Past Newsletters

November 2007

Traditional European Cheeses: Sophistication for Any Cheese Board

English Cotswold: The Pub Cheese!

The cheese called Cotswold is named after a picturesque area of Britain – Gloucestershire County, on the northern edge of the southwest region. Covering over 1,025 square miles, it is known for its natural beauty with agricultural industries in farming, forestry and horticulture and wool. Geographically, it splits into three areas, the Cotswolds, the Royal Forest of Dean and the Severn Vale with a total population of about 570,000.
English Cotswold cheese, a variation of "Double Glouster", was originally made from the rich milk of the black cattle of Glouster and traditionally made in Glouchestershire, in the Cotswolds. A classic blend of chopped chives and onion, coupled with a quality Double Gloucester cheese, this cheddary and smooth delight is a modern rendition of an old British favorite (which lacked the vegetable component). It is similar to cheddar, however, this firm cheese is aged for three to four months, so it is not as hard and is actually milder and less sharp. It melts well, similarly to cheddar, and is often served melted on slices of bread. It is golden yellow to orange in color.

These days, Double Glouster, and thus, Cotswold, is made in both pasteurized and unpasteurized varieties. Like most hard cheeses, this cheese can be stored for at least a month in the refrigerator, so you needn't be in a hurry to finish it off, though we suspect you just might after you taste it.

Cotswold is known in Britain as "Pub Cheese," so fetch your beer mugs and have them at the ready!

Your Cotswold comes from the Clawson dairy and is a long-standing member of the Clawson product line. See the Clawson recipes for Cotswold cheeses at http://www.clawson.co.uk/recipes.asp.

Tasting Notes: The harmonious blend of mellow cheese and powerful vegetables makes Cotswold a terrific complement to the softer, milder flavors on your cheese board. A simple preparation called "the ploughman's lunch" is easily the most universal of British pub snacks. It consists of a cut of Cheese, a home-baked bread roll, pickled onions and a pint of beer. The classic ploughman's is served with a generous slice of farmhouse Cheddar, but different pubs offer different cheeses to round out the meal. We encourage you to try making your own ploughman's lunch by pairing your cheese with hard-crusted bread and strong dare ale.

Havarti

A rare luxury in the United States, Havarti is a surface-ripened cheese originally made in the mid-19th Century by Dutch settlers in East Prussia near the town of Tilsit. Trying to recreate their own beloved Gouda, the cheese became infected with molds, yeasts, and bacteria while being aged in a damp cellar. Thus Tilsit, also known as Tilsit Havarti, was born. Although similar, this Danish cheese has a fuller and more intense flavor than the regular Havarti. Having a brownish-orange washed rind and made of partially skimmed milk, this exquisite cheese has a rich yellow color with a springy elastic semi-firm texture, making it ideal for slicing. Danish Tilsit also has a piquant flavor lending it nicely as a wonderful table cheese. Extremely versatile, Tilsit can be cubed in salads, melted in sauces, on potatoes, flans, or on burgers. And, it has the added value of marrying perfectly with a clean, crisp Danish pilsner!

Tasting notes: Havarti is a Dutch cheese, and is similar to a Monterey Jack. It has a lot of "eyes" (tiny holes) throughout the cheese, and a soft almost springy texture. Havarti has a mild flavor, and is great to use in a variety of ways. It works in salads, sandwiches, omelets and can even be sliced and fried! It's named after the farm in Denmark where it was first created, and is one of the most accessible cheeses in the world

Saga

No, this is not a prose narrative usually written in Iceland between 1120 and 1400, dealing with the families that first settled Iceland and their descendants, with the histories of the kings of Norway, and with the myths and legends of early Germanic gods and heroes. Rather, a wonderful culinary delight we're pleased to introduce to you.

Saga is a blue veined cheese, originally made in Denmark. It's essentially a cross between a blue mold cheese and a brie, so it has a delicate blue cheese flavor, with a quite soft and almost spreadable texture. It's great in salads and as a snack cheese, and is a really nice introduction to blue cheeses due to its mild flavor.

Tasting Notes: Saga is an excellent dessert cheese that should be served with fruit and wine. It is also an excellent cheese in salads or as a snack on a cracker.

Cheese and Beer - A Match Made in Heaven

Cheese and Beer? The idea of the twosome is hard for many to swallow when in fact the mix of cheese and beer goes way, way back. In Belgium, during the Dark Ages, monasteries were famous for their exceptional beers and cheeses - part of their daily diets and a stable form of income. Today most bars in Belgium will serve bowls of cubed, semi-soft cheese that has been sprinkled with celery salt to accompany your malt beverage. It is a melding of a gastronomic sensation of heavenly proportions.

And we bet you thought wine went with cheese. It sure does, and that's exactly what the public is fed by the mainstream "food & wine" press. Cheese can make an unpalatable wine tasteful, and better yet, complement a great wine. However the pairing of wine with foods sometimes tends to overpower the latter, killing any chance your taste buds might have of getting the fullest enjoyment out of the pairing. But hey, this is not a piece on wine (and we all love wine) so let's move on.

Generally, beer and cheese are farmhouse products. Not too long ago in Great Britain, the average farmer's diet consisted of cheese, beer and cold meat - this commonly referred to as "ploughman's lunch" still a menu item in pubs to this day. The farmers produced cheese when they had a surplus of milk that they wanted to keep, and then they brewed their beer in the winter when they couldn't farm. Both come from the same source too - grass. Barley, used in making beer, is a grass and milk is a byproduct of a cow eating grass. The result? Cheese and beer complement each other because they share some of the same flavors. The carbonation in beer also lifts the palate and brings out many nuances in the cheese.
So, just how do you pair cheese and beer? Foremost is using your own personal preference whether you are cooking with cheese or just serving it alone. Try pairing complex cheeses with complex beers. You can also try and make a perfect match or play around and make nuanced contrasts. Here are some examples:

Wheat Beers work well with Feta and goat cheese. Generally, the more pungent the cheese the more full character you want in your Wheat Beer. Schneider Hefe-Weizen, Weihenstephan Hefe-Weizen, and UFO Hefeweizen are suitable pairings.

A formless cow's cream, cheese called Mascarpone that is used in desserts and sauces pairs great with most Fruit Beers. Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, Magic Hat #9, Melbourne Bros. Strawberry or Apricot.

Muenster, American cheese, Havarti and Monterey Jack go great with moderately hoppy Pilsners like Radeberger, Harpoon Pilsner and Stella Artios.

Gloucester, Colby and Cheddar with robust Brown Ales. Sam Smith Nut Brown, Shipyard Brown or Brooklyn Brown will suffice quite well.
Creamy Blues and Gorgonzola meld beautifully with Barleywines. Fuller's Vintage Ale, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Brooklyn Monster and Rouge Old Crustacean make for a great counterpart.

Stilton and Roquefort and have a pungent character so there is need for a strong Belgian Ale like Duvel, Lucifer, Northcoast Pranqster, Chimay Blue, and Unibroue Don de Dieu.

Emmental, Gruyére and Swiss with Dark Lagers, Bock Beer, or Oktoberfest Beer. Their sizable maltiness fits well against the nutlike meaty character. Harpoon Octoberfest or Munich Dark, Sam Adams Octoberfest or Double Bock, Salavator, Celebrator and Dornbusch Bock are appropriate choices.

Romano or Parmesan with moderately hoppy Amber Ales and Pale Ales like Stone Cat Ale, Harpoon Ale, Ipswich Ale, Magic Hat Bob's 1st Ale, Shoal's Pale Ale.

When the cheese is part of a salad, try enjoying it with an India Pale Ale (IPA), with their fruity maltiness and citrus-like bitterness. Wolaver's IPA, Harpoon IPA and Tremont IPA are all suitable.

Now because we're not all connoisseurs who have this stuff down by heart, we've created a simple guide. It's an ideal starting point for the novice cheese and beer enthusiast.

• Parmesan with Amber Lager
• Feta with Wheat Beer
• American Cheese with Pilsner
• Colby with Brown Ale Sharp
• Cheddar with Pale Ale
• Gorgonzola with Barleywine
• Mascarpone with Fruit Beer
• Gruyére with Bock Beer
• Swiss Cheese with Octoberfest Beer

Remember, the most important thing is to have fun with this and experiment with your own tastes!

Culture Corner
Cheese	Pronunciation	Recommended Wine/Beer
Cotswold	cot'swold	English bitter, brown ale or stout; Sam Smith Nut Brown, Shipyard Brown or Brooklyn Brown
Havarti	ha-vär'te	Danish pilsner; moderately hoppy Pilsners like Radeberger, Harpoon Pilsner and Stella Artios
Saga	sä'ga	Barleywines. Fuller's Vintage Ale, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Brooklyn Monster and Rouge Old Crustacean