Winter Warmers!

In Boston this morning it was -8C, the snow that fell two days previous blankets the ground and the wind chill bites at your face like an angry bite-y thing. With a large snow storm predicted for the weekend in New England there is only one thing for it; hunker down, eat some cheese and drink some ale!

    All that's left of new year's resolutions are broken promises, the hangover that you nursed in order to welcome 2016 has long been forgotten and those pounds you promised to shed will help you get through the winter anyway! Today you've managed to battle the elements, get to work on time, be relatively productive for a few hours and you even made your own lunch to take with you! Therefore once you reach the comfort of home you deserve some little treats. At least that's what I tell myself!

    There are lots of amazing combinations that you could choose from for a winter warming snackadoodle but you can't really beat a bit of English Cheshire Cheese with a bottle of Old Brown Dog Ale (or if you really want to push the boat out, Really Old Brown Dog Ale). Being an Englishman, before I moved to America all the Cheshire cheese I had eaten had been white cheese. Since I emigrated to America all the Cheshire cheese I have eaten has been orange cheese - dyed with Annatto. This being said, it doesn't really matter what colour it is; it still tastes fantastic.

    Cheshire has been produced for a long time. Providing I have my facts right, Cheshire (the county not the cheese!) was even mentioned in the Domesday Book which was written during the time of William the Conqueror in 1085! Cheshire used to be full of salt marshes and therefore the cattle who grazed there had a high content of salt in their milk. Apparently the salt caused the cheese to ripen slowly and gave it a crumbly texture.

    It's an absolutely cracking cheese. Whether you bake it, grill it, crumble it in soups or just eat it with an ale (or two) you can guarantee that it will leave your taste buds with a sense of satisfaction! Old Brown Dog Ale is an old style ale produced in New Hampshire by Smuttynose Brewing Company. It is really old brown goodness but beware it can also give you a really old brown hangover too!

Cheese-o-meter rating: 9/10
   

'Stilton? With Mango....and Ginger?!

'Stilton? With Mango...and Ginger?!' she said with a look somewhere between intrigue and revulsion. The pause between Mango and Ginger was perfectly timed, almost as though she could just about accept the Mango aspect but surely not the Ginger! I was immediately reminded of Peter Kay. An American, female version of Peter Kay. Anybody who has seen that famous sketch in which the comic describes how family members become increasingly exasperated at the combination of certain food products will know exactly what I am referring to.

Peter Kay. Cheese? and Cake?

     The lady had approached the cheese counter and asked for 'something different that was flavor infused.' After a short enthralling conversation in which we discussed the differences between the English and American spelling of flavor/flavour I told her to turn her attention to the Stilton, with Mango and Ginger. She then proceeded to do her best Peter Kay impression (even though I'm certain she had no idea who he was) before repeating it under her breath as if I had told her the cheese would somehow enable her to fly but was also made with poison. To her credit she was very entertaining and she picked up a piece of cheese for closer inspection. 'What does it taste like?' she exclaimed whilst poking the bits of Mango in the cheese as if to check that they were real. Apart from telling her that it was English cheese and therefore obviously good, I also said that it was a bit like cheese cake (Peter Kay) and that it has a unique creaminess and fruitiness that can only be attributed to the crazy combination of unusual flavors! She didn't look convinced so I allowed her to try some. I cut a slice off and handed it to her. She looked uneasy, beads of sweat were dripping down her forehead with worry as she guided the sample towards her. After initially pulling the face a baby pulls when you give him/her a piece of lemon for the first time, she relaxed and said she was pleasantly surprised with how it tasted. She said she could see herself eating it as a dessert cheese after a meal. I agreed!

A cheeky piece of Stilton

     Produced by Long Clawson Dairy in the UK, Stilton with Mango and Ginger is one of a number of British cheeses that have a long history of sweet or savoury infusion. Others varieties are more well known such as Cotswold with Chives, Lancashire with Garlic and Cheddar with Mustard. Mango, Ginger Stilton is one of the best sweeter options around. Despite conceding that she enjoyed it, the lady in question never did buy the piece that she sampled. Instead she opted for the 'safety' of....Wensleydale with Cranberries......

Cheese-o-meter rating: 8/10
    

Celebrate Independence with a Homemade Beauty!

Consider Bardwell Farm is just one of those farms I really want to visit. Located in beautiful Vermont (and partly in New York) it is a 300-acre farm which boasts the title of becoming the first cheese-making coop in Vermont back in 1864. The farm produces a range of cheeses with milk from goats and cows. The goats that live on the farm are called Oberhaslis goats. If goats could have opinions on how other goats look then most goats would be jealous of Oberhaslis goats. But that's a story for a different day. The cheese held up with the task of flying the flag for independence today is one made with cows milk. Specifically, Jersey cows.

Freshly cut Dorset!

Dorset is her name. She's a washed rind cheese and she's got such depth in flavor that if you close your eyes then you can realize yourself amongst the rolling hills and fresh air that is in such large supply in the first state to be formed in the USA that WASN'T an original colony. The washed rind gives the cheese a pink and almost crystallized aesthetic and when it is cut a pretty, yellow interior is revealed. It has a good degree of pungency too which is said to be seasonally influenced. Yesterday, I suggested a customer should try a piece as it would look great on a 'July 4th cheeseboard.' I handed her the piece and when she tried it she almost melted into the counter. It was quite a sight to see. Suffice to say she bought a large piece!

The wheels are small and only come in 2.5lb sizes which is kind of cute. It's size does not affect it's status in the cheese case; it is the winner of so many awards that it stares up at some of the larger local cheeses and they treat it equally! The personification of cheese!

Consider Bardwell Farm is committed to pesticide-free grazing on land that does not use fertilizer. It's great for vegetarians as only vegetarian rennet is added to the cheese and there is no antibiotic or hormone rubbish added at any point from farm to table. Dorset, VT is an historic town and Dorset cheese is well on it's way to become historic in it's own right! I'll support a flag with a piece of Dorset on it today for Independence!

Parmigiano Reggiano; Making husband's worried for nine centuries!

Remember when you were back in school and your peers used to invent a shortened version of
name in order to say it quicker? Mine was always pretty simple. Andrew Tyson only ever went as far as 'Andy', 'Tyson' or occasionally 'Stretch' due to my lanky appearance. However, nicknames/shortened names can sometimes be confusing to others. To name a few, I've had friends called The Train, Boozer, Maverick, Okra, The Blue Whale and Kooch! Shortened names are also often given to things that one holds dear such as sports teams, cars and places. It doesn't happen too much with cheese though. Maybe that's why lots of people get confused with Parmigiano Reggiano.

Rustic cut!

'Hello, got any Parm?' he said abruptly. I knew what he wanted immediately. He had been in the store with his wife the week before and she had taken a nice respectable chunk of Reggiano with a small rind from the display. 'Of course' I replied. I know the word 'Parm' is a general term and could mean any number of hard Italian grating cheeses but like I said, I knew what he wanted. I took the gentleman to the Reggiano display. 'Here you go' I said, motioning towards the oddly-shaped, jagged edges of Parmesan mountain. The man picked a piece up and inspected the label. 'No, this is wrong, I'm looking for Parm' he continued, 'this label says some Italian name, Reggy something.' I told the gentleman that I can assure him that Parmigiano Reggiano was the 'long name' for the cheese he was looking for. He looked at me with distrust and over the top of his glasses he said 'I hope you're right because if I go home with the wrong thing then my wife will not be happy!' On telling him that I had seen his wife ask me for the location of the Parmesan display just the other week his shoulders visibly relaxed and he popped the piece straight in his basket!

Parmigiano Reggiano is still made today as it was hundreds of years ago using honest and traditional methods. It is the absolute king of cheeses and it squashes everything in it's path with it's 90lb total wheel weight. Every wheel has it's own unique marking branded onto the cheese and during production and maturation the wheels are inspected EVERY day to ensure consistency. Approximately 550 liters of cow's milk is used in every wheel produced and according to figures there were over 3,300,000 wheels made in 2014!

Freshly sliced with a Parm knife

A cheese as historic as this absolutely has to have protected status of origin and as a result it is only produced in five provinces throughout Italy. As well being the ingredient in many dishes it is fantastic grated over pretty much anything and the rind can be added to soups and stews to increase the flavor! Just this week I cracked open a new wheel to be released upon the world and just started handing out samples to people walking by. I couldn't help myself! A freshly cut wheel of Parmesan is easily worth two in the bush. It literally melts in your mouth. There's no beating it, it's the king of cheese. King of Kings. Even if the name does make husbands worry!

Roquefort Papillon - Ravishingly Pleasing!

Roquefort is one of the world's most well-known and well-loved cheeses. Produced for centuries and matured in the Combalou Cave systems of Southern France it's historic story of discovery is one of chance and coincidence. Way back in time, when Jack was just a lad, it is said that a shepherd sat down to rest in a cave with a bag of rye bread and sheep's cheese. However, it was not food that he had on his mind but instead the pursuit of a stunning shepherdess! In his haste he set off to track her down (and presumably start a family of mini shepherds) but as his mind was all a flutter he forgot to take his food with him. Sources say that only when he realized he was as hungry as a hippo on a hamster's diet did he return to the cave to find that his cheese had all this weird green and blue mold on it. Famished, he demolished the lot at once and was pleasantly surprised to find it tasted bloody fantastic!

Pretty Papillon

Roquefort has protected status of origin, it has been revered by kings and it has seen and survived many wars. In comparison with the Roquefort produced for centuries, Papillon is a toddler of a producer. First made in 1906 it is only just getting it's adult teeth. The are only 7 producers of Roquefort and Papillon is one of the largest.

It is pretty much the best sheep's milk blue cheese that there is. The milk comes from Lacaune Sheep and whatever it is that these ewe's eat, the milk they produce is so rich! The flavor is not for the faint-hearted. It's bold, it's intense, it's salty and it's powerful. In all honesty, it's a little strong for me but I can absolutely appreciate what an incredible cheese it really is! When the outer silver foil is pulled back the inside is like a picture of modern art; a bright white paste, interjected with blue and green mold. As a bonus, this particular one is organic!

If you want a piece of history eat it with rye bread.
If you want it warmed up put it on a burger.
If you wanna get sloshed, eat it with a stout!

Cheese-o-meter rating: 8/10

Fonterra Sharp Cheddar - Your dad's favourite cheese!

A lively customer walked straight for me this week, extremely eager to tell me something. He had a manic look in his otherwise friendly eyes and I waited with trepidation for what was coming next. 'I'm 42 and I never knew' he exclaimed. He waited impatiently, anticipating my reaction. On realizing that he wasn't going to kill me with the block of cheese that he was holding aloft I offered a reply. 'You're 42?' I said. The man was looking positively radiant and not a day over 30. This was not the answer he wanted and he brushed it aside immediately. 'I just never knew' he repeated, a bemused look on his face somewhere between concern and awe. I finally ventured with the response he was waiting for. 'Never knew what?' I said. 'I'm 42 and I never realized that cheddar could actually taste so good. I never believed the hype. I thought that ordinary cheddar, cheap cheddar that I usually buy was worth the price and that there was no difference. I've literally spent my whole life EATING BORING CHEDDAR' he said animatedly.

Cheddar Mountain; the highest peak in New Zealand

The piece of cheese that he was holding above his head like a caveman wielding a prehistoric tool was Fonterra, New Zealand Sharp Cheddar. If you put hundreds of cheddar's in a line, it is pretty good. Not the best, but nowhere near the bottom of the pile either. This gentleman with the secret aging cream was amazed at the price as well as the taste and on comparison he realized he was actually getting more 'better cheddar' per pound than his 'usual cheap cheddar.' Once he had made his point we exchanged pleasantries and off he went on his merry way. I never did find out what cheap cheddar he had been eating all those years!

As a company, Fonterra is pretty big. However, big doesn't necessarily mean bad. They are committed to responsible dairy farming and they have projects in place to promote sustainable farming, preserving wetlands and taking care of cattle. The cheese is made with milk from grass-fed cows. It pretty much melts in your mouth, it's incredibly flavorful and it leaves you thinking 'I'm just going to have to have another piece!'

Cheese-o-meter rating: 7/10

Saint Agur; the rindless, blue wonder!

I've been meaning to write about Saint Agur for some time. It's just one of those cheeses that sometimes seems to be overlooked until it is either sampled or accidentally on purpose thrown into someone's shopping basket when they are looking in the other direction. It doesn't take a genius to work out it's country of origin. It sounds French. It tastes French. In fact I'm sure I saw a wheel just yesterday complete with a tilted beret and baguette.

     Saint Agur is another BLUE and it is pretty damn delicious. It's a double-cream cheese which makes it spreadable and wonderful. It is made from pasteurized cow's milk which comes from a small village called Beauzac in the mountainous region of Auvergne (which is the also the name of another blue cheese). The producers of Saint Agur add vegetarian rennet instead of animal rennet during the cheese-making process so it's even suitable for vegetarians! Everyone's a winner...apart from the vegans...and the lactose intolerant.....okay, so most people are winners!

I cut this the little number today!

     This cheeky blue has no rind so in order to keep it together it is usually wrapped in a very presentable, octagonal foil cover. It is relatively salty and fairly tangy as you would expect from most blues but overall it is definitely more buttery and rich on the palate. Melt it on burgers. Spread it on bread. Eat it with figs or dates. Eat it with caramelized walnuts. Eat it whilst doing a handstand in the shower. It's a treat.
     Lastly there is a great commercial that can be found online for Saint Agur. It features a happy couple simply sitting outside about to start a picnic involving a piece of Saint Agur. The man secretly rings his wife's phone under the table and she runs inside to get it. Whilst she is gone he eats all the Saint Agur and she is left angry and defeated! It's worth a watch! You Tube!


Cheese-o-meter rating: 7.5/10