Past Newsletters - May 2009
FEATURING THREE FABULOUS EUROPEAN CHEESES!
FETA—A GIFT FROM THE GODS
The Greeks have a long-standing tradition of exquisite cheesemaking. In Greek mythology, Aristaios, the son of Apollo and Cyrene, was sent to the Greeks as a gift from the gods to teach them the art of cheesemaking. Ancient texts, including those by Homer, reveal Greece’s oldest brined varieties existed as far back as 4000 BC. Today, many cheeses—including feta—from this small Mediterranean country have earned protection under the European Union’s PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin) provisions. Just one bite and you’ll understand why feta cheese has gained a reputation as some of the finest in the world. Many connoisseurs attribute the noticeable difference in taste and quality to the fresh ewe and goat’s milks used in its production. In the mountainous regions of Greece, goats and sheep graze on wild herbs and grasses, which grow naturally and abundantly without the use of fertilizers or pesticides.
We’re happy to bring you feta from the leading Greek manufacturer, producer, and exporter of authentic feta, Dodoni. The company was established in 1963 by the Agricultural Dairy Industry of Epirus, a mountainous region that occupies the northwest corner of the Greek peninsula (and the south of Albania). Produced exclusively from fresh pasteurized ewe’s and goat’s milk, feta is the most branded Greek cheese, now known worldwide, thanks, in part to Dodoni. They export feta to more than 30 countries, many of them in the European Union (EU), whose residents demand quality when it comes to cheese. Over the years, the company has received many awards for superior quality and standards from both domestic and international organizations, including the EU’s coveted “High Quality Award” for excellence in cheese products and the “Most Branded Product” prize from the Greek Chamber of Commerce.
Tasting Notes: Greece’s most famous traditional cheese, feta is an important part of the Greek diet and is used daily in salads, pastries, and a simple (and simply delicious) fried-cheese appetizer called “saganaki.” The fact that it’s made primarily from pure ewe’s milk (often with some goat milk) and ripened and stored in brine gives feta a salty, milky, slightly acidic taste. It’s best when eaten fresh; so if you will not be consuming it immediately, store it in milk. A milk bath reduces the saltiness and helps keep the cheese moist and mild in flavor. Allow a good thirty minutes for feta cheese to come to room temperature to fully enjoy its rich, tangy flavor and creamy texture. In Greece, it is often served simply with olive oil and oregano. (In the States we’re apt to add tomatoes and red onions. Yum!) Feta can also be used in salads, pies, omelettes, and soufflés. Properly stored in milk and refrigerated, feta cheese will last up to three months. Feta cheese does not freeze well, so we don’t recommend freezing it. Anchovies, lamb, tomatoes, basil, and black olives marry beautifully with feta.
FONTINA – ANOTHER GUSTATORY GIFT FROM ITALY
The Italian Alps, the highest mountains in Europe, lie in the northwest corner of Italy, near the French and Swiss borders. They are terraced by the steep-sided pastures of Valle d'Aosta, over which towers Mont Blanc. In spite of the very dry summers, these high-altitude pastures provide a wonderful variety of lush, unique grasses upon which graze cows whose milk gives us Fontina. Genuine Fontina is made only in Vale d'Aosta. It’s an ideal gustatory expression of this territory's inimitable character, its history, its hard-working people, and their love for the mountains. During the summer, the cheese is made at the chalets in the alpine pastures; and in the winter months, it’s made in creameries lower down in the valley.
Only fresh, raw (unpasteurized) milk from a single milking of Valdostana cows is used to make Fontina. The cheese is made twice every day, and it’s aged for a minimum of three months in natural environments. Each cheesemaker has his own favorite location for ripening his cheeses: caves, grottos, tunnels, even former military bunkers. One cooperative dairy uses an old copper mine! Fontina is perhaps one of the best Italian flavor experiences around: exotic, earthy, enchanting. Unfortunately, most Fontina available in this country is a pale imitation of Fontina, but the cheese you are about to taste is the real thing!
The cheese is made in large, 17- to 22-pound wheels, about 4 inches thick, and 18 inches in diameter. Its flavor is due in part to the incredible richly flavored milk it is made from, a natural result of cows feeding on the wide range of grasses and plants on the hillsides of the Italian Alps: flora untouched by chemicals. Fontina is 45% fat and has a thin, creamy brown to terracotta rind that is lightly oiled and uneven. The cheese is smooth and buttery, almost spreadable, when young. It’s milky, and you can detect the smell of the alpine meadows. It has a pale straw color and a few small holes fairly evenly distributed throughout. As the cheese matures, it becomes darker and much drier. The older cheese develops an earthly but fruity aroma and a mellow flavor that’s both nutty and fruity.
Authentic Fontina Valle d'Aosta has a mark on it that you can’t miss. Stenciled in purple on one side of the cheese is a large circle with a mountain in the center of it with the word “Fontina” printed across the mountain. Look also for the name of the local cooperative stenciled on the rind of each authentic Fontina cheese.
Fontina is a wonderful cheese for cooking and is a great table or dessert cheese. It melts into a creamy mass that works well for sauces. Fonduta, the Piedmontese version of fondue, uses Fontina instead of the Swiss Gruyere and also butter, eggs, and wild mushrooms. (Speaking of Swiss cheese, Fontina can also be substituted for Swiss Raclette.) Fontina is wonderful in Risotto. Actually, we would describe Fontina as a perfect anytime cheese that marries well with ham, salami, or pate. When melted, as it frequently is, the flavor is earthy and adds a depth of flavor to any dish that calls for cheese. Serve this cheese with celery or fruit, or use it for toasted or grilled sandwiches.
Fontina Imposters
Fontal, an imitation of Fontina, is a second-class cheese. It’s produced partly in France and partly in Italy, and the result is flavor that’s not consistent. Fontinella, Fontella, and Fontal are all brand names used by the big creameries of the Po Valley for their look-alike Fontina cheeses. They are often pleasant, but they are definitely not Italian Fontina!
Danish Fontina is a red-waxed cheese and is very bland and rubbery. Roth Kase Fontina comes from an American creamery in Monroe, Wisconsin, that uses a heat-treatment technique that does not capture all the flavor from the milk, but the cheese is good.
Tasting Notes: Fontina has enough flavors on its own to summarize the characteristics of the entire region of Italy called Valle d'Aosta. Fontina is dense, smooth, and slightly elastic. The straw-colored interior, with its small, round holes, has a delicate nuttiness with a hint of mild honey. This supple cheese's flavor hints of pristine forest floors, then shifts to a lovely yet powerful lingering scent of wild mushrooms.
DRUNKEN GOAT—INTOXICATING FLAVOR
Drunken Goat is an unusual goat cheese, so unusual, in fact, that finding it outside of Spain is quite a challenge. Thankfully, our traveling gourmand friends at Zingerman's were able to procure enough to supply our lucky members. So you ask, “What's with the name?” Perhaps you have images of goats weaving about the pasture, teetering, perhaps sparring, and maybe snoozing on their backs with hooves in the air pointing to azure blue skies. But just to clear the air, neither wine nor beer, nor any other form of spirits are fed to the goats. The name is a figurative one, referring to the manner in which this goat cheese soaks up the sumptuous red wine that it is bathed in.
Drunken Goat comes from the Murcia region of Spain, which is famous for its Doble Pasta wine as well as its excellent goat's milk. The milk used to make this cheese comes exclusively from Murciana goats. It is high in both fat and protein, giving this cheese its amazing creaminess. Drunken Goat is aged for a short period of time before being immersed in the Doble Pasta wine for 72 hours or so. The effect is not only to add flavor to the cheese, it also imparts an incredibly stunning violet color to the rind. Usually rinds are various shades of brown or cream, sometimes with moldy patches of blue. It is definitely unique for a cheese to have such a brilliantly colored, violet rind. Some have likened the hue to the fiery sunsets seen in the region where it is made. After the cheese has had its luxury Doble Pasta bath, it’s then aged for an additional 75 days to allow full maturation and intermingling of the cheese and wine flavors.
Tasting Notes: The Doble Pasta wine, which once bathed your Drunken Goat, is a young wine with pronounced flavors. It gives the cheese both its color and its flavor. You can expect to smell the aroma and taste the wine in the finish of the cheese. The flavor begins mild and oh-so-creamy, but finishes with a wonderful tangy sweetness and a fruity, luscious, grapey aroma. Serve it with desserts or as an appetizer.
Culture Corner |
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Cheese |
Pronunciation |
Recommended Wine/Beer |
Feta |
FET-uh |
Greek wine, Retsina, a pale ale |
Fontina |
fahn-TEE-nah |
Big Italian reds Barolo, Bardaresco, Nebbiolo |
Drunken Goat |
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Spanish reds, light fruity reds or whites |
