Past Newsletters

Vol. 5 No. 2

S.A.F.R. Port Salut The Trappist Cheese

SAFR Port Salut is smooth, delectable cheese made in the province of Brittany on the west coast of France. A region very similar to Maine, the countryside of Brittany is
bordered by the ocean, boats and fish,
and is steeped in coastal weather ex-tremes. It has been said that Brittany
is more influenced by England than
its own motherland. It also happens to
be great dairy territory - it's responsible for 20% of France's entire cattle raising, produces 20% of its milk and 33% of
its butter.

Port Salut (pronounced POOR sah-LEW)
has an honorable past and fascinating history. Originally named Port du Salut after the abbey of Notre Dame du Port du Salut in Entrammes, it was produced in the mid 1800's by Trappist monks, strictly for consump-tion at the monastery. In 1873, the Abbot visited Paris and negotiated a distribution agreement with a Parisian cheesemonger. A year later sales of this disc shaped cheese were phenomenal - enough to incline the monks to register Port Salut as a trade name to guard against imitations. It has also been said the origin of Port Salut is closely linked to the French Revolution of 1789. Escaping from the persecutions of the "Terror," a congregation of Trappist Monks set themselves up abroad and learned how to make cheese for their very survival. Upon returning to France in 1815 they built a new abbey and continued to expand their cheese production. The name later became the registered trademark of the Société Anonyme des Fermiers Réunis for Saint-Paulin which is what the SAFR stands for.

Produced in thick disks of about 9 inches in diameter and weighing about 5 pounds, Port Salut keeps well for several weeks, or longer, if securely wrapped. The rind of the cheese is slightly moist and colored, with regular traces of the cloth used
in production. Affinage (refining) takes one month as the cheese is polished with brine, which also contributes to its rich flavor. The result is an exquisite cheese with an orange rind and pale-yellow interior. A cheese that pairs beautifully with Chinon and Bourgueil wines, it's also a perfect partner for fruit and makes any cheese board more tempting.

Tasting Notes

Port Salut is a semi-soft natural cheese that is most recognized by its orange rind. It is rather mild with a savory, sweet flavor, unlike many other French cheeses. It is a cheese that has universal appeal with its smooth, velvety texture and light acidic taste. The pâte is elastic, cream-colored, soft, and supple with a very faint aroma. Bon appetit!

St. Andre

The Triple Crème de la Crème

A country cheese maker started the St. Andre Creamery in Villefranche de Rouergue, France, (the famed region that gives us Roquefort cheese) back
in 1928. More than 40 years later, a soft-ripened, triple-cream cheese named St. Andre made its debut.
With a taste described as a blend of the perfect brie mixed with equal parts of thick, sour cream and whipped sweet cream, St. Andre is a cheese for the uncompromising connoisseur. A soft-ripened cheese with bloomy rind, it has a downy white, edible rind with
a smooth paste. Being made from cow's milk and enriched with pure cream, gourmands consider it a treasure. St. André is also fairly rare. Its "triple-creme" status means that that this beauty has no less than 75% butterfat for every 100 grams of cheese. It's about 50% richer than the average Camembert, and it gets that way by adding more cream to the already rich curds during the cheese-making process, resulting in a cheese that resembles a beautiful, velvet-coated cheesecake.

This sinful delicacy is beautifully paired with a light, fruity rosé or ale - and no cheeseboard should be served without it. To appreciate its nuance of flavors, we suggest indulging in this cheese at room temperature without the "dis-traction" of strongly flavored bread or crackers. Wait until the aftertaste of the cheese has "set" before taking a sip of wine or other accompaniments. We know that, once you taste St. Andre, you'll want to indulge in this seduc-tress again and again.

Tasting Notes

The intensity of flavors in St. Andre varies from being pleasantly creamy to a rich, buttery taste due to the addition of sweet cream. Many connoisseurs describe it as being as lush, creamy, and rich as cream cheese.

English Cheddar from Singletons Dairy

Cheddar is one of the few cheeses where
the mere mention of the name gets you salivating... the flavor just gets better with each mouthful, tantalizing your taste buds every time.

So cheddar is cheddar, right? Definitely not! Cheddar is made in just about every English speaking country, and just as different countries have different accents, so do they make different cheddar.

Your English Cheddar comes from Single-ton's Dairy, a fourth generation success story. Eighty years ago at Beacon Fell, a picturesque part of Bleasdale Village in Lancashire, the Singleton family began making cheese in their farm house kitchen. Today, they are proud to have passed these years of experience down through the family and on to their dedicated staff - some have been with them for over 35 years! All of the milk comes from local dairy farms, which boast some of the most sump-tuous grazing in the UK. Their dairy makes several varieties of coveted chees-es, and Grandma Singleton would be filled with pride and satisfaction to know that her recipes are so very much appreciated.

Whats in a Name?

There are two theories on how Cheddar got its name. The first is that its named after the English town Cheddar in south-western England, where cheddar was first made. The other theory is that the name derives from one of the steps in the cheese-making process. After the cows milk curd is scalded twice, it is "cheddared" by repeatedly being cut up to remove whey and to break the curd until it is smooth and silky.

We love English Cheddar for its, buttery, nutty, richness, without the slightest hint of bitterness or bite. This richness and creaminess can in part be attributed to the Brown Swiss cows milk that English Cheddar is made from. This breed is renowned for having a very good fat-to-protein ratio which results in a fantastically, full flavored cheddar.

The flavor of Cheddar is often described as "Sharp," which is a direct relation to the acidity level... the higher it is, the sharper the cheese tastes. It is very easy to put this "sharpness" into cheese, and it actually kills other flavors. So what most farmhouse cheddar makers strive for is a breadth of flavors that develop with time. Youll know great cheddar if you can still taste the sweet nuttiness several minutes after you have finished your first mouthful.

Tasting Notes

The aroma of authentic farmhouse cheddar should be nutty or grassy, with a rich texture and complex flavors ranging from fruity to a woody oakiness. The color of the cheese should range from straw yellow to beige, and the texture should be open with a few cracks... rather than rubbery and dense, which indicates factory processing.

CHEDDAR
SIDE-NOTE

Bill Riding, Colin Wells, John Carr, and the Singletons staff will never forget
being invited to Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queens Awards for the best English cheesemongers. Her Majesty the Queen actually singled out the Singletons for a post presentation chat!