Past Newsletters - December 2010

Say Cheese & Smile This Holiday Season!

…scuse me while I kiss the sky
Purple haze all around… —Jimi Hendrix

Cypress Grove Purple Haze

Cheese aficionados are no doubt familiar with Cypress Grove's Humboldt Fog, which is famed in the San Francisco Bay area and beyond. Thankfully, they've done it again, to paraphrase Britney; but it's a classic Jimi Hendrix song, not one of hers, that inspired the name of another unique cheese from the renowned northern California cheesemaker. The name refers to the appearance of this 3-inch round chevre disk which contains flakes of lavender buds and wild harvested fennel pollen in the goat's milk cheese. Believe it or not, there was a time goat cheese wasn't popular in the United States. Just twenty-five years ago, all the goat cheese sold in the United States was imported from Europe. Then, a few enterprising Americans — mostly women and mostly in northern California— began raising goats and making small batches of goat cheese in their kitchens.

Mary Keenh, founder and owner of Cypress Grove Creamery, was one. In the 1970s she began raising Alpine goats because she wanted a source of healthy milk for her children. Happily for us, she had a natural talent for raising goats. By selectively breeding her goats, Mary began winning numerous awards and soon gained fame as America's premier breeder of Alpine dairy goats. As her goats continued to thrive, she was faced with an unanticipated consequence—lots and lots of surplus milk from fifty goats! So she began dabbling in cheesemaking—creating unique and delicious recipes. It soon became clear that, in addition to selective goat breeding, she had a natural flair for cheesemaking. So in 1983, with the help of family and friends, Mary made the move from kitchen hobbyist to cheesemaking entrepreneur by founding Cypress Grove.

From the get-go, quality was paramount to Mary. Her goal was to make the highest quality, tastiest, artisanal cheeses – which is not to say they were quickly accepted by Americans. At the time, too many of us consumed bland, sliced "cheeses" wrapped in plastic. Those who were open to goat cheese had become accustomed to the strong, tangy chevre cheeses of France. Fortunately, people—and palates—can be educated. It took quite a few years, but eventually consumers developed an appreciation for the smooth, delicate flavors of Cypress Grove cheeses. Patience, hard work, and a commitment to quality paid off, and over time a large, loyal following began to seek out the Cypress Grove label. Today, Cypress Grove is a leader in the domestic goat cheese market. Internationally awarded for excellence, they're renowned for their innovative range of fresh, aged, and ripened cheeses — many invented by Mary.

All fresh goat cheese should be kept as cold as possible without freezing (33°–35°F). To open the cheese, simply cut around the edge with kitchen shears and lift off the top and bottom of the package. If you don't consume all of it upon first opening, wrap the leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and place in the coldest part of your refrigerator. As with most artisan cheeses, bring the portion you plan to serve to room temperature to enhance the depth of flavor.

Tasting Notes: This 3-inch round chevre has a sweet, flowery (but not overwhelming) flavor and a soft, creamy texture. Enjoy it with crackers, ripe figs, and a red Zinfandel or with slices of kalamata olive bread and a glass of your favorite light red.

Pinconning – a Gift from America’s Heartland

Carr Valley Cheese has been making cheese in Wisconsin for over a century and they’ve become one of the finest specialty cheese manufacturers in the States.  Fourth-generation owner Sid Cook is one of just a few certified Master Cheesemakers in the U.S., a distinction awarded only to veteran Wisconsin cheese artisans who complete a rigorous fifteen-year training program. Not surprisingly, Carr Valley cheeses have won more than 80 awards in international and U.S. cheese competitions in the past three years alone, 18 of them thus far this year!  Many of the cheeses are one of a kind—cheeses Sid calls "American Originals." They represent the "Carr doctrine": creating cheeses with a unique blend of Old World craftsmanship and New World innovation.

Pinconning is a yellow semi-hard style cheese with an open texture, which allows it to age quite well from mild to super sharp. It's made from whole cow's milk. Its name comes from the Michigan city of Pinconning, which today is designated "The Cheese Capital of Michigan" because it is the home of the now-famous Pinconning brand. It was first produced there in 1915 by a cheesemaker named Dan Horn, who decided to age Colby longer. Today, Pinconning cheese is produced in other places, mostly in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Tasting Notes: Pinconning's flavor and texture are unusual, rich and creamy with an open texture. This cheese is typically eaten instead of cheddar or Colby, and works well in macaroni and cheese or in omelets and soufflés. Other products made from Pinconning Cheese are cheese spreads in many flavors.

Société Bee Roquefort—Scrumptious Serendipity!

Legend has it that a young shepherd was guarding his herd of ewes near the Grotte du Combalou, a large cliff face that dominates the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in the beautiful Aveyron region of south central France. He was just about to prepare his midday meal when he noticed a beautiful young lady in the distance. Fascinated, he attempted to follow her. He left his dog to look after the herd and hid his lunch—of bread and cheese—in the cool, damp rocks of a grotte ("cave" in French). Sadly, the shepherd never found the young woman and returned to his herd disappointed.

Months later he came upon the lunch that he had hidden. The bread had decomposed, leaving the cheese with streaks of blue veins. In a move most of us today would question, he tried the abandoned cheese and found the taste remarkable. Thus Roquefort cheese was born. It did not take long for the shepherd to share this alchemy of milk, bread, air and time with his fellow herdsmen. Soon many caves had been converted into cabanes en bois or "huts of wood," so named for the oak planks built in the interior of the caves where cheeses are left to ripen.

Roquefort cheese is said to date back to the time of Pliny the Elder in ancient Rome (circa 75 AD), and the center of Roquefort cheesemaking has always been Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. The cheese's name-controlled AOC status is probably the oldest in all of France. Today it's made with pure sheep's milk which is inoculated with a special type of blue mold, penicillium roqueforti, obtained from bread left to mold in the caves of the Combalou Mountains, where the original Roquefort cheese was accidentally created. Ripening is of paramount importance and takes a minimum of three months. Cheese that can legally be sold as Roquefort is ripened in only one area—in the caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in the chalky Combalou Mountain area. The region has an abundance of caves due to a geological accident that occurred long ago. Then an extensive clay bed partially collapsed in the same region, creating vertical faults and fissures in the caves which provide ventilation, a necessity for making the cheese.

Roquefort begins, as all cheese does, at dairy farms, where it's salted and then pierced with needles. It is then placed in the caves, on top of oak planks in long rows filling the natural caves. There the cheese matures under the careful watch of maîtres-affineurs, or master "maturers." The well-known green-blue marbled appearance of Roquefort develops when the cool, damp air is swept into the caves through the fissures, developing the roqueforti mold in the cheese's pierced channels.

To prevent Roquefort from drying out and to ensure that its deliciously unctuous texture remains well preserved, it should always be kept in its original wrapping or protected by a sheet of aluminum. Since most of us don't have a damp, cool cellar in which to store our cheese, keep your Roquefort on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator. As with other fine cheeses, avoid drastic changes in temperature, as this can ruin the cheese.

Tasting Notes: Roquefort has a tingly pungent taste, a distinct bouquet, and a flavor that combines the sweet burnt-caramel taste of sheep's milk with the sharp, metallic tang of the blue mold. When destined for a cheese board, Roquefort should be brought to room temperature at least one hour before being served, just like a good wine. Only at room temperature will it offer the full splendor of its aroma, softness, and sophisticated flavor. Serve it after dinner with sweet fruit and wine – a perfect dessert.

Culture Corner
Cheese	Pronunciation	Recommended Wine/Beer
Pinconning	Pin-CON-ing	A pale ale or dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc or pinot gris matches well.
Purple Haze	PUR-pull-hayz	Fill your glass with dry reds. Also works with an oaky chardonnay.
Roquefort	ROKE-fore	Try a Rhone red, a sweet white Sauterne, or a dry Riesling. Excellent when paired with Port.

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