Featured Cheese - February 2016

White Wensleydale is firm but not dry and hard, creamy yet the surface is slightly uneven and crumbly, and has a slightly sweet but also tart flavor. It’s sometimes described as having a nutty, buttermilk flavor and with a honey aftertaste, and 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 a crisp apple and is traditionally eaten with fruitcake.

You are about to enjoy a cheese that was savored, and even written about, by the Romans over 2000 years ago. Its rich heritage was born in central France in the Auvergne mountains at an altitude of over 3000 feet. Auvergne has exceptionally lush pasturelands due to the volcanic soil, mountain storms, and summer sun - all of which give this celebrated cheese its rich and vigorous taste. Two thousand years ago, the curds were put into a wooden cylinder called “le Formage,” which is now the French word for cheese.

Cantal bears the AOC designation and can be found in 3 sizes – the largest wheel weighing about 95 lbs. It has a thick smooth, grayish/brown rind, and some say it smells like its fertile pasturelands. The interior is close textured and pale yellow with a sweet milky aroma, a nutty, buttery flavor, and a slightly acidic finish if it’s aged. Typically this cheese is matured from 3-9 months, and you will find it is quick to show fleur de bleu – a blue mold which the Europeans gladly eat.

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!