some hawt pics

So here are those pictures I promised. If I did the HTML right I'll even add explanatory captions.

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Je vais à Paris!

In less than one month, I will board a plane at SFO and arrive 15 hours later in CDG. Paris, here I come! My coworkers (and even my husband) seem to think I will spend most of my waking hours at the Place Vendôme or the Galeries Lafayette, contributing to Bernard Arnault's empire. They are wrong, I say! Besides the museums, it's Marie-Anne Cantin, Alléosse, Pierre Hermé and Poilane - the fromageries and bakeries that I'm looking forward to. Okay, that and maybe Colette.

In the meantime, I will attempt to brush up on my rudimentery French, figure out places I will visit and where to eat, and finally, study the customs loopholes. Any suggestions will be welcomed.

Where does the Cheese Stand Alone?

Chicago, that's where. I was visiting an old friend in Chicago, which I had been told was a bit of a cheese wasteland, and was pleasantly surprised by The Cheese Stands Alone, a small independent shop devoted exclusively to cheese. There are no takeaway sandwiches, bottles of wine, baskets of produce, or knick-knacks to distract from the aging dairy perfection under glass. There are two cases, one filled with American farmhouse and artisan cheeses, and another, significantly larger case stacked with all the European must-haves, plus a few rare treats. The American cheeses are heavily weighed toward the Midwest, including a curious Emmental made in Indiana by a former Wisconsin cheesemaker, and when available, Pleasant Ridge Reserve. Old standbys like Red Hawk and Humboldt Fog round out the selection. The owners, Matt and Sarah Parker, know the tastes of their customers, who mainly live within walking distance of their store just outside of Lincoln Square on Chicago's northwest side. Everything is reasonable, and there is very little priced over $25.00/lb.

The Parkers have put a great deal of care into their two-year old shop. The walls are painted shocking orange, which provides a great color contrast to the mostly wheat-colored cheeses. They carry everything necessary to create a perfect cheese plate: jams, spreads, pates, prosciutto, bread, olives, crackers, etc. My friend and I stopped there before a picnic and were able to put together a great spread.

Next time you visit Chicago be sure to stop in: The Cheese Stands Alone, 4547 N. Western Ave 773-293-3870. Call for hours.

Maffe, Village du Fromage

The one thing that may keep me from becoming an artisan farmer is how darn early they all wake up. Thankfully, everyone driving a car at 6 a.m. is going into Brussels, not leaving it. And once out of Brussels...everyone disappears.

Continue reading "Maffe, Village du Fromage"

Murray's

Here on the west coast, the New Yorker tends to arrive a little late. So it is only today that I can tell you about Cynthia Zarin's article on Murray's Cheese Shop. It's not online: go buy it before Monday if you're interested. Here's an excerpt:

One answer that the store favors when asked why some cheese are so expensive is that they really don't cost that much. A good leg of lamb can run to sixty dollars; if you serve three cheeses afterward, an ounce of each to six people -- even very expensive cheeses -- it might cost twenty dollars. Liz Thorpe [the wholesale manager] says, "Last summer, I visited a woman high up in the Spanish Pyrenees. She has fifty goats. it's a solo operation. When her cheese gets here, it costs twenty-one dollars a pound. That's shockingly reasonable to me, when I know what goes into it...."

Amen, sister. Artisanal cheese is without a doubt the most affordable edible luxury, with the possible exception of sherry.

Plus, scurrilous gossip: Owner Rob Kaufelt says: "Mateo Kehler's not the best cheesemaker in America. He's just the best-looking." [He is not impugning the Kehlers' abilities, just making fun of his female employees.]

east coast

In NY last month, I stopped by the legendary Murray's Cheese Shop. They manage to squeeze an astonishing selection into their cramped space: comparable to Berkeley's Cheese Board, in about a quarter the space. There were a number of intriguing cheeses that I had never seen before, particularly, of course, from east coast dairys. (The european selection is broadly equivalent to the Cheese Board's, with some surprises). The most exciting find was Thistle Hill Tarentaise, a "gruyere-style" cheese from Vermont (the website reveals that their inspiration was in fact Beaufort, perhaps my favorite cheese). It is a luscious golden yellow from 100% jersey milk, creamy and rich flavored, but without either the "funk" or the "flavor crystals" one associates with various kinds of alpine cheese. I loved this cheese, and so did everyone else.

Continue reading "east coast"

The Cheese Board

So I went to Sunny California this Christmas break. I had hoped to dine with our lovely webmistress Anne but she felt that a trip to Japan was more important than hosting my brother and me for a cheese tasting. No Oregonzola for her!

So anyway, I made it to the Cheese Board. Finally. It was very busy. I asked my brother "Is it always like this?" He say yes. They must make a mad bank. Anyway they had a special holiday surprise for me: mini-wheels of Costln Basset Stilton. I bought half a wheel (at 15$ a pound, a very good price.)

It was so beautiful. We made some food pornography with it. (I.E. Pictures of food taken in lurid ways, not like... people having sex with or on food. That's gross). I'll see if I can link some pictures soon if i can.

Well back to school now I guess.

Maybe I'll have a little of this Cappiello Braided Marinated Mozzarella first...

yum

-Miguel

La Tur: you heard it here first

It has taken me a long time to describe my birthday meal, which ended, naturally, with a spectacular cheese course (I like my women with both eyes), because it is a little overwhelming to try to explain. I'm just not very good, once you get down to it, at describing flavor. Still, you deserve to know about the Manchego/Roquefort/Manouri/La Tur plate, served with membrillo, fig bread and a couple fine sherries...

Continue reading "La Tur: you heard it here first"

Cheese Shops

This past Sunday, I had an afternoon to myself. Usually, I'm a homebody, and on these sorts of occasions, I busy myself with household chores (oh yeah, and eat cheese). It was such a gorgeous sunny day though, I decided to get out of the house and do some exploring. I hopped on BART, and headed towards San Francisco. It was time to check out other cheese shops - although it had been on my mind for a while, Justin's comment a couple weeks ago codified it for me. Because most of the authors of The Cheese Diaries live in the East Bay/Berkeley area, we invariably gravitate towards the Cheese Board. So besides the Cheese Board, what's out there for us?

Continue reading "Cheese Shops"

Yet another reason to get a deep fat fryer

Justin Hall wrote from Japan to say he ate deep-fried camembert cheese. I'm hoping to get a more detailed report of the experience.

Nevertheless, there are quite a number of recipes on line for deep-fried camembert. And now, of course, I have to try it. It's 75 bucks well spent, no?

I also found a delectable recipe in a Williams-Sonoma book (I can't seem to find it on-line, only Grilling which is not the same book, I think) for grilled cheese. The recipe used camembert, but you could easily use any other cheese. The cheese was slathered in pesto, wrapped in grape leaves, and then grilled for 10 mins or so. The result: oozy, warm, salty, and pesto-y. Scrump-diddly-uptious!

Blue Cheese Ice Cream

During Memorial Day last May, Anne and I drove down to West LA to visit our friends, Justin and Brian. In college, Justin was my partner in various culinary schemes, and Brian was our willing guinea pig. Although they've moved down south, we manage to visit each other and cook together every few months. Upon our 2 a.m. arrival in their swanky new condo, we were welcomed with freshly made mango ice cream. Justin, you see, had recently purchased the Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet and Ice Cream maker from Costco for a mere 40 dollars. We spent most of that weekend in lactose frenzy, shopping for and consuming cheese and homemade ice cream and gelato. When I returned home, I headed straight to Costco and purchased an ice-cream maker of my own. Oh, the freedom I have gained since! My first batches were simple, delicious and ubiquitous - chocolate, strawberry, coffee and meyer lemon sorbet. Driven by an "iron chef" competition, I started to get more adventurous, making corn ice cream, white and yellow nectarine honey ice creams, and of course, the previously mentioned mascarpone sorbet, which led Anne to wonder... "what other kinds of cheese ice cream can we make?"

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My inner hobbit...

While at Monterey Market on Saturday morning, my inner hobbit called to me. "Oooh, mushrooms! Mushrooms!" So I gathered a little bit of each variety of fresh wild mushroom available - oyster, porcini, trumpet, lobster and maitake. Sadly, there were no morels. (My inner hobbit also woke me up on Monday morning, enunciating "POE-TAY-TOE!!!" But that's a whole other story).

Continue reading "My inner hobbit..."

Restaurant-made cheese

The Cheese Diaries' own Anne Pinckard writes in the Santa Cruz Sentinel about a restaurant chef who makes his own cheese, including chevre, blue, brie, feta and "drunken" cheeses. Chef Nicci Tripp of Theo's Restaurant in Soquel is the only chef in he Santa Cruz area who makes his own cheese, and believes he may be the only one in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Tripp is traditional and precise when making cheese, and Anne does a good job explaining the process for those of us who are not experts. But at the same time he seems to have a willingness to experiment that marks him as quintessentially Santa Cruz. It is hard for me to imagine a four-star San Francisco chef making more than half a dozen cheeses in his own restaurant, or inebriating his cheese with hard cider.

"We're constantly trying new things to find out what we like and don't like," Tripp said.

I wonder how many other restaurant chefs out there are doing this.

Yay Anne!

Read the whole story

The Philadelphia Inquirer Covers PA Cheese

Today's food section in the Philly Inquirer has a great article about our favorite fermented foodstuff. For the Love of Cheese focuses on 32-year old Trent Hendricks and his wife Rachael, who created Cabriejo, an aged goat cheese that has taken honors at the ACS and at the US Cheese Championship. Hendricks produces and sells over 30 different cheeses, from goat to cow, as well as beef and raw milk. Hendricks sells directly to the public from his farm on Saturdays only. Impressively, he has a tunnel under the farmhouse where he ages the cheese. Check out the pictures - it looks like an incredible place. To order it directly (you will have to pick it up yourself), you can go to their website. A few online retailers offer one or two of their products, too.

Free registration required for the article.

Scotland's Strathdon Blue -- Available in the US!

Edinburgh-based Cheesediaries reader and fellow cheesemonger extraordinaire Marcus Walczak wrote in with some good news about Strathdon Blue. Here's what he wrote:

The cheese is made by Highland Fine Cheese Co. Ltd/Strathdon Blue The cheesemaker is Rory Stone, son of Susannah Stone, a descendent of The MacDonald, Lord of the Isles. Highland Fine Cheese is based in Tain in the Highlands of Scotland. It makes a range of cheeses (many to ancient receipes such as Caboc which is said to be made from a receipe used in the Sixteenth Century by a family ancestor Mariota de Ile, daughter of The MacDonald, Lord of the Isles). However, the only cheese you are likely to see in the USA is Strathdon Blue. Rory sources raw cows milk from local farmers (around 70% Friesian and 30% Ayrshire milk) to make Strathdon Blue. Strathdon Blue is made from pasteurised cows milk using animal rennet, although a vegetable rennet version is also available. It is aged for 8-12 weeks and stays in excellent condition for many weeks under correct refrigeration with no discernable loss of flavour. In 2002, the British Cheese Awards recognised Strathdon Blue by making it joint winner of the Best Blue category (with Blue Swaledale). Strathdon Blue is made by Highland Fine Cheeses at Blarliath Farm, Tain, Easter Ross, IV19 1EB. Tel: 01862 892034

Murray's has placed a trial order, we have heard. For those of you with a cheese shop to stock, Somerdale is exporting it...so contact your distributor today.

Patting one's self on the back...

There's an absolutely fabulous article in this Wednesday's New York Times about cheese fans such as us. Perhaps I'm biased, but I would've like to see more West Coast shout-outs. After all, the domestic artisanal cheese movement started here (at least according to the latest Saveur). I can't really fault the author, though, for sticking to her base, and she offers some fascinating accounts of cheesemongers and cheese fans alike. Cypress Grove's Humboldt Fog did merit a mention, as did a certain website. (ahem!) So I suppose that will do for now.

Saveur does Artisan Cheese

April's issue of Saveur magazine is a tribute to artisan cheese in the United States. It is well worth checking out. It's got gorgeous pictures, as well as some excellent articles.

In particular, there is an in depth article on Laura Chenel, who, in addition to being one of the first and best cheese makers in the U.S., is a personal heroine of mine. The article conveys the dignity and grace of her presence quite effectively. There is an equally elegant article on Soyoung Scanlan, a former musician who has now spends her time in solitude, fine-tuning her cheeses. What is it about the cheese industry that attracts such unique individuals?

Maybe the glossy pictures have got to me, but it's not the first time that I've considered a career in cheese making. It seems like such a wonderful way to combine creativity, animal husbandry, and buidling a deep and intimate connection to your food. All of which I have been interested in.

At any rate, get the magazine. It's got a bunch of delicious looking recipes too, as always. I've got to try that mac and cheese!

Berkshire Blue Recall

The Boston Globe reported that 13 wheels of Michael Miller's Berkshire Blue Cheese, a creamy, luscious blue that has long been the favorite of many a New Englander, has been recalled due to listeria contamination. Go here for the article.

British Cheese! Juliet Harbutt!

Autumn has brought yet another delicious round of the UK's famed cheese festivals, including the British Cheese Awards and the Great British Cheese Festival. This year's crowd pleasing Supreme Champion at the BCA was my all-time favorite cheddar -- JL Montgomery's Extra Mature. Thanks to our friends at Neal's Yard, we have ample availability in the US. A quickie perusal of the winner's list reveals numerous cheeses available here in the US. This link will take you to all cheese events of note in the UK and New Zealand, as well as to Juliet Harbutt's personal web page.

Rest in peace, Julia Child

Julia Child passed away last night. At 91 years of age, She died in her sleep at her home, NPR news radio reports.

I don't really know what to say, except that it saddens me incredibly. I wanted to yell out to let the whole world know what had happened, so we could all join in mourning for our dear, old friend.

But all I could do was cry as they replayed an old clip from one of her cooking shows. She was an endearing lady, in all her quirky splendor, and though we loved to make fun of her, there was a beautiful grace to her intrepid pragmatism. She is an icon for many of us, for she is the one who has inspired us to explore the culinary world. And though she was a t.v. world away, she was so real and genuine in her passion for food, and intimate in her approach. I'm left with the feeling that I've known her, all these years, that she's been with me in my kitchen all along, laughing in her funny way, chatting about cooking tips, commiserating in the dismay of recipes gone awry, but most of all, sharing our love for cooking.

Farewell, dear lady. We shall miss you.

Vermont Shepherd's Recall Completed

From their Press Release. Tomorrow's New York Times will feature an article on New England Cheesemakers. The recall will be a part of the article.

-Announcement of Completed Recall-

Putney Tomme and Timson, produced by West River Creamery of Londonderry, VT and marketed by Vermont Shepherd, LLC of Putney, VT were recalled on April 26, 2004. Types of cheese recalled were cow’s milk cheeses labeled Putney Tomme and Timson. The recall does not affect any of the sheep’s milk cheeses produced solely by Vermont Shepherd, LLC. All inventory of Putney Tomme and Timson has been destroyed and production of Putney Tomme and Timson has ceased. Putney Tomme and Timson cheeses were recalled due to a potential link to food borne illnesses. All lab results on Putney Tomme and Timson have come back pathogen free. Total volume of the recall was under 3000 pounds.

Reblochon Crisis in the US?

For the last two months my consolidator (the person in Rungis, France who gathers my cheese from different producers around that country for my delivery) has not been sending me my Reblochon. I figured it was one of those "production problems" so frequently bandied as an excuse for missed shipments.

One of our interns popped his head into my office three weeks ago and said, "Hey, did you hear? There's something wrong with Reblochon! A friend of mine at a cheese shop told me."

Horrified that it had taken me so long to even question Reblochon's absence, I called my consolidator. "What's the story?" I asked.

Turns out nothing is wrong with the cheese. Reblochon is as wonderful as ever. But the French State Veterinary Services have recently refused to approve Reblochon exports to the US. Seems that raw milk Reblochon (it must be, as defined by the AOC), when it arrives at Rungis to be consolidated, isn't actually 60 days old. The Authority, possibly under pressure from the government, is no longer allowing these sub-60 day products to be exported.

There are some importers who still are able to get Reblochon. That's who I am buying my cheese from right now.

One of the largest cooperatives is considering a pasteurized product to get around this quasi-ban. Pasteurized Reblochon? I rue the day.

Vermont Shepherd's difficult road -- The story of a voluntary recall

Things have been very quiet at Vermont Shepherd in Westminster, Vermont. Margie, who handles the books, is around only 5 hours a week. Cindy and David Major, who own Vermont Shepherd, haven’t had to spend too much time in the office. The phone just isn’t ringing. There are four wheels of Vermont Shepherd left. The rest sold out in late March. The improvised farm stand at the end of the driveway has deterred visitors from venturing nearer the farm, but in just a few weeks there won’t be enough cheese available to stock the stand.

In recent years this has not been the case during May. Sales are usually brisk and Cindy and Margie spend a lot of time answering calls and filling orders while the cheesemaking team makes next fall’s Vermont Shepherd cheese. But the two cheeses that have allowed Vermont Shepherd to make and sell cheese year round have been voluntarily pulled from the market, and may never be made again.

Continue reading "Vermont Shepherd's difficult road -- The story of a voluntary recall"

HS cheese club

It started as a joke between two high school seniors, but the cheese club at Woodside High School isn't a joke anymore. Last fall, when fellow students were signing up for the school's robotics club, rocket club and Latino club, Nathan Hillier and Brandon Wiebe began to fantasize about clubs they'd want to join. A cheese club struck them as suitably amusing.

From today's Chron.

Behind the Scenes: A cheese buyer tells all

I spent the better part of last week trying to get my French cheese out of FDA purgatory, and realizing that there was nothing I could do. So I actually spent a good deal of time sending email to our sales people telling them that really, we would have cheese soon, and that it would be here any moment now. In truth I had no idea. I just had to keep them happy.

I sent the first volley out on Monday.

And then on Tuesday, then Wednesday, and again Thursday. Always the same email: Hang tight, the cheese will be here soon.

Every day I called my broker. Where is it? Actually, I knew the answer to that question. The cheese is in the bonded warehouse, a privately owned warehouse licensed by the US Customs office to hold imported goods until they clear customs and the FDA . The cheese is sitting in a large pallet under some industrial fan, dying a little more every minute. The blues are weeping, the little French goat cheeses, packed loosely in wooden crates, are drying, and the rinds on the larger tomes are cracking. The cheese has already spent two weeks in a French warehouse, two more weeks in a container on a ship, and now languishes in a warehouse. My broker tells me that the FDA has become unusually zealous in their pursuit of illegal French cheeses.

My pallet is a hostage of their campaign against imports.

Continue reading "Behind the Scenes: A cheese buyer tells all"

The Case for Cheese

Sure, we here at the Cheese Diaries all know that without a doubt, cheese is the best thing in the universe. Well, for those of you who are still skeptics, I turn your attention to this rather compelling article that I discovered on the BBC that proves cheese is indeed the best stuff on Earth:

"Cheese, Why It's Better Than You And Everything Else

Hello. The purpose of this entry is to prove through rational, logical argument that cheese is the best thing in the known universe. You may disagree but that just proves the argument as cheese never whinges in such a pathetic fashion. So there...."

"Surely" you respond, "there is nothing better in the world than refrigerators, kangaroos, and the mafia..." Well, read more to find out why, in the author's opinion, cheese might be better than all those things...

Alton brown commits to cheese

Alton Brown writes on his weblog:

"During a recent airplane voyage a fellow passenger asked me what food I would choose if I could consume but one type of food for the rest of my days. Despite the fact that I’d never been asked that question before, my reply was immediate and sure:

"cheese.

"It’s been a week and I haven’t changed my mind one iota."

You go, Cowgirl!

The San Francisco Business Times (who employ such talented reporters as Ryan) ran a brief story about Cowgirl Creamery. Peggy Smith and Sue Conley have done an admirable job of establishing themselves as leaders in the domestic artisan cheese movement, since the opening of their creamery in 1997.

You can read the article here:
Dairy Doyennes, by Sarah Duxbury.

Fancy Food Show Winter 2004

It was early yet on Sunday January 18, but already there was a hum of activity centered around San Francisco's Moscone Center, the site of the 2004 Fancy Food Show. The streets out front were flooded with people dressed in various degrees of formal attire. Badges suspended around their necks identified them as retailer, restauranteur, distributor, broker, manufacturer, or importer/exporter. And press. Connie and I proudly wore our newly acquired badges identifying us for who we were. Though Ryan has been a member of that esteemed profession for quite some time now, it was the first time for us to be recognized, in public, as such.

News of the Fancy Food Show had reached us long ago. It is the major, annual event for the food business. It is the scene for deals to be struck, to unveil new products, and to network with others in the industry. Big mammoths such as Birite, Sysco and Safeway are sure to be there, as well as smaller companies, local to the area. We were excited by the possibilities- who would we meet? What new foods would we be able to sample?

Together, we stepped into the melee...

Continue reading "Fancy Food Show Winter 2004"

Alton Brown raves about cheese

Alton Brown, host of "Good Eats" and one of my favorite chefs on Food Network T.V., made an entry on his weblog about cheese today: www.altonbrown.com.

I couldn't find a permalink, so scroll down 'til you find Tuesday 13, January 2004.

the camembert book

Long review of Camembert: A National Myth by Pierre Boisard in the Guardian:

Boisard seeks to show how, over the past 150 years or so, the cheese has been ruined: industrialised, homogenised, delocalised and, finally, pasteurised - and all without the assistance of American multinational corporations.

Published right here by UC Press.

unpleasant époisses metaphor

This may be a little risqué for the cheese diaries, but this spectacular mockery of Adam Gopnik features everyone's favorite washed-rind cheese in a particularly unsavory role.

Take that, Cheeseheads!

Apparently, California is "poised to become nation's leader in cheese production" surpassing Wisconsin, according to California's Milk Advisory Board. (thanks to Brian, who forwarded me the article in today's LA Times.) But Wisconsin points (and rightfully so) that it's about quality, not quantity.

"It's not about who makes the most," said Patrick Geoghegan, spokesman for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. "What matters is who makes the best." Hmmm. Well, Patrick, maybe you can explain why Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk won Best in Show at this year's American Cheese Society's Conference. Kidding aside, Patrick makes a good point. With the tightening of restrictions on imported cheese, I hope that American cheesemakers, Californian and Wisconsinian (is that a word?) alike will focus on quality over quantity. Perhaps this will be the opportunity for domestic artisanal cheesemakers to flower. I know it's a slim chance, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Overheard near the chevres at the Cheese Board this weekend: I miss the green dots, Wendy

Sigh. I do too, Wendy. I do too. The green stickers, of course, indicate which cheeses are made from raw milk at the Cheese Board. Only a few months ago, most of the French chevres proudly displayed the bright green dot. Now, they are few and far between. The FDA, through new regulations passed by the Department on Homeland Security, has been tightening its restrictions on imported cheeses. There is still a decent selection of raw-milk cheeses that have been aged for over sixty days (they're legal), but it has been increasingly difficult to find younger ones. We can find pasteurized Selles-sur-Cher, Valancay, St. Maure and Pouligny-St. Pierre, but they're just not the same. And we can forget about ever finding Camembert de Normandie (although I have a personal source who may be delivering my beloved straight to my office this week... let's cross our fingers and pray). According to the cheesemongers I've spoken with, the availability is only going to get worse. But a light shines in the darkness, and sometimes, a treasure manages to slip past the inspectors, like Vacherin Mont d'Or. Signaling the beginning of fall, it appeared at local cheese counters about a week ago. Of course, I purchased one - it's ripening in my home as I type. A review will follow. But I can't help but wonder... what's going to disappear next?

I believe I speak for all of us here at the Cheese Diaries (although I haven't asked, so I apologize to my fellow authors for presuming) when I say that it saddens and disappoints us to witness the diminishment of availability of raw milk cheeses. It's not just a domestic issue, it's a global one. Apparently, the EU and the WTO are beginning to regulate unpasteurized cheeses as well.

So, we ask you - no, beseech you - plead on our hands and knees to add your name to Slow Food's petition in support of unpasteurized cheeses:

You can help this cause by sending the following message,
"I also eat raw-milk cheeses" to the email address rawmilk@slowfood.com.

Slow Food's Manifesto follows.

Continue reading "Overheard near the chevres at the Cheese Board this weekend: I miss the green dots, Wendy"

casualties of the war on terrorism

Earlier this week, the F.D.A. announced its latest regulation under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. All "domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture/process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the USA" will have to officially register their business with the F.D.A. by December 12, 2003. By F.D.A. estimates, over 400,000 facilities will be required to register. Furthermore, the F.D.A. will require advanced notice of importation, by mail or other transport, of all food products entering the U.S.A. (from The Cheese Reporter).

How likely is, in fact, a threat of bioterrorism through contamination of our food supply? There is no precedent for this sort of action. We have become a global economy, and in making commerce between nations easier, we have become more vulnerable. But perhaps we are more likely to poison ourselves through the inadvertent introduction of noxios bacteria. This danger is the subject of Eric Schlosser's excellent book, Fast Food Nation. The positive side of this new regulation is that the F.D.A. will now have greater power to inspect food facilities, especially meat processing plants which may be the worst offenders, to punish violations, and to compell mandatory recalls. Ironic that pointing out the deliberate loopholes in politics designed to facilitate meat processing and known to endanger the public was not enough to illicit a change in policy, but mere fear of a bioterrorist attack is. Have we become a nation of fear?

But the mystery that comes to my mind is how the F.D.A. plans to sort through all this information. Inevitably, companies will fall through the cracks or be prohibited by beauracratic red tape. Already, increased security has resulted in a reduction of our cheese selection. Gone is the AOC unpasteurized camembert du normandie. Other cheeses, too, can no longer be found, and the cheese counter at The Cheese Board is looking mighty bare. And this is before the new regulation has taken place.

It's the thickness that counts

From the BBC:

"Scientist's 'perfect' cheese sandwich:
scientist has created the perfect sandwich - thanks to a 2.8-millimetre slice of Cheddar cheese. "

Thank god someone is doing the important research!

At Cheese Board, bread used to be hotter, but Atkins fattened fromage sales

"Ten to 15 years ago, the bread was the exciting thing we were doing ... There wasn't as much glory in cheese," says collecive member. Cheese sales have doubled to half of revenues since carbs went out of favor. ALSO: The pizzeria is "almost independent" from the main shop; they are considering credit cards; they all make about $25 an hour; and the breakfast bread operation is only a few years old.

Continue reading "At Cheese Board, bread used to be hotter, but Atkins fattened fromage sales"

Bufala from Vermont

LA Times asks: "Can mozzarella cheese from water buffaloes grazing in New England succeed as neighboring dairy farmers struggle?" (free reg reqd)

Flavored Cheeses

From the BBC:

"...scientists have spent months developing a tandoori flavoured cheddar for Tesco....Fish and chips, and Thai- and Chinese-based flavours are next on the list."

Instinctively, my aesthetic sensibilities are offended. But then i am reminded of one of my heros, Jeffery Steingarten, who did not shy away even from olestra, perhaps one of the most aesthetically distasteful substances yet invented. This thought humbled me enough to want to indulge my other instinct: curiosity.

Continue reading "Flavored Cheeses"

WSJ on raw milk

The Wall Street Journal is running a story (link should work for free!) on the front page today (in the a-hed slot) on schemes to buy unpasteurized milk by, for example, purchasing part of a cow and thus qualifying as its owner and thus being allowed to drink its milk raw. Apparently this is a bigger deal in other states, as California already will license individual dairies to sell raw milk,which I was not aware of. Has anyone in The Cheese Diaries' fair state bought raw milk from a supermarket here? Odd, too, that one can get a license to sell raw milk but not most raw milk cheeses.

Dumbing it down

Sarah Dickerman in Slate:

So, let's ask the obvious question: Why on earth would fermented foods like cheese be enjoying such a wave of popularity at a time when microbial anxiety is running so high? The threat of bioterrorism lingers in the back of our minds, new diseases like West Nile virus and SARS freak us out, and antibiotics that have kept us healthy for years seem to be losing their efficacy. Perhaps the thought of microbial cultivation, a sort of micro-agriculture, is comforting. Cultivating microbes confers an idea of control: It reassures us that we've lived with microbes for a long time and always found a way to manage them.

Ok, let's ask the really obvious question? Why do "journalists" feel the need to fabricate a zeitgeist everytime something new comes to their attention?

[via eGullet]

Continue reading "Dumbing it down"

GIs in trade talks

I've been working on an article about the battle over geographical indications for some time, but here is an update from the nyt:
EU Steps Up Global Battle Over Parma Ham, Roquefort Cheese,

and also From Cheese to Wine, EU OKs Protections.

now we're talking

"Unless you read the label, nothing about this lovely new semisoft cheese suggests that it comes from Tibet. Or that it is made from yak milk. The cheese resembles Gruyère, though a little less nutty and a bit muskier..."

Florence Fabricant in the Times.

Bury me in cheese!

Some of you may have heard about Magician David Blaine's ice stunt last fall.

Well, in a rather bizarre parody, Magician Noah Kelley entombed himself in cheese. Fourty eight hours later, he emerged, none the worse, really, for his experience.

Like I said, those crazy Brits!

blackout!

Yesterday npr reported (audio) on the tragedy at Artisanal, the NYC restaurant with over 300 cheeses whose cave lost its refrigeration in the blackout. The fromagier described carrying the cheeses to an undiclosed "cave-like location" and trying to cool them with sheets, but he lost over 90% percent of them. I know it's absurd, but it was a very sad story.

The good thing is that I discovered their on-line store, for those of you who can't get to the Cheeseboard.

Weird Cheese

From Max:

Some macabre cheese...

and is anyone going to be in Bra in September?

The Contest

It's the last Monday in May, the sun high in the sky as noon approaches. There is excitement in the air, and the crowd that has accumulated above Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, England, mill about talk amongst themselves in anticipation.

A voice cuts through the air: "ONE to be ready!"

The crowd comes to attention.

"TWO to be steady!" There is silence now as the crowd becomes tense.

"THREE to prepare!" The crowd holds its breath. A seven pound wheel of double Gloucester cheese is released and proceeds to rumble down the steep hill.

"And FOUR to be off!"

And the race is on! The crowd at the top of the hill springs into action, running, rolling, bouncing, stumbling, and throwing themselves down the hill as fast as they can go.

Welcome to the annual Gloucestershire Cheese rolling contest. Winner takes the cheese.

Continue reading "The Contest"

My kind of race

Man wins first place in bicycle race.

Man wins wheel of camembert cheese. Hopefully it's camembert de normandie.

from Anchorage Daily News

Feta Police?

Apparently a Greek firm exported a batch of feta contaminated with listeria. Embarassed over the scandal and concerned over the sanctity of one of Greece's primary exports, Greek Minister of Agriculture announced intentions to create a special police squad to monitor all future feta exports.

Quothe the Minister, "We will be merciless."

.

Christmas comes early this year (or bufala part II)

I've been offline for the past few weeks, my computer a victim of a nasty worm. I returned late last week to learn, courtesy of Max, that Jeffrey Steingarten, my culinary idol, was doing this week's Q & A on egullet. Somehow, egullet allowed me to post a question, and miracle of miracles, he answered! Read on...

Continue reading "Christmas comes early this year (or bufala part II)"

On Tasting Cheese

Last week I had the unique opportunity to attend a cheese class sponsored by the Cow Girl Creamery, led by the world famous affineur, Jean d"Alos. In a series of posts, I would like to share with you the amazing insight I gained from this fascinating man. The first, appropriately, is his method of tasting cheese.

Continue reading "On Tasting Cheese"

Laurent Manrique

Laurent Manrique is executive chef at Aqua here in San Francisco. I cover Aqua's parent company as hospitality reporter for the San Francisco Business Times, writing on the business of restaurants, but recently had a few minutes to ask Manrique some culinary questions for one of the Business Times' brief chef profiles, a sort of cheat sheet for executives who like to power lunch.

In addition to asking about exotic hidden gems yet to appear on the menu, which you can read about in this week's Bizzy Times, I asked him about his fave fromage, which did not make it into the paper but which I will recount for you here.

Continue reading "Laurent Manrique"

This Burrata is made in Dallas? Get a rope!

I have only the grainiest of cell phone pictures to prove it, but an outfit in Dallas, Texas is making what it claims is Burrata cheese. Burrata is a recently-popular type of mozzarella with a very creamy center. Anne wrote an article on it a while back for No Reservations magazine, but the mag and its website have gone offline.

Burrata has a very short shelf life, so people are happy to find domestic producers like Gioia Cheese in El Monte, California.

Anne spotted this Dallas variant at Central Market in Houston. Central Market is basically what you get when you turn a Costco-sized warehouse into essentially a Whole Foods and take the price and attitude down a notch, but they're only in Texas at the moment. Anyway she spotted a Buratta, which looks basically like this:

Innocent enough, and at a measly $12 we probably should have bought some and seen how it tasted. But we were scared by an entirely different list of ingredients on the back. You can barely tell because my picture is too blurry, but the second listed ingredient is Marscapone cheese. Anne's theory is that the company is merely injecting Marscapone into some plain Mozz and calling it Burrata.

Here's a shot where you can tell the full name of the producer, Mozzarella Cheese Company, which does indeed appear to be a reasonably reputable firm:

jasper hill

The latest Art of Eating takes note of a relatively new Vermont dairy, Jasper Hill Farm, which makes raw milk cheeses from its own herd of 27 Ayrshires. The cheesemaker, Mateo Kehler, spent five years studying cheese in Europe, working at Neal's Yard, among other things. According to Behr they are making 2 cheeses: a big blue called Bayley Hazen, and the small surface-ripened, Constant Bliss, aged for 60 days, which may be unique in this country. They use an interesting combination of commercial and wild molds.

They are listed at the following sites, which I link here because they are all useful:
Slow Food's American Raw Milk Farmstead Cheese Consortium, Vermont Dairy Promotion Council's cheesemakers page, New England Dairy Promotion Board's cheese site. If anyone sees these on the West Coast, let us know.

Cheese Shop Blogs

Everyone is blogging...we're blogging, that big corporate behemouth down the street is blogging, and, of course, our favorite cheese shops are blogging. Some are updated more than others. Here are a few links to blogs run by cheesemongers:

Artisanal Cheese

Murray's Cheese

Formaggio Kitchen

Fairway's Steve Jenkins

Thanks Elijah for the scoop on Fairway.

Got more links? Send them to me and I'll post them here.