Past Newsletters

Vol 4 No 6

Wake Up and Smell the Cheese!

As we look forward to whimsical, radiant and joyful days of summer, In Pursuit of Cheese will be sending you an assortment of harder cheeses. Hard cheeses are much better at coping with shipping during warmer days, and also, we all tend to use more hard cheeses during the summer months. We grate them on all kinds of salads and grilled foods, and take them on hikes and bikes for energy. We throw them in a bag with a loaf of bread and a jug of wine… and take off for a romantic spontaneous picnic!

This month all three of our cheeses are made from sheeps’ milk, or more technically correct ewes’ milk (the sheep is the male and it is pretty difficult to make cheese from a sheep). Ewes’ milk is perhaps one of our favorites for cheese. They produce only a very small amount of milk, but it is very rich and creamy, and quite high in protein. And ewes’ milk cheeses usually break down into smaller molecules enabling better digestion. In fact, many lactose intolerant people find that they can enjoy ewes’ and goat milk cheeses without the usual repercussions.

A Cacio de Roma Love Story

For Six Months, every day, Michele Buster ate lunch at the Sini family's restaurant, Buonatavola, in the Roman countryside. And every day, she tasted Sini Fulvi's own cheeses, and also other select cheeses from Portugal, Spain and Italy that C&H sends it’s members. As a club member, you already know that these are some grand cru cheeses! Michele, an American, traveling to such places as Barcelona, Ireland and Italy to set up International sporting events, fell profoundly in love with handcrafted European cheeses!

First, she fell in love with a particular cheese. When the waiters brought the wrong cheese, as sometimes happened, she would say, "No, No! Bring the one with the black label." The object of her obsessions was a semi soft, mildly peppery cheese called Cacio de Roma (Kah-cho day Ro-ma). It’s made from ewes’ milk and aged about a month.

Then, Michele fell overpoweringly in love with the guy who made her favorite cheese - Pierluigi Sini! So Ms. Buster moved - not to Italy, but back to Astoria in Queens. And Pierluigi Sini came with her to introduce his family's cheeses to America. (We wonder what Pierliugi thought of Manhattan?!) These days, Michele enthusiastically promotes cheese instead of sports, and gives seminars about the many aspects of handcrafted cheese making. For instance, Michelle has been know to fly to Wichita to educate the staff of a cheese store, in hopes of making them feel more comfortable about mold." Mold is natural and does not ruin cheese. That doesn't mean you must eat it, but you can safely eat the cheese beneath, “ says Michelle.

Family History

The Sini family has been making Cacio de Roma and other cheeses for over 30 years, beginning on a small dairy farm in the Village of Nepi, Province-Viterbo, Region - Lazio. Many of their cheeses are unusual or hard to find.

Second generation master cheesemaker, Uncle Domenico Sini, uses same-day sheep’s milk collected from local shepherds to produce Cacio de Roma in the same way as did his forefathers. Once the cheese obtains its form and some texture, it is bathed in sea salt for 24 hours and then aged on wood in cellars for 30 -60 days. The end result is a creamy textured cheese with a mild, balanced flavor finishing with a touch of fruit. It is the essence of the classic Italian table cheese found universally in Central and Southern Italy.

In Italy, this type of cheese is referred to as a Caciotta (Kah-CHO-ta) for its small round form. “Cacio”, meaning chesse, is generally used in Central and Southern Italy while “Formaggio” is the more recognized word in the rest of Italy. Not only is it enjoyed as a table cheese either before or after a meal, it is also used in everyday cooking as it melts very well. Some typical uses are as a filling for ravioli, in salads, on pizza and for simple things, like grilled cheese sandwiches.

Manchego, A Real Crowd Pleaser

So what flavors traditional Spanish cheese? Like all other farmhouse cheeses, look first to the land and what the animals eat, then what kind of an animal the milk comes from, and of course the process, the aging, and the cheesemaker. But perhaps nowhere else in the world is the type and breed of animal so influential in the flavor of the cheese, as it is in Spain.

Spain has over one hundred different varieties of cheese and a large percentage of them are made from ewes’ milk. More than 1,500 common species of sheep can be found in Spain! This diversity in breeds can be attributed to Spain’s size (the second largest country in the European Union) and more importantly, to its countryside, which ranges from alpine to desert-like conditions.

Manchego cheese is made exclusively from the milk of Manchega sheep, originating from the Entrefino breed. More than 90% of the animals are white and the rest are black. These sheep, used for both milk and meat, graze on the plains of southern central Spain, called La Mancha. The name La Mancha is derived from the Arabic word “manhsa,” meaning “land without water.” It can get pretty hot in this part of the world, so the fact that Manchega ewes can produce milk under these conditions is quite extraordinary. In fact, the Manchega’s milk capacity is quite astounding… the average milk production is 26.4 gallons per animal a year, being markedly seasonal during the months of April, May and June.

They graze mainly on dry pasture and leftovers of the grain harvest. In this region one can find a large variety of perennial plants and other aromatic species that have a determining influence on the milk composition. Manchega ewes are accustomed to roaming freely and are well adapted to cold windswept winters and extremely hot summers - temperatures reaching more than 122ºF! Eighty percent of the days are sunny, rain is scarce and irregular, and the wind changes constantly. You would think under these conditions the milk would be low in fats, but quite the opposite is true. Manchega milk is very fatty which results in a rich, full flavored, fragrant cheese with a subtle, salty, tang on the finish.

Today, Manchego is one of the most acclaimed ewes’ milk cheeses in the world and it comes with its own Denominacion de Origen designation, meaning it is a cheese of high integrity which meets specific criteria, such as the breed of sheep, and how and where it’s made. The Denomination Manchego includes the largest natural region of Spain, located in the center of the Iberian Peninsula. Its most northern part can be found 30 miles north of Madrid. This area is a plain with altitudes that range from 2,133 to 2,625 feet above sea level.

The rind of Manchego has a zigzagging crosshatch pattern on it. This was originally caused by the molds which were made from hand-plaited strands of a tough grass called esparto, and even though this grass is still found all over Spain, most cheesemakers now use plastic molds that make the same impression as the traditional grass. Just as long as the flavor is the same, it works for us.

Experience P'tit Basque, a Bit of the Old Country

P'tit Basque, made from pure ewes’ milk, has a rather dry texture and an earthy, nutty flavor.

This semi-hard ewes’ milk cheese is made in the French Pyrenees Mountain Range, the natural border that divides France and Spain. It is populated by the Basques, a people who have their own customs, and even their own language! Although the Basques live on both sides of the border, they produce this cheese on the French side. Amidst the breath taking, rolling mountains of the Pyrenees, vast pastures stretch as far as the eye can see, providing fertile grazing. The Pyrenees may be the most "flowerful" region in Europe that you will ever travel through.

The French Pyrenees Mountain Range is one of the few regions that is still home to hundreds of small cheesemakers. While industrially produced cheeses have made major gains in the lowlands, there are still hundreds of small mountain cheesemakers left who stick to the same traditional methods their ancestors established centuries ago. Amongst these smallholders, flocks average a hundred or two hundred sheep. They are still hand-milked, yielding the shepherd, on average, only two or three ten-pound wheels a day.

This is a labor-intensive cheese… the curd is "cut" literally, by hand. The cheesemakers reach an arm into their kettle of warm curd, and ever so slowly, they break it into small pieces from which the final cheese will be formed. This ancient technique protects the gentle flavor of the finished cheese. No wonder this cheese is a far cry from what we Americans have gotten used to in our super markets.

Hard Cheeses 101

If a cheese is easily grate-able and, when cut doesn’t leave any cheese on the knife, it’s usually classified as a hard cheese – some Cheddars, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, Manchego and Gouda are a few examples. Hard cheese comes in three styles: hard, semi-hard and cooked curd. It is solely the cheesemaking and aging process that determines the flavors and the degree of hardness, unlike mold ripened, washed rind, and blue cheese styles where mold plays an essential role in ripening and flavoring the cheese.

For hundreds of years it’s been customary to make hard cheese during the summer or fall when there was most often a surplus of milk. If a cheese was to last through the winter and early spring, it had to be sturdy enough to go the distance. In essence, hard cheese is the traditional way of preserving milk for the winter months, similar to canning fruits and vegetables.

Tasting Notes

The rich and creamy milk that comes from ewes’ makes resounding and intensely flavored cheeses. You will find that it only takes small amounts too satisfy your palate… in essence, you can get a lot more flavor from a lot less cheese.

Manchego This fragrant cheese has a complex and intense flavor, a wonderful nutty undertone, and a subtle, salty, tang on the finish. Manchego is usually aged 6 or more months. At any age Manchego is never overwhelming.

Manchego can be found in most Tapas bars in Spain, usually alone on a plate in fanned triangles, sliced thinly from the wheel. It’s usually accompanied by olives, chorizo sausage or Jamón serrano, and often washed down with a cava (sparkling white wine), fino (dry sherry), a light red wine, or some beer. IT would be the makings of a fine fiest with many of our Microbrews. Be sure to check out our Microbrew club at beermonthclub.com.

Sometimes Manchego is served as a light dessert accompanied by membrillo, fig wheels, and fresh fruit with honey. Try it grated over grilled vegetables – it’s a nice alternative to salt.

P'tit Basque Pyrenees cheeses aren't the kind that hit you over the head. Instead, they're lovely, smooth, subtle and fruity with a nice little bit of a nose - the kind of cheese you would eat every day at lunch, or with a simple dinner and a glass of dry white wine. Notice the floral and sweet caramel notes.

Cacio de Roma One of Sini Fulvi's own masterworks, is semi hard, mildly peppery and slightly acidic. This cheese that first brought Pierluigi and Michele together, comes in a "Rustico Black" made with whole black peppercorns, or a version made with crushed red pepper. It is great in lasagna, and in quesadillas, too.