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May 27, 2005
Morbier (the real deal)
The time has come to try some really weird cheeses. Morbier is here! Why is Morbier weird? Well, it is made from two milkings (of a cow), one from the morning milking and one from the evening milk. The legend, as it were, goes that a cheesemaker who "invented" Morbier, simply ran out of curds and had to wait for another milking. In the meantime, not wanting to waste the curds he already had to go to waste, he covered them with ash. The ash was to prevent the cheese from drying out, but probably also to keep away bugs (ick!)
Steven Jenkins in his Cheese Primer goes at length about the very subtle difference between the morning milk and the evening milk. Surely, "the evening milk may be fruitier or more pronounced" and as far as morning milk is concerned, "there should be a fleeting, subtle difference in the flavor of a milk coming from a cow that has been [...] motionless through the night". Yes, he goes on for a bit and there's talk of "ruminating in the field" - I guess nothing a cheese lover makes but happy cows (or something)!
But I'm joking. Morbier is truly wonderful, take a look:
This cheese is so good that there are many places that make "Morbier" while it's not technically Morbier on the grounds that it is not even made in a proper place (Franche-Comte Jura or Doubs should are ok, Poitou and Auvergne are a big no-no). These impostor cheeses are made from pasteurized milk and way cheaper, but also much more bland. Morbier is supposed to be deeply fruity and nutty and complex and the fakers don't live up to it. This particular Morbier was made in the Jura Mountains in the town Roanne by Herve Mons and it lived up to its hype. It is recommended to be eaten with ham or salami, maybe on a sandwich, but it is quite delicious on its own, too.
Posted by maggie at 01:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2005
A gathering
I'm slowly finding out that becoming a cheese expert is best when accompanied by friends for the following reasons:
- Most cheese stores have a minimum when it comes to cheese purchases. Murray's Cheese, for example, expects that you buy at least a quarter of a pound of each type of cheese. That much cheese is really all one person can eat in one sitting, but, if you have friends over for cheese tasting, you can get lots of different kinds of cheese and not end up feeling sick from overeating. Hooray!
- As a relative beginner to the cheese world, it is difficult to come up with correct words to describe the cheese you're eating. Comments from your friends will allow you to better understand the cheese (how profound!)
- Eating alone kind of sucks.
A few weeks ago, I invited friends for dinner to taste four cheeses:
- Fromage d'Affinois - cow milk, soft, young (2-3 weeks) cheese. Made without using rennet and ripened in a humid cellar. Kind of like Brie, but better.
- Fresh Crottin - sheep milk, soft, fresh cheese. Great with white wine!
- Oka - cow milk, semi-soft, washed-rind cheese. Comes from the village Oka near Montreal, Canada and has been made since 1881 (originally by monks, but not anymore). Aged 2 months, lower fat as far as cheeses go. Sports a "full, fruity, earthy flavor", according to Murray's Cheese. Delicious. It's supposed to resemble Avergne and Savoie traditional in flavor, so I'll have to check those out.
- Hoch Ybrig - cow milk, washed in brine with white wine, pressed cheese. This Swiss cheese comes from a little town near Zurich called Ybrig. It's definitely fun to say. Takes slightly sweet and a bit nutty. Good with heavy red wines.
I am not sure yet, but I think I am developing a taste for what cheese experts describe as "nutty" cheeses. I'm also partial to soft cheeses, like the above-mentioned Fromage d'Affinois, but it seems that soft cheeses are liked by more people than hard cheeses with very defined and strong flavors.
Posted by maggie at 05:38 PM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2005
Cheese Vocabulary
One of the harder things I'm finding when it comes to learning about cheese, is picking up the vocabulary used to describe cheese attributes. And I don't mean things like "soft cheese" and "goat milk cheese" but rather things like "this cheese tastes nutty", "this cheese is very fruity" and "rich". It seems that there is a formula somewhere that lets you use these vocabulary words to match cheeses to go together at dinner or when looking for appropriate wine, but online search yields little to no relevant results. It is quite possible though that I'm looking in wrong places. I've been reading Steve Jenkins' Cheese Primer and it's pretty good so far, but it's a lot of information (and cheese) to digest in one sitting. A new sub-goal in learning about cheese: when I find a sane vocabulary for describing cheese, I will post a coherent list of these words on this blog.
Posted by maggie at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2005
Aged Manchego
The first sheep milk cheese since starting this learning about cheese endeavor. It made me slightly nostalgic for oszczypek made in the mountain ranges in the South of Poland (relatively near Krakow, where I was born). Unfortunately, I have to keep my oszczypek eating until next year when I visit Poland. It is made from unpasteurized milk, and, therefore not available in the U.S.
Ok, so manchego, aged - not a bad cheese. It is a pressed cheese from Spain made from raw sheep's milk using only the milk of La Manchega sheep. It is aged over a year and ends up being creamy with a little big of tang to it. It would probably be delicious with dried fruit, like figs. However, it's not extremely remarkable - that is, you can use it in bigger amounts than other, more adventurous cheeses. I feel that this un-remarkableness (is that a word, even?) makes it pretty good for sandwiches. Yes, I could go for an aged manchego sandwich for lunch today...
Posted by maggie at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2005
Chase the Cheesemeister
As you can see, changes in design are forthcoming (and some already happening) to the blog. Most importantly, say hello to Chase the Cheesemeister. Chase is a mouse drawn by James King and named by Derrick. Thanks for helping out, guys!
I'm thinking of Chase having a thought balloon - any ideas what it should say?
Posted by maggie at 12:05 AM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2005
Fresh Robiola by Osella
Robiola by Osella is a cheese I had about a month ago, but I still remember it vividly. This cow milk cheese is so delicious, I almost cried when the little cube of it was done! Very similar to cream cheese, but not, y'know, tasteless and stuff. Murray's cheese says:
The snowy-white fresh curd of Robiolais a mild, sweet and creamy cube of cow's milk. Makes a striking addition to brunch and transforms a fruit salad into a meal. Very versatile!
And it is deliciously inexpensive. One cube (good for a meal for one person or snack for 2-3) costs about $3-5, so you can incorporate it into your regular diet. Yum, robiola...
Posted by maggie at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)