Category Archives: Cheese/Cheese Related

Cheese Related news and reviews

November 7, 2011 · 11:14 am

Toast Post: Black Label 8-Year Old Cheddar

Yes, I’m on a bit of a President’s Choice kick this week, I’m trying out some of the new Black Label line.  Today for breakfast I cracked open the 8-year old cheddar.

The PC cheddars are made for Loblaw by Mapledale and I’ve been a fan for a while.  Their 1 and 2-year-old cheddars are a staple in my cheese drawer.  Mellow but flavourful and I love the creamy finish.

This 8 yr old packs a wallop of flavour from first bite. It has the expected “sharpness” of an aged cheddar though I hesitate to use the word as I sometimes associate that with a higher acidity or hints of  bitterness in some older cheeses. This guy is very smooth and rounded.  Not so crumbly that it won’t hold its shape when sliced and it melts in the mouth to a creamy, delicate finish. I think this is perfect for pairing whether on a cheese board with a chutney or made into a sandwich with some Branston pickle.

The label says this cheddar is made from unpasteurized milk which I take to mean thermalized (still heat-treated but a gentler process).

Price?  Probably around $12-$13.  And in the case of this elderly gent, a little goes a long way.

(The cheese is reading over my shoulder and is offended by being called elderly.  I’m more freaked out that it can read.  Well, what else are you going to do sitting around in an ageing room for eight years, responds the cheese.  He recommends “The Sisters Brothers” for the 2011 Giller Prize by the way.)

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October 20, 2011 · 1:41 pm

Toast Post: Let’s call it “camping Brie”

Strangely enticing.

Have jug o’ wine, need cheese pairing?  This was my first thought when I received a little package of new products from Agropur the other day.  Three of their fine cheeses have been packed into spreadable format.

OKA, Brie L’Extra and Champfleury can now be scooped out of little 100g, recyclable plastic containers and straight onto you baguette.  It is suggested they can also be used as dips or easily melted into sauces.  To be perfectly honest it was hard to get beyond “spreadable” without jumping to Cheez Whiz conclusions.

You may be licking your lips if you’re one of “those” that doesn’t eat the rind of a Brie.  Yet, even as I disapprove of such antics, I must assume that you actually like the taste of a “Brie” that is not also referred to as a “processed fine cheese spread” and does not list “cheddar” as an ingredient.  Which is what you’re getting here.  It tastes kind of fake.   Not horribly bad–I enjoy a Kraft singles in a grilled cheese afterall-but, it’s not fine cheese.

I spread “the spread” on my toast, topped it with pear and have an surprisingly enjoyable lunch.   Fast and tidy it was.  If someone melted this into a silken sauce over my broccoli I’d probably think it was awesome.  It would also fair brilliantly packed in a camping cooler.

But while it might be OK to call Katy Perry “fine cheese”,  it just ain’t gonna fly with these guys.  But if you’re looking for an upscale take on Laughing Cow, dig in and see what you think.

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September 26, 2011 · 5:18 pm

Toast Post: Maytag Blue

wallpaper for a small sitting room

Maytag Blue.  I’d never had it, I’d heard about it, I’d associated it with the washing machine repair guy.  So when I was looking for a blue cheese to pair with my oven roasted fig ball from Cheese Boutique it did not cross my mind.  I was thinking of Bleu D’Auvergne.  But then Afrim at C.B. gave me a taste of this fruity, creamy and very fresh blue.  Which means (in my mind) it smelled like the outdoors (not like a sheet of Bounce supposedly smells like the outdoors.)

And actually, it is the son of the Maytag appliance founder that created this cheese.  So the above association is correct.  Sometimes you’re smarter than you think.  Often not.

It was a perfect pairing  with this fig ball (Artibel is the producer)

peel away figs like orange segments

The fig ball hails from Italy’s Calabria region and here is some more info from the Italian Harvest website.

The fig balls  preparation involves drying the figs for days, then oven glazing and packing them together with molasses and honey of figs. This preparation is then wrapped in a fig leaf and tied with a piece of straw, creating an intriguing and interesting old world appearance (packaging in stainless steel would not be the same at all).  These figs are extremely rich, moist, and densely packed. (yes, the fig ball kicks dense, sweet ass.)

Mr. Pristine at C.B. said that fresh fig balls would be arriving in November and I am thinking this would be pretty wonderful for entertaining as the holidays are upon us.  Afterall, nothing says “I remember” more than a fig ball on Remembrance Day.  Other than a poppy.  Yes, I concede, that might be better.

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August 10, 2011 · 10:50 am

American Cheese Society Conference: Cheese a Go-Go

Setting Up the Festival of Cheese

This is what 1676 cheeses look like set-up for nibbling.  The Festival of Cheese which is also open to the public concludes the events at the ACS conference.

I was lucky enough to get a peek while the room was being set-up.  This is only one side of a giant conference room.

It smelled pretty amazing in there.  Fresh, milky and rich.  Cheese land.  And the roller coaster was awesome.

Here are a few more images of the room to make you wish you were there.

This is the soft, bloomy-rind table underway.  Some of the really rich yellow ones were made with Jersey milk.  Comfort Cream from Upper Canada Cheese Company is in there–it won a ribbon.

Ontario also had winners from Glengarry Fine Cheese (Aged Lankaaster), Monforte (Abondance) and Best Baa Dairy for their yogurt (a no-brainer, especially if you’ve had the maple flavoured one!) and Mouton Rouge, a washed-rind wheel.

Here is the part of the blue table.  One of the Quebec winners was one of my absolute faves–the sheep’s milk Bleu Moutonnière .  YUM. YUM. YUM.

Finally-we had 44 Quebec ribbons over all and here are a few of the winning Fromageries:

La Moutonnière (5) Fritz Kaizer (3) Maison d’affinage Maurice Dufour (2) and of cour La Presbytere whose Louis D’Or took third prize for Best in show.

Cheesed out yet?   Someone get me a green salad.


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August 8, 2011 · 8:57 am

Toast Post: American Cheese Society Conference, Day 2

Oka recipe creates Fromage de la Trappe in Manitoba.

Remember that film The Notebook?  The one starring Ryan Gosling that’s about a monk who made washed-rind cheeses and kept secret notebook of brining techniques?

That version of the film is actually an NFB doc called A Monks’ Secret.  (You won’t recognize Ryan Gosling–he plays the actual notebook.  Amazing immersion into a role.)  The doc is a story of Fromage de la Trappe, the cheese you see above.

Fromage de la Trappe comes from Manitoba and is made by Brother Alberic at the Cistercian Abbey Our Lady of the Praires.  The old recipe was passed to him by the Trappist monks in Quebec (at Oka Abbey de Notre-Dame-du-Lac).

The original Oka recipe was sold to Agropur in the 1981 when the Oka Abbey in Quebec could no longer sustain the demand for the cheese.  The factors may have been more than economical–monks do not want to be known as cheese makers, cheese making is simply a means to an end so perhaps the business was in conflict with their values.  It may have also been hard to find people to keep making cheese in general as they got older and their numbers got smaller.

Fromage de La Trappe (left) and Agropur Oka (right)

One of the original Oka cheesemakers, Father Oswald had kept a  notebook that was passed on to the Manitoba monastery when they started to make cheese as a source of income.  The caveat that came with the hand-written notes was that should the Monks ever go out of the cheese business or the Abbyy close, that notebook would be destroyed (never to fall into a non-religious hand).  This cheese is God’s business and no one else’s..Due to the craft secrets in notebook, what started out as a mediocore cheese, became something unique and flavourful.

Celebrating a ribbon for Louis D'Or

Celebrating Louis D’Or.

And I cannot sign off before leaving you with a picture of Jean Morin, celebrating after his raw, organic milk cheese Louise D’Or received 3rd place in the Best of Show category.  And we’re looking at over 1600 cheeses entered.  That’s right he’s feeling smug.  He damn well should!

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August 5, 2011 · 7:51 am

Toast Post: American Cheese Society Conference, day 1

Cheese-alanche

Soak it up.  I ate it up.  A room of cheesemakers from the US and Canada offering their cheese at the American Cheese Society conference in Montreal.  The luscious fromage in the photo above is from Beecher Handmade Cheese in Seattle.  This is a new version of their Flagship cow’s milk cheese, it’s a mixed milk cheese (sheep and cow).  I walked by the table, popped a piece in my mouth and walked on.  And then went back.  The flavour of this cheese just kept evolving and lingering.  I left with more in  hand and some wrapped in a napkin stashed in my purse. (It was that or the waistband of my jean skirt and I already had a washed-rind tucked in there.)

Better than Cheetos (maybe)

A hit of cheese anyone?

These awesome little cheese bites above come flavoured with lavender, saffron, rosemary and chili.  They are called Hannahbells and hail from Shy Brothers Farm. These thimble-like cheeses are made in the style of the French “boutons de coulottes”. (Trouser Buttons).

Bleu Moutonnière up front, Apple Ice Wine in the rear

This is my tasting plate from the Taste Buds and Molecules session–a discussion about the science of pairing food and wine. Sommelier Francois Chartier, author of Taste Buds and Molecules led the tasting, he’s worked with Ferran Adria amongst others, helping create about 50 dishes for El Bulli (which just closed last Saturday) using the science of deliciousness.  He would never serve you Perrier if you didn’t want to partake of  alcohol with a meal—at his house he would offer spruce beer or green tea–so your bevvie would compliment your meal, not just wash it down.

Stupid Perrier.  Smart molecules.  Amazing Pairings.  Hercule de Charlesvoix +apricot+ apple marshmellow and curry butter+apple ice wine.

YES, YOU WANT THE MARSHMELLOW CURRY BUTTER RECIPE.

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July 21, 2011 · 2:37 pm

Toast Post: Tiger Blue

Buttery, fierce Tiger Blue with ginger/apple/pear chutney.

Does it work with Zinfandel?  Depends who you ask.  If you ask the cheese, then yes. If you asked the Zinfandel, well, wine won’t answer you. It talks with its eyes.

I recently had Tiger Blue at a wine tasting and realized I had forgotten how addictive it was.

Tiger blue is a spicy, roar of a cheese and it won’t work for everyone.  It’s also very smooth, rich and creamy and I find that just as the blue-lover in me is begging for mercy I’m hit with buttery richness that soothes my panicking taste buds.

You’ll see that in this case I added a smear of apple/pear/ginger chutney courtesy of Nick at Olympic cheese (have you seen the stores’ makeover?).

And BTW, even if you don’t eat this cheese it just looks unbelievable on a cheese board.  Like a cool piece of marble.  It watches you and thinks, “Hey Matey,  (I know! The pirate voice is so unexpected) why don’t you lurch on over here and slice a sliver off my cool, smooth wedge.   What’s that parrot?  Polly want a neutral cracker to cleanse the palate?”

Tiger Blue in 11 words or more:  Producer is Poplar Grove in British Columbia (Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley).  This cheese will change over the seasons depending on the cow’s milk, it may be more creamy or it may be more crumbly.  Made in the style of Stilton. Comes in a 2Kg wheel.  Pasteurized and a must-try if you like blues.  Get it at Olympic Cheese if you hail from Toronto….

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July 2, 2011 · 10:21 am

Toast Post: Cottage Gold

Cottage Gold, sibling to Niagra Gold

It’s not my camera, it’s the Guernsey milk.  The cheese really is this intense colour.  All due to the elevated beta-carotene levels found in the milk of the Guernsey cow.  (It also has more protein and vitamin A and D than Holstein milk.)

Let’s stop picking on the Holstein and concentrate on the fact that this cheese is A. only here for the summer and B. the summer is not that long. (I’m being a pessimist like my mom, who on the first day of a long-awaited vacation will point out “well, it’ll all be over in 10 days– also there’s a lot of rain in the forecast.)

Cottage Gold is a cheddar-like version of Niagara Gold (an Oka-style cheese) made by Upper Canada Cheese, who are also known for Comfort Cream and the lip-smacking and grillable Guernsey Girl.  Cottage Gold is dense, salty and buttery with a pleasant earthiness at the   rind. Avoid the rind if you prefer but if sliced thinly the “earthy” quality appeals on the palate and evokes a real sense of the outdoors.

Today was my first time trying the Cottage Gold and I can already see it doing a heelside front flip on the wakeboard and then drying off with a threadbare “Florida: The Sunshine State!” towel obtained from a long-ago family drive to Daytona Beach.  Also I can see Cottage Gold reclined on a patio chair drinking a cold beer.  Actually, that’s me on the chair with a beer, and a slice of cheese.  Or maybe I’d melt it onto a burger or pack it with some pickle chips and apple slices for an afternoon outing to Snake Pond (childhood reference–insert any mucky, deliciously squishy-between-the-toes pond with frogs and dragonflies from your own youth).

Cottage Gold in 11 words or more:    The Guernsey cow breed, originally from the British Channel Island of the same name, was introduced to North America in the 19th century and officially imported to Canada by future prime minister Sir John Abbott in 1878.  If you’d like to know more, check out this informative review of Cottage Gold  by Stacey at A Taste of Cheese. I’m going to eat more cheese.

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June 13, 2011 · 11:07 pm

Oh, What A Perfect Day

It was my birthday Saturday.  Sure, I’m talking about it.  It was pretty good.  Three great events.

1. GOATS

I had the good fortune to tag along to Idyllwood Farms with Vivian Szebeny of Upper Canada Cheese. 

I discovered that baby goats come packed in blue storage containers. A stackable goat-herd is very practical for condos or other small dwellings.

A Gemini like me. Though my face is less furry.

BISTRO

Ici Bistro actually.  Champagne to start and Grand Marnier souffle to finish.  Also discovered from my mother that I practically was raised on veal brains (they sold them at Safeway).  Apparently a popular dinner scrambled with eggs or breaded like schnitzel.  Also we used to inflate pigs bladders and use them as balls (wait, I think that was Little House on the Praire).  Such a similar life though.

This was sablefish in a lemon beurre blanc with white asparagus and tomato coulis.

WOODY ALLEN

Well, it’s true, I love Woody Allen.  When I go to New York I have these little fantasies that I bump into him (usually in Central Park) and then I don’t know what happens after that part because I absolutely cannot be normal around famous people, not even Jim Cuddy from Blue Rodeo.  Who I stood behind once when we were crossing the street at Yonge and Bloor and even that made me feel queasy in an “OMG it’s the back of  Jim Cuddy!!!!” way.

Til next year then.

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June 11, 2011 · 7:07 am

Toast Post: Burrata

Forget babies, storks should deliver Burrata.

Out of the way triple-cream cheese, Burrata is here.  Here for a good time, not a long time (in the wise lyrics of the Trooper song.  They used to have burrata thrown on stage during concerts.).  As much as you want your Mozzarella di Bufala to be fresh, you want your Burrata to be newborn.  You want the exterior to be delicate and tender as possible while the inside is creamy, oozy heaven.  Heaven in this case being small, elastic bits of the torn mozzarella (stracciatella) mixed with rich cream.  It should be buttery, sweet and fresh in flavour.  It should make you weep.  Just a little bit.

Makes you feel a little savage. I WANT THIS NOW!

Burrata was once upon a time made with buffalo milk but now it’s made mainly cow’s milk. Originating in Southern Italy (in Puglia) the name comes from the Italian word “burro” (butter).  You might find it wrapped in green leek-like leaves called “asphodel” and the fresher/greener the leaves, the fresher the burrata.

More importantly, I have not yet made you drool to the maximum.  Here is the burrata “fork to mouth”.  My mouth.  And I never even made it to the bread.

Crazy Good. More than Pop Tarts even.

No matter what you do, if you rip this open in the car while driving or serve it at home– please–eat it at room temperature.  Warm it in a bowl of warm water (in a plastic bag or whatever wrap it came in) if you can’t wait to get to it.  Like batteries, you can hold it under your armpit to warm it up but this is best done out of site of guests or even the general public.

Most importantly, don’t share.  That’s just a crazy idea.  Your kindergarten teacher did not know about burrata when she taught you that rule.  (Though, she was right about not eating the glue even if it was glittery and bright.)

Burrata is now available at All the Best Fine Foods every Friday (flown in from Italy) until mid-September and on offer at Obika Mozzarella Bar.

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