Past Newsletters

Vol. 5 No. 10

Delectable Treats for October, Great Gifts for the Entire Year!

Your cheese selection this month will transport you to a time when the perfect balance of tradition and quality made many cheeses legendary. Those same qualities come together in this month’s shipment, culminating in a tasting experience that is truly unsurpassed. We always encourage you to share your savory cheese selections with others, but considering that it’s already October, you might want to bear in mind that the holidays are fast approaching! Instead of sharing your own precious supply, why not give a gift membership—they make unforgettable presents. The Cheese of the Month Club offers a host of ideas for that October gift-giving goblin inside of you, and along with our other clubs, it’s sure to satisfy the budding, or the experienced, gourmands in your life.

Complete your gift purchasing before Thanksgiving and you can have the luxury of actually enjoying the Holidays! We will ship your gifts for you and send personalized Gift Announcements on the dates that you select. For unique gift ideas, ask about our special prices for a combination of several orders.

Taleggio

Cave-aging and the Best in Italian Grazing…

Our first selection this month is the creamiest member of the renowned Italian Stracchino cheeses. Stracchino means ‘tired,’ referring indirectly to the time of year this cheese was originally made. It was in the fall that cows were brought from their alpine pastures to their valley pastures, and it stands to reason that the cows were indeed tired from the journey. If not the cows, then certainly the herders! These days Taleggio is made year round.

Taleggio bears the name of the valley in which it originated, located in the historic region of Bergamo, Italy. Following its debut on the international cheese markets after World War I (around the same time as its cousin Bel Paese), Taleggio quickly became a worldwide hit. It is a rough, rosy crust cheese enveloped in an inedible rind. The light yellow interior and buttery, fruity, and slightly salty flavor are among Taleggio’s most distinctive qualities. Its soft and potently flavorful interior is creamy in texture and has a pungent aroma, and overall this cheese is particularly savory due to its 48% fat content.

This cheese was first made in the area of Val Taleggio as early as the tenth century, but the name Taleggio (pronounced tahl-EH-zhee-oh) has only been in use since the early 20th century. Val Taleggio is in the northern region of Italy known as Lombardy, bordering the Swiss Alps. Here, climatic conditions are exceptionally favorable for abundant and superior quality silage for dairy cows. Coupled with unspoiled high pastureland where commercial fertilizers and other chemicals are restricted, the area is a cheese-maker’s paradise.

Approximately 1000 years after it was first enjoyed, Taleggio was designated an Italian cheese of Denomination of Origin in 1988. In 1996, it was bestowed the European acknowledgment of Denomination of Protected Origin, ensuring that its production and commercialization are controlled and guaranteed by the Association for the protection of Taleggio cheese. Today, this cheese is made all throughout Lombardy, and also the regions of Piedmont and Venetia.

The Origin of Taleggio Dates Back Over 1,000 Years!!

Taleggio cheeses were originally matured in the caves of Valsassina, in the province of Como. These caves are particularly renowned thanks to deep fractures in the rocks; they provide a unique climate that favors maturation and the growth of molds on the rind.
The inside of the cheese, referred to as the dough, is semi-soft and rather streaky with small straw color eyelets. It is pale ivory to pale yellow in color, with a compact consistency. The dough becomes softer near the rind, more firm toward its center. As Taleggio ages, it darkens to deep yellow and becomes rather runny.

In Italy, Taleggio is a typical, yet outstanding table cheese, eaten either at the beginning or the end of a meal. It pairs nicely with robust wines, such as Red Franciacorta, Pavian, Oltrepò, Piave Merlot, Pinot Nero, and Red Piceno. Many Italians consider it a splendid dessert cheese and often serve it with apples and pears. We suggest including pecans as well in this very flavorful, fun mix.

Wensleydale

History in the Making

From the northern county of Wensleydale, England, a few miles northwest of York, comes our second featured cheese. This region is also known as The Dales, and the name is practically synonymous with quality cheese-making. Cheeses originating from The Dales have their beginnings in Roman times. Talk about exceedingly deep-rooted traditions and ancient cheese-making recipes! There is justification in saying that William the Conqueror and other infamous figures of history enjoyed cheese made from the very same recipe as the cheese you are about to sample.

All cheeses bearing the name Wensleydale were originally produced from sheep’s milk and briefly aged into a soft, moist, blue cheese. This was to change by the middle of the 17th century when cows replaced sheep as the main source of milk for Wensleydale cheeses. Further change ensued with the boom that was the Industrial Revolution. Concomitant standardization and large scale factory-based production ushered in a major change to the character and style of Wensleydale. It became a harder textured cheese with no bluing and was sold quite young. By the end of World War II, there were less than a dozen farms left making Wensleydale.

To compound these less than enhancive alterations, in the 1950’s the Milk Marketing Board began to lay out strict guidelines for cheese-making. These guidelines didn’t take flavor or tradition into consideration—they were all based on percentages, yields and standardization—none of which are satisfactory criteria for producing full-flavored cheese. Unfortunately, in utter frustration the last few farmhouse Wensleydale cheese-makers threw up their hands in duress, with the exception of a lone creamery that continued to make the “real” Wensleydale.

Wensleydale Creamery holds the distinction as the only company in the world that still makes Wensleydale the way it was made for hundreds of years, before implementation of the sweeping changes described above. This is not to say that they are the only producers of so called ‘Wensleydale’ cheese. Many producers make and market the cheese, which is produced in huge factories that also make numerous other cheeses, which peculiarly all taste pretty much the same. Their distinction comes only in the form of varying labels, not authentic flavors.
If you are ever in England, keep an eye out for a rare and delicious cheese, Blue Wensleydale. The celebrated blue-veined Wensleydale requires six months to mature. It has a smooth creamy texture similar to Stilton but with a more mellowed flavor. Until the 1920’s, Wensleydale cheese was almost entirely recognized as the blue veined cheese we now know as Blue Wensleydale. This original variation may be a bit tougher to come by, but if you ever do find it, snatch it up and savor this historical treasure of a cheese!

8 Pints of Milk in Every Pound

Hand crafted, wrapped in muslin cheesecloth or wax, this delicious, creamy-white, flaky cheese is pure, natural and wholesome. The fresh milk drawn from cattle grazing in the sweet limestone Wensleydale meadows, and of course, eating the wild herbs growing in this area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, gives this cheese its distinctive and extraordinary flavor. Designated an Environmentally Sensitive area, the use of artificial chemicals and fertilizers is expressly restricted in this region, ensuring an honest, completely natural composition of ingredients in each batch that leaves the Wensleydale Creamery.

Le Chevrot

C’est La Vie Magnifique!

The glorious valley of the Loire in central France is rich in history, architecture and cuisine. Its sophisticated cities, luxuriant landscapes, magnificent foods, and superb wines add up to a bourgeois paradise. Orleans was France’s intellectual capital in the 13th century, attracting artists, poets and troubadours to the Royal Court. But this medieval court was fickle in their fancies, never staying in one place for long, which led to the building of magnificent châteaux all along the Loire River.

The lush Loire Valley is renowned for these regal relics of royal days gone by, as well as its vast array of remarkable vineyards and wines. Of course, we would be remiss to omit mention of the stunning diversity of cheeses that come from the area—especially since we are featuring the very delicious Le Chevrot which comes to us from this famed valley.

The Loire Valley is particularly famous for its goat’s milk cheeses that come in a wide array of shapes—you’ll find anything from pyramids, wheels, truncated cones, hearts, logs and cylinders. This style of cheese was probably introduced to the region in the eighth century, when the Saracen invaders from Spain reached the southern banks of the Loire River. Most of the invaders were later repelled, but some remained with their goat herds, ultimately providing the foundation for these famous Chevres (incidentally, ‘chevre’ means goat in French.)

Like many cheeses from the area, this cheese has been described as a French masterpiece. It is an unquestionably superb goat’s milk cheese, handmade near the province of Poitou (which borders the Loire Valley to the southwest) with a fresh, buttery, faintly winy taste, and an inviting aroma of ripe figs. It is also known for having a distinct freshness of flavor and a supple, lush quality that is nothing short of magnificent, with a slightly nutty, almost fermented taste that borders on the addictive. You’ll find this cheese encased in a wrinkly rind that is edible; eating the rind will strengthen the flavor of Le Chevrot. The cheese itself is a moderately aged cheese and serves as an excellent compromise between mild taste and rich texture. Its flavor intensifies when grilled, and in fact, broiled Chevre is the basis of a delicious Chevre salad popular throughout France. The serving of this particular salad is often performed to mark the beginning of the spring season.

Extraordinary French Goat Cheese Salad for Two

• 6 slices of Le Chevrot: cut horizontally into discs 1/4 inch thick.
• 6 wonton wrappers and olive oil for frying
• Mixture of your favorite leafy greens (spinach, mesclun, cos lettuce)
• Your favorite vinaigrette (or try ours: olive oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper)

Wrap each slice of cheese in a wonton wrapper and set aside in fridge. Prepare leafy greens in a bowl, and whip up a fresh batch of your favorite vinaigrette. Dress and toss salad and separate onto 2 plates.

Heat oil in a fry pan to a medium heat and gently place cheese wrapped in wonton wrappers into pan. Fry for about 2-3 minutes or till wonton wrappers are golden. Flip over and cook other side.

When golden, remove and place 3 pieces on each salad. Serve immediately under sunny spring skies with a chilled bottle of white wine or champagne and a loaf of fresh & crusty French bread.

Note: An alternative to frying the cheese is to place slices of cheese onto pieces of toast and broil under heat till golden brown, then serving on your salad.

Le Chevrot is yet another delectable treat from the prolific plentitude of the Loire Valley region. The region is not simply a geographical locale, it is a rich producer of culture and cuisine, contributing many of the wines and cheeses that so greatly enhance, and even help to define in many cases, the culture of all French citizens. Like the river Loire, this vast region runs through the very heart of French life. A vacation to the area is always recommended, though winter months are less desirable of course, unless you’re heading east to ski the Alps. Fall and spring are incredible seasons for vacationing in the valley. For more information, visit the following site, and if you elect to visit France, Bon Voyage! http://www.franceway.com/regions/loire/intro.htm

Tasting Notes:

Taleggio: You’ll find that Taleggio lends magic to the preparation of pastas, risotto, soups, omelets, and on just about any pizza. Taleggio is exceedingly versatile in many recipes because it melts and browns nicely. To fully appreciate its flavor and aroma, Taleggio is best consumed at room temperature. The flavor, depending upon the age, is described as “sweet, buttery and delicate with aromatic shadings,” or “nutty and meaty with a wonderful salt-smack” in the finish. Once maturation is reached the taste gets decidedly spicier and more peppery. Try grilling a Portobello mushroom and melting a generous amount of Taleggio on top. Add a young red wine from Northern Italy like Valpolicella and Bardolino or a Beaujolais (Gamay) and you’ve got a gourmet appetizer to any dinner!

Wensleydale: Descriptions of White Wensleydale are somewhat paradoxical. It is firm but not dry or hard; creamy with a surface that is crumbly; slightly sweet but also tart in flavor. As a reward for cutting real Wensleydale, you always get some crumbs, just to give you an appetite! It is sometimes described as having a nutty, buttermilk flavor complemented with a honey aftertaste, and the gentle aroma of cut grass. It has a fine curd, minimal texturing, and high moisture content. Wensleydale is usually eaten young, at about a month old. This cheese goes well with crisp apple and is traditionally eaten with fruitcake. Some believe that apple pie without Wensleydale cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze!

Le Chevrot: Young Le Chevrot has off-white, slightly wrinkled rind. When very young, the cheese has a gentle, aromatic, yeasty taste and a fine, moist texture. As it gets older, the interior softens and the flavor becomes nuttier and fuller-bodied. At its peak age (which is what The Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club brings to you this month), the cheese is denser and creamier, and there is a fruity tinge to the taste. Le Chevrot is especially well-suited as a snack to enjoy with bread and your favorite authentic French champagnes or white wines from the Loire Valley.