You're the expert, so I'm guessing you already know what's what in your neighborhood. "Low-fat" is a relative term, anyway; low-fat cheeses probably still have plenty of fat in them. I'm guessing there are some nice chevres out there with less fat than a triple creme brie, but if you eat all the chevres you want you will still be getting more fat than your doctor probably thinks you should. But here's how I deal with my diet restrictions (and I have others which would be too tiresome to name and which are far worse, at least to my mind, than just eliminating cholesterol-bearing foods.)

How I cope might not work for everyone, but it works for me. There are a few cheeses I just can't imagine living without forever, so I treat them like the precious gifts they are and only indulge once in a great while. And wow, do I enjoy it when I do. I find that there are plenty of cheeses I can live without totally and that most of the low-fat substitutes ultimately are not worth bothering with.

Take care of yourself. Just think about all the fabulous spring vegetables you will be having soon, and then...summer fruits!

[gariotin]

Dave, I'm also really sorry to hear about your health problems - you are our lifeline to French cheeses!

I am a Rubenesque woman who has always had to monitor what I most love to eat. I also follow a routine much like Katie's below.

Because I cannot stop eating cheese, I generally use fat-free cheese (this may not even be an option in France) as my regular cheese. Kraft makes FF shreds of mozz and ched that are palatable and melt when heated. I am not suggesting that this is a substitute for real cheese - it is just a way to have the flavor of cheese when y can't eat cheese.

Then, once every 2 weeks or so, I too have some tastes of the real deal and choose them wisely. My cheesemonger sells me very small (1-2 oz) cuts of a couple of great cheeses and I take them home and savor them.

I do also have to taste and eat cheese as part of my job, and I try to just have one small piece when I am called upon to do so.

Cheese is absolutely my favorite food and I could never totally abstain, so this is the best solution I can come up with.

Good luck - let us know how you are doing...

[Abra]

Chevre frais is the by far lowest fat of any cheese in France. Get a copy of the current La Vie Pratique Gourmand at your supermarket, it has a calorie chart for many common French cheeses.