So it’s 2009 and we have an extremely handsome, intelligent, cool and charismatic man as our President and some really handsome and cool cheeses to go along with it. A couple of Sundays ago was themed Cheeses of the USA. Purchasing all of them at Whole Foods, each one had extremely interesting and unique characteristics.
First (left to right in photo) was Nancy’s Camembert from Old Chatham, New York. This buttery, soft and moist cheese is everything you wouldn’t expect from a New Yorker. A mix of cow and sheep milk, the bloomy rind has a barnyardy and lingering tanginess that reminds you of why you like cheese so much. This cheese is a great excuse for city dwellers to take a break and travel upstate for the weekend to meet Benoit Maillol and Brian Booth, the cheesemakers of this tasty one. Pair this cheese with a Sauvignon Blanc and you have yourself a pawty (pronounced with NY accent).
http://www.blacksheepcheese.com/
The second cheese was one in its own. Truffle Tremor will make you tremble. Produced in Humboldt County, California, this pasteurized goat cheese appears to be the mixing of two cheeses together. Mary Keehen is responsible for this velvety, creamy and runny cheese. Filled with specks of truffles, this cheese is one of the newer cheeses of Cypress Grove Creamery. With all due respect, I still favor the Pecorino Tartufo in regards to truffle cheeses. This cheese should be paired with a buttery California Chardonnay.
http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/
Third was Haystack Mountain’s Red Cloud. This raw goat’s milk cheese is washed in brine which gives it a stinky aroma. Surprisingly, it has a very clean and balanced flavor that can be enjoyed with a Riesling or Gewürztraminer. It seems that all of their cheeses are given names related to nature. It’s is like a haiku in your mouth. http://www.haystackgoatcheese.com/
Lastly was my definite favorite of the four. Constant Bliss (which it surely was) is a small white mountain of bloomy raw cheese made from the lovely cows in Greensboro, Vermont. It was assertive, fluffy, moist, springy and clean. It simply, made me happy. The story behind the name of the cheese is told as, “We named Constant Bliss after a revolutionary war scout killed in Greensboro by native Americans in 1781. He was guarding the Bayley Hazen Military Road with his compatriot Moses Sleeper, who died with him.” They continued with this tradition and named another one of their cheeses Bayley Hazen. I must hunt this one down. War has never tasted so good.
http://www.jasperhillfarm.com/
Tasting cheeses that have something in common whether its animal, country, cheese type or raw versus pasteurized allows one to have a better understanding of what you are tasting and gives you something to compare it to. For me, I like themes because I think you can be much more concentrated and can learn a lot more from it. So, what will be my next theme???
http://www.blacksheepcheese.com/
The second cheese was one in its own. Truffle Tremor will make you tremble. Produced in Humboldt County, California, this pasteurized goat cheese appears to be the mixing of two cheeses together. Mary Keehen is responsible for this velvety, creamy and runny cheese. Filled with specks of truffles, this cheese is one of the newer cheeses of Cypress Grove Creamery. With all due respect, I still favor the Pecorino Tartufo in regards to truffle cheeses. This cheese should be paired with a buttery California Chardonnay.
http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/
Third was Haystack Mountain’s Red Cloud. This raw goat’s milk cheese is washed in brine which gives it a stinky aroma. Surprisingly, it has a very clean and balanced flavor that can be enjoyed with a Riesling or Gewürztraminer. It seems that all of their cheeses are given names related to nature. It’s is like a haiku in your mouth. http://www.haystackgoatcheese.com/
Lastly was my definite favorite of the four. Constant Bliss (which it surely was) is a small white mountain of bloomy raw cheese made from the lovely cows in Greensboro, Vermont. It was assertive, fluffy, moist, springy and clean. It simply, made me happy. The story behind the name of the cheese is told as, “We named Constant Bliss after a revolutionary war scout killed in Greensboro by native Americans in 1781. He was guarding the Bayley Hazen Military Road with his compatriot Moses Sleeper, who died with him.” They continued with this tradition and named another one of their cheeses Bayley Hazen. I must hunt this one down. War has never tasted so good.
http://www.jasperhillfarm.com/
Tasting cheeses that have something in common whether its animal, country, cheese type or raw versus pasteurized allows one to have a better understanding of what you are tasting and gives you something to compare it to. For me, I like themes because I think you can be much more concentrated and can learn a lot more from it. So, what will be my next theme???
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