Past Newsletters - August 2009

Compare and Contrast Two of the World’s Best Cheddars!

This month we present to you a unique opportunity; the option to compare two of the world's most delicious cheddars. One is traditionally British, aged for a year; the other is a classic example of Vermont's expertise in producing very mature, very sharp, extraordinarily tasty cheddar (this gem is aged no less than two years!). To round out this month's cheddar selections we offer the internationally adored Caerphilly.

The selection of a properly complementary beer will truly expand your tasting experience—sometimes making you feel as though you've gotten a different cheese for every beer! What many folks don't realize is that beer is simply wonderful with cheeses—and cheddar has an extensive history of being traditionally partnered with a variety of ales and lagers. If you're not already a member—you're missing out for sure! Visit us at www.BeerMonthClub.com for more information. Then again, the classic pairing of wine and cheese is something many wine and cheese lovers can only describe as "blissful". So check out our International Wine of the Month Clubs for more info at www.WineMonthClub.com. Now without further ado—let's get to this month's selections, shall we?

Our English Contender—Denhay Farm Cheddar

Denhay Farms, the source of your cheddar is based in the mild climate of the Marshwood Vale, in the United Kingdom. According to the website: “The farms are three miles from the sea immediately inland from Lyme Bay. Ranging from 200 ft. to 750 ft. above sea level, our Farm has an average rainfall of 36 inches and soil that is heavy clay. These are ideal grass growing conditions. We also grow maize, a high-energy cow food, for feeding to our herds in the winter when the cows are house. There are five herds of cows and we use only their milk to make our cheeses. We are passionate about the quality and consistency of our products and this quality has been recognized with all the UK's top food awards. It's our ambition to work with our customers to ensure that we meet or even exceed their expectations of taste, flavor, texture and presentation."

…in this corner, the American Contender – Vermont’s Grafton Cheddar

The Grafton Village Cheese Company is renowned for its Cheddar products In the US, as well as internationally. Founded in 1892 as a dairy cooperative, they have inspired and helped create an important part of the new wave of American farmhouse/artisan cheesemakers, who have been energizing our taste buds with distinctive farmhouse cheeses for the past decade or two. Your half pound block of Vermont Aged Cheddar has been hand cut from a 40 pound block and hand wrapped like most of the cheeses we send.

What you are about to taste is pure gold. We chose this cheddar because it's extraordinarily flavorful without the "bitter bite" that marks so many aged cheddars—it’s the epitome of Vermont cheddar. Although this bitterness is often associated with aged cheddar, maître fromagers and affineurs confirm that this is an undesirable characteristic—a sign of second-rate cheese making and/or less desirable milk. A well made cheddar will acquire depth in its flavor without bitterness. We know you'll be impressed by its complexity and intensity, by its exceedingly long and delicious finish and a sweetness that is remarkable for cheddar that’s been aged two years or more as this one has. With age, the texture becomes slightly drier so it's best to allow this cheese to fully warm to room temperature before cutting and serving.

Tasting Notes—Two Cheddars – You Choose the Winner!

What most farmhouse cheddar makers strive for is a breadth of flavors that develop with time. You'll know great cheddar if you can still taste the sweet nuttiness several minutes after you have finished your first mouthful. The aroma of authentic farmhouse cheddar will usually be nutty or grassy.

When you compare the tastes of the two cheddars, you'll see how all the little details of cheesemaking add up to big differences! Both cheeses are made from the same basic recipe, but there are many variables that alter the flavor, including the types of grasses that the cows eat (even the taste of the local waters), the qualities of milk the breed produces, the interpretation of the recipe used and of course, the aging. First—and this is important—allow each cheese to come up to room temperature and have a glass of water handy to clear your palate between tastings. Sample a small piece of each cheese, noting the texture and slowly allowing the cheese flavor to fill your mouth. Note the aroma: is it grassy? Or...? How would you describe it?  What is the "mouthfeel": is the texture dry and crumbly or smooth, buttery?  What are the main flavors you taste—are there hints of nuttiness, fruits, oakiness? How much "bite" is there, meaning how sharp is the taste on the tongue?

Caerphilly

This cheese was first made in 1830 on small farms close to the town and to the famous castle, called Caerphilly in Wales. Today, it's mainly produced across the River Severn in Somerset, which of course is British turf. Like most cheeses, it was originally created to use up surplus milk and was sold strictly locally. The Welsh mine workers would wrap the cheese in cabbage leaves to take as a handy self-contained lunch "down the pit"—so Caerphilly quickly became a miner's staple. It was thought that cheese absorbed the toxic substances which the miners inhaled (before the birth of Caerphilly, Somerset Cheddar had been the popular choice). Caerphilly cheese replaced more of the salt the miners lost while working and it had a fresher flavor and softer texture.

Caerphilly began to provide a source of income when marketed at the fairs during the early nineteenth century. Demand quickly exceeded supply so a cheese market was established including cheesemakers from Vale of Glamorgan to Chepstow. At the height of production, two and a half tons of Caerphilly was sold weekly. It was common to see the flat round cheeses, each weighing from five to ten pounds, being unloaded from horse drawn carts and wagons, and stacked in an open building on the town square. We’re confident you’re going to enjoy this delicious cheese from Abbey Farm.

Tasting Notes: This young cheese has an ivory white rind with a pale colored paste and semi-firm texture. It's a moist, crumbly cheese, and its flavor is usually described as salty buttermilk, slightly sour, but buttery. The nose is slightly sour but not at all overpowering. With its tangy taste and distinct smell, this gentle cheese is one you could probably pick out if you were blindfolded. Left to mature in moist cellars, the whitish moulds become thicker and more leathery. The cheese will be more rounded and creamier, and of course, the taste changes. Caerphilly's flavor is brought out when served alone or paired with dry white wines, bread and/or fruit.

How About Beer Instead of Wine with Your Cheese?

We're proud to bring you the best international cheeses each month, and cannot stress enough how well membership in our Beer if the Month Clubs will complement your monthly cheese selections.

There are plenty of folks out there who will swear by wine and cheese pairings alone. For many reasons, these two gustatory treats are often exclusively partnered. However, cheese and beer go exceptionally well together, as you can read about in the article that follows (excerpted from an article by Janet Fletcher, Staff Writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, printed February 17th, 2005).

"As a longtime cheese aficionado, The Chronicle's weekly cheese columnist and a nightly wine drinker, I've reluctantly concluded that many cheeses give wine, especially dry wine, a rough time. But after several weeks of "research", including two marathon tastings, I'm convinced that beer as a partner for cheese rarely stumbles. It takes some knowledge of beer and cheese to engineer the most harmonious marriages, but intolerable mismatches are rare.

Beer authorities offer several theories for their favorite beverage's superiority with cheese. For one, argues Mark Todd, a Sonoma County consultant who leads professional workshops on pairing cheese with wine and beer, the two products grew up together, on the farm, with farm women making both. These women would surely have wanted their beer to taste good with their cheese and vice versa. Furthermore, experts say, both beer and cheese are based on grain, although cheese's link to grain—via the grazing animal—is more attenuated.

Theories aside, beer excels with cheese because of the harmonies and contrasts the beverage brings to the match.

"'It's rare to find wines that echo any flavors in cheese,' says Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of New York's Brooklyn Brewery and author of The Brewmaster's Table (HarperCollins, 2003) “A nutty aged Gouda might find a complement in sherry,” he admits, 'but dry table wines largely lack the nut and caramel aromas found in aged cheeses, aromas plentiful in malty beers like nut-brown ales, stouts and porters.

"'With wine, you're almost always working just with contrasts,” says Oliver. “That's not as satisfying as also working in some harmonies.'

"Harmonic convergence happens when a sharp, bitter, hoppy India Pale Ale meets piquant, high-acid cheddar; or when a porter with its caramel and coffee notes encounters a smooth and sweet aged Gruyere."

"But contrast underlies some successful match-ups, too, especially the contrast that carbonation provides. Cheeses are high in fat, often creamy and almost always mouth coating. Beer, by virtue of its carbonation, is brisk and palate cleansing."

Some Guidelines for Pairing Beer and Cheese

Although you'll find plenty of matches out there that break the following rules, these guidelines are a good starting point for thinking about beer with cheese.

• Pair delicate beers with young, fresh cheeses.
• Pair malty beers with nutty, aged cheeses.
• Pair highly hopped, bitter beers with tart, sharp cheeses, especially cheddars.
• Pair strong, sweet beers with blue cheeses.

Culture Corner
Cheese	Pronunciation	Recommended Wine/Beer
English Cheddar	We think you know how to pronounce this one!	British Pub Ales, like Adnams Broadside or SSB, English Milds, and ESBs. Also nice with Champagne or Chardonnay.
Grafton 2-Yr. Aged Cheddar	See "English Cheddar" above.	Like the English Cheddar above, various beers make great partners for cheddar. For this sharp cheese, full-bodied, hoppy ales such as IPAs are the way to go, though you might consider a big-bodied lager such as a Double Bock, or even an Imperial Pilsner if you can find one. Full-bodied wines such as Cabernet, Rioja or Sauvignon Blanc are also appropriate.
Caerphilly	kar-FIHL-ee	Medium to full-bodied white wines such as Tokay, Chardonnay, Riesling, or Viognier; or light to medium reds made with either Gamay, Pinot Noir, Tannat, or Syrah. Sweeter Rieslings provide some of our favorite pairings.

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