Castelmagno

A new cheese arrived today at work.  No matter how busy things get or how hectic the preliminary setup for service becomes, I always get excited when it's time for a cheese "briefing".  The cheese in question today is one that has been in production for centuries, but is new to me.  It's called Castelmagno and it is delicious.
Castelmagno is from Piedmont in the Northern part of Italy.  The region is known for many culinary delights, especially its fantastic wines Barolo and Barbaresco.  The earliest recorded mention of this cheese was in 1277 when it was used for trade.  It is also reported that it frequently appeared at Charlemagne's dinner table.  Likely, the cheese existed much before the thirteenth century to have been considered a commodity at the time, and its popularity and reputation had to have been widespread for it became a mainstay of a world leader's diet.
Castelmagno comes in a large drum and looks a bit like a giant blue cheese with a natural rind on the outside.  In fact, Castelmagno can develop blue mold under the right circumstances, though it is rare.  If it does, it is considered a delicacy, but Charlemagne reputedly cut the blue parts off when he ate it - I guess there is no accounting for taste!  Without the blue mold, it remains a lovely subtle and tangy cheese with an appealing crumbly texture and layers of cascading flavors.  It reminds me a lot of the wines from the region - intensely mineral and with a rough-hewn and somewhat rustic beauty that needs a seasoned palate to fully appreciate its virtues.  I can't say that this is a cheese that everyone will love the first time they try it, but it is one that deserves consideration for its truly unique personality.
I couldn't help but think how delicious Castelmagno would be with a bit of quince paste or honey, the traditional accompaniment.  I have also read that it is popular in Piedmont for cooking and is sometimes melted into risotto or served simply grated on top of fresh egg noodles.   The crumbly texture leads me to believe that it would melt nicely, just as an aged cheddar would.  I'm looking forward to seeing if it turns up on our menu anywhere, or maybe I'll pick some up myself and see if I can use it in my own kitchen.
Castelmagno has DOP status, which means that the Italian government, to some degree, controls its production.  It is currently made with pasteurized cow's milk, but can also have smaller amounts of goat's and sheep's milk added.  The Italians classify it as a blue cheese even if it doesn't have blue veins.  It is usually aged from two to five months, and some affineurs age it for longer.
If you can find Castelmagno, it's a cheese worth checking out.  Keep an eye out for it at your local cheese shop and you're in for a unique Italian experience that is fit for an emperor.

Ragusano

The city of Ragusa has existed in one incarnation or another since 2000 BC.  Currently it is considered a historical treasure.  In the 17th century, an earthquake destroyed it.  It was rebuilt with stunning baroque architecture everywhere and now it houses several notable churches and cathedrals.  Having learned this about Ragusa very recently, I'll hope to visit there someday, but the way that the city even came on my radar in the first place was by way of the delicious cheese that is made there called Ragusano.

The cheese, Ragusano, has an interesting history rivaling that of the city from which it comes.  It was known to the Ancient Greeks and has been in production since that time.  When settlers from Sicily and other parts of Italy came to the United States, it became one of the number one imported cheeses.  It was essentially a commodity cheese like cheddar or Parmesan is now.  Traditionally, Ragusano had been made in big wheels, but because it is easier and more efficient to stack brick shapes in the hull of a ship, the cheese is now made that way instead.  In Sicily it is sometimes called Scaluni meaning step because it looks like a step in a staircase.

To make Ragusano, cheese-makers begin by boiling and stretching the curd just like Mozzarella.  This puts it in the family of pasta-filata (literally translated spun paste) cheese or stretched curd cheeses.  It can be eaten young in which case it is a mild and sweet, but if aged it becomes intensely salty and sharp, still exhibiting a subtle sweetness on the finish.  You're likely to get the young version only in Sicily - another reason to visit.  When aged, it has a crumbly texture, but there is still a satisfying bubblegum-like chewiness.

I love Ragusano for the spicy finish that makes my lips tingle a little.  One theory is that cheese made in hot places often has that spicy finish because of the diet of the cows who give the milk to make the cheese.  It can also be smoked in which case it carries that designation affumicato.  It is truly one of the more unique cheeses that I have ever had and I could eat it by the plateful with a glass of Marsala given the chance.

I hope you'll get the chance to try some Ragusano.  I'm going to experiment with it for cooking.  I imagine it would be delicious in a grilled cheeses sandwich, or shaved over a pasta dish or a salad.  Keep a look-out for it at your local cheese shop and pick some up if you see it.  You'll be happy you did.

Dinah's Cheese, Kurtwood Farms, Washington

I have loved my visits to Seattle.  Dan and I are so lucky to have such wonderful friends to stay with while we're there.  We have so much fun exploring the culinary terrain with them, and there is so much to explore.  Seattle has great restaurants, access to Washington's wine country, amazing farmer's market, and a burgeoning dairy industry that will soon rival that of my home here in New England.  One example of the many "new to me" cheeses that I tried while there was Dinah's Cheese from Kurtwood Farms made by Kurt Timmermeister.

We were introduced to Dinah's Cheese at Picnic, a great little food and wine shop in Phinney Ridge, by owners Jenny and Anson Klock.  My friend André and I had stepped in to buy some wine, and struck up a conversation with Jenny, and she insisted that we try it, and we were glad that we did.  We left with a half wheel.  Between the five of us in attendance at our dinner party, we ate nearly the entire thing that evening, and I wished we had bought the whole wheel.  It was the only selection among six cheeses purchased that day that was nearly finished.  While we enjoyed the others very well, there was something about Dinah's that kept everyone going back for more.

Dinah's cheese is named for Dinah, the cow.  From her pictures on the Kurtwood Farms Blog, she looks like a Jersey.  I highly recommend reading it - you'll find out all about the adventures of Kurt and Dinah, and some of the other cows such as Joe, Boo, and Luna.  In general, I love cheese made from Jersey milk because of the intense rich buttery character that it has.  Some other favorites that come to mind right away are Tarentaise from Thistle Hill/Spring Brook Farm, Grayson from Meadow Creek, and Green Hill from Sweet Grass Dairy.

Dinah's is modeled on camembert, which is a really tricky cheese to make.  It's tough to get the curds to set just right, and developing a bloomy rind, such as the one on camembert, that tastes good is something that many domestic cheesemakers struggle with.  Timmermeister has managed to execute a cheese that has wonderful richness, a sweet complex yet subtle flavor, and a delicious rind.  The texture is decadently creamy - we enjoyed spreading it on some baguette that the kind folks at Picnic sent us home with.

Like many of the cheeses in Washington, Dinah's is still very small production.  I'm hoping that someday, these wonderful cheeses will make it out to the East Coast, but until then, Seattle is only a plane ticket away.  I'll be looking forward to my next visit there when I know I will find some more outstanding cheeses to try.

Picnic, Seattle

CQ is on the road again... This time I have traveled to Seattle for a few days and have already had so many blog-worthy adventures.  I am having so much fun that I have had a hard time sitting down to blog.  With a little free time this afternoon, I wanted to tell you about a great wine and food shop I discovered amongst yesterday's goings-on.  It's called Picnic.   You can find it in Seattle's Phinney Ridge neighborhood.  My friend André and I had a wonderful experience shopping there and chatting with owners of the place, Jenny and Anson Klock.

The concept of Picnic is that you can eat it there, or you can take it out with equal ease and satisfaction.  They offer a selection of soups, sandwiches, salads, charcuterie, and cheese on their menu, and they also host regular themed wine tastings for $8.  It's a fantastic concept that was modeled on some of the retail outlets in my neck of the woods, Boston.  It turns out that Anson has a brother who lives in the South End near some of my favorite places: The Butcher Shop and Formaggio Kitchen.  Having visited these Boston hot-spots, they were inspired to open a similarly styled place in Seattle.

I was impressed with their selection of wine.  They had maybe 100 to 150 different bottles, and it was obvious that each one had been carefully chosen by the owners.  Maybe a third of the selections were local from either Oregon or Washington.  I picked up four bottles from vineyards that I have not seen represented in Boston.  We drank and enjoyed three of the them at our dinner party last night and have one left for later in the week.  The wines were Efeste "Evergreen" Riesling, McKinley Cellars Chenin Blanc, Yellow Hawk Sangiovese, and Syncline "Subduction Red."  We will be having the Yellow Hawk Sangiovese with pizza from flying squirrel at a chamber music reading party tonight, and I'm looking forward to enjoying another of Washington's amazing wine offerings.

Jenny and Anson also sent us home with some cheese, pate, and bread.  They were gracious enough to let us sample quite a few things from their case, and we couldn't resist purchasing more food, even though we had already made quite a haul from the Ballard Market earlier in the afternoon.  Anson's country style pate was entirely made from ground pork and was studded with delicious herbs and he gave us pickled shallots, cornichons, and mustard to eat it with.  We relished its delicious flavor and wonderful even texture while we cooked up a storm for our celebratory dinner party that evening.  The baguette from Columbia City Bakery and Dinah's Cheese from Kurtwood Farms that they turned us on to were also a real treat.  Dinah's Cheese is a delicious gooey camembert style cheese that we admired for it's buttery unctuousness and creamy smooth spreadable paste.

I could have stayed and talked with Jenny and Anson for hours, but we had to pick up our friends after a rehearsal.  I don't think I could imagine a more warm and engaging couple of proprietors, and it turned out that we had quite a bit in common.  They are just the sort of people that you hope will open a business in your own neighborhood.  I was very happy to have found Picnic and I'll be telling everyone I know about it in Boston.  Maybe someday I'll be lucky enough to own a little shop just like it.  Until then, I'll be wishing I lived in Seattle so that I could go there for cheese, bread, wine, and pate once a week.  I wish them continued success and happiness in their wonderful shop, Picnic!

Geitost: cheese?

On Congress street between Longfellow Square and the Old Port area in Portland, Maine, there is a fabulous collection of miniature markets under one roof.  My friend Annie and I stumbled upon it while walking around the area.  In truth we were drawn into the market by a selection of cheese that was visible from the front.  We are both mega curd nerds, and so we couldn't help ourselves from stopping in to check it out.

At the cheese kiosk inside, we took some time looking over their very impressive selection.  The two twenty-somethings behind the counter really knew their stuff from talking with them a little bit.  Most everything on display was at least familiar to me by name, though there were certainly plenty that I hadn't tried before.  One cheese in particular caught my eye because of its odd brown color.  Turns out it was the famous Scandinavian cheese called Geitost (pronounced YAY-toast).

Geitost is made by combining whey from cow's and/or goat's milk and boiling it down with some cream until it caramelizes.  Its texture is semi-firm and it has a really sweet flavor balanced by salt and tang.  It's traditionally served to children for breakfast shaved onto warm flatbread.  I enjoyed the little remnant I bought with an apple for breakfast this morning and it was delicious.  I'll keep an eye for it, but I'm not sure I've ever seen it in any my local markets or specialty shops.  Leave it to Portland's food-obsessed residents to introduce me to something new and interesting.

If you see it around, pick up a little chunk to try.  I can attest to the fact that it makes a delicious breakfast eaten alone, but it is also commonly melted into sauces to flavor game dishes.  Geitost fondue anyone?  I think you'll be intrigued and beguiled by its simple but unique charms.

Caspian from Jasper Hill Farm

You may have read my entry on Winnimere, probably my favorite all time cheese from Jasper Hill Farm a few days ago.  Imagine my surprise when the kind folks from the dairy retweeted and posted a link to my blog on facebook.  I was elated, overjoyed, and jumping up and down with excitement.  Of course, I immediately added them on twitter and FB, and as a result found out about their unveiling of a new cheese called Caspian.  I sent a text to a friend at work asking if we could get it in, and he responded that we already had it - four wheels of it in fact!  WIN!!!!

Caspian is closely modeled on a French cheese called Banon which is made from goat's milk and wrapped in vinegar and eau de vie soaked grape leaves.  Banon is made from raw milk and apparently gets pretty funky if allowed to age.  I have never had it, but I think I would like it based my love of stinky cheese and what I've read about it.  They have named their version of Banon for Lake Caspian which is near the dairy.  Like their other cheeses, it takes its name from local landmarks and/or historic events.

Winnemere from Jasper Hill Farm

I was recently reminded of how fabulous and wonderful Winnemere is when it showed up on our cheeseboard again at work a month or so ago.  As usual it came and went very quickly, but I did manage to sneak a few bits in here and there before it all went to the guests.  It's simply delicious with a meaty smoky funky finish and a creamy butter paste that reminds me of thick mayonnaise.  It tastes like eating a really good ham sandwich.

Winnemere comes from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont which many consider to be among the best in New England.  It's their version of Forsterkase, which is a washed rind wheel of cheese that is bound with a strip of Spruce bark.  It's something the woodsmen would take into the forest to work in Northern Switzerland.  The Kehler brothers of Jasper Hill use their top quality raw Ayrshire cow milk as well as a Lambic beer made right at the dairy to make this delicious domestic version.

Book Recommendation: Cheesemonger by Gordon Edgar

One of the reasons traveling by plane is so great is that you get to catch up on all the reading you’ve been meaning to do. For me, that usually means books about restaurants, food, and wine. On my recent trip to Louisiana to visit family, I brought along a book that I discovered on Jeanne Carpenter's Cheese Underground. The book is called Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge by Gordon Edgar, which chronicles the life of Edgar as it pertains to his personal experiences with cheese and cheese-makers.

I admire Edgar because he started with basically no cheese knowledge, fudging his way through his initial interview. He was a punk rocker in his youth going from job to job when the opportunity arose at Rainbow where he eventually rose to the position of buyer. He managed to get out a few buzz words that made the folks hiring him think that he knew a little something about cheese like “rennet” and “raw.” The rest is history.

Robiola La Rossa

Piedmont is a region in Italy that lies to the North and is surrounded by mountains on three sides.  It is the home of some of Italy's most highly regarded wines, Barolo and Barberesco, and some of my favorite Italian culinary delights including cheese.  You'll find an entire family of cheeses here called Robiola. You'll love their creamy rich, buttery flavors and tangy finish.  Typically they are made from a mix of milk types usually including cow's milk and are meant for relatively immediate consumption being soft-ripened.

Pecorino Fiore Sardo

Pecora is the Italian word for sheep.  When you see a Pecorino from now on, you will automatically know that it is made from sheep's milk.  They are some of my favorite cheeses of all time!  I haven't met too many that I don't like.  The Italians really have a handle on them too.  I love the nutty, salty, tangy notes of Pecorino followed by that melt-in-your-mouth buttery flavor on the finish.  You might be surprised to learn that sheep's milk has the highest butterfat content of the three milks (cow, sheep, and goat) commonly used to make cheese which accounts for that buttery flavor.  The aged examples that I've had are some of the most profoundly delicious and complex cheeses that I have eaten.  I could wax on poetically for hours, but I'd like to let you know about one in particular that I've enjoyed recently called Pecorino Fiore Sardo.

A New Cheese from Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery

There's a new cheese on the block for all of you curd nerds out there.  It was unveiled at L'Espalier in Boston about a week or so ago by Allison Hooper of the Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery. For right now they are calling it Cheese #17, but it's bound to be getting a snappy new name once it officially hits the market.  It's a goat's milk cheese with cow cream added and is modeled on Robiola from Piedmont.  It has a soft creamy paste with a lovely bloomy rind and little bit of a yellow/orange tint from a touch of b. linens.  I was lucky enough to be able to try the cheese and for something that looks so mild, it sure does pack a punch.  There is a ton of goaty flavor balanced out by just enough sweet cream and that funky earthy finish of a washed rind that I love so much.

ColoRouge from MouCo Cheese

Monastery style cheeses are among my favorites.  When I buy cheese for myself, I inevitably gravitate toward one of them. Even if I'm just snacking on something at work, there really isn't another type of cheese that I find more satisfying.  This family of cheese includes those that have been washed or smeared with brine, wine, beer, or spirits while they are maturing.  You might hear them referred to casually as the "stinky" cheeses although not all of them are stinky.  It's just that there are a few which can get pretty funky like Burgundy's Epoisses and new-comer, Grayson, from Meadow Creek made ironically by the Feete Family of Galax, Va.  If you like this style of funky, earthy cheese, you're bound to enjoy MouCo's ColoRouge for its subtlety in the grand scheme of Monastery cheeses, and even if you don't like stinky cheese, it offers enough delicious creaminess to please even the pickiest eater.

A New (to me) Cheese, Hoja Santa from the Mozzarella Co.

I'm not usually a huge fan of fresh goat's milk cheeses. They are enjoyable, certainly, but I prefer the subtle complexities of a firm textured aged cheese or a runny ripe washed-rind stinker nine out of ten times in my state of cheese snobbery. For the most part, I just don't get from chevre much besides a mix of pleasant herbal tangy notes. They just don't make me think and I've never been wowed by one. I blame the laws regarding cheese-making and import in this country for this primarily. The fact that all raw milk cheeses must be aged for at least sixty days have for the most part ruins any chance of a goat's milk cheese from being anything more than just good because ninety percent of them happen to be aged under sixty days and must therefor be made from pasteurized milk.

Artisan Cheeses of Washington State

I've already written a rather lengthy post about my trip to Seattle to visit friends this past summer, but I also wanted to take some time to write in detail about the cheeses that I ate while I was there. My job exposes me to a lot of different artisanal and farmstead cheeses on a daily basis. It's one of the greatest luxuries and most serious dangers at the same time. Getting paid to learn about cheese, wine, and food is pretty great except for the damage it does to my waistline. I've had many of the best from New England and examples from California are not all that uncommon on our cart. We've even had cheeses from my home state of Louisiana and right now there is one from Texas on the cart called Hoya Santa that I'm pretty excited about. However, I've never seen anything from Washington, so I was very pleasantly surprised at how good the cheese was and how friendly the folks who make it and sell it are.

John Folse and Bittersweet Plantation Dairy

About a year ago, on a trip home to see my folks in Louisiana, I had the great privilege to visit John Folse's headquarters in Gonzales, Louisiana. For those of you who don't know, John Folse is the head of a sort of a culinary empire based in Southern Louisiana. He gives a lot back to the community and is responsible for some pretty "big deal" things in the land of national chain restaurants. On top of that, he's a genuinely nice guy who made me and my family feel really special on our visit to his commissary and dairy.