News From The Cheese Caves

On Monday, we welcomed Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, into our kitchen at the Artisanal Cheese Center, and had an exciting morning dedicated to launching the Contessa’s new line of mixes, coffees, and preserves. The Barefoot Contessa Pantry and Stonewall kitchen had contacted us about this event in May, and we’d been preparing ever since.

Roastmaster Keith Geter and I were asked to test out the mixes in our kitchen prior to the event. We received a box of each (popovers, biscuits, scones, and coffee cake) with instructions to test and record the results from each recipe. I truly appreciated these recipes as I am not much of a baker and I could never have such great results on my own. The coffee cake came out golden brown, moist, and with the perfect amount of spice in the streusel topping. The biscuits were soft and fluffy. The popovers were delicate and went wonderfully with the Barefoot Contessa’s preserves, and the scones made me crave a great cup of coffee. The rest of the staff at Artisanal loved her mixes too—they got to finish off our samples.

After a month of planning, scheduling and baking, the big day arrived. Keith and I showed up at 5 a.m. on Monday to start the preparations. Our baking schedule needed to be followed exactly in order to make sure everyone got served, but our plans were slightly disrupted by the unbelievable turnout. Keith and I had to move very quickly in order to serve everyone, and our combined kitchen experience helped us keep up with the hungry crowds. Honestly, we should have expected a massive turnout for a big name like Ina Garten.

As the event wound down, Ina came up to us and thanked us for all of our help. I was somewhat star struck but Keith took it in stride (he’s been around big names before). Luckily I was able to get an autograph before she left, and ended an exciting morning at the Artisanal Cheese Center.

Frank Buatti
Intern

I have been working at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center as an intern from The Culinary Institute of America for the last three months, in many different areas of the company, ranging from affinage and production to P.R. and event promotion. I have worked directly with cheese expert Max McCalman, as well as with Artisanal Roastmaster Keith Geter. I have accompanied fromager Waldemar Albrecht to promotional events, and ventured to the James Beard awards where I helped cut and serve cheese to hundreds of foodies and celebrities alike. I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment I’ve spent here, but I must say that personally selecting the cheeses for the Cheese and Wine 101 class has been my favorite endeavor yet.

Max asked me to take a walk through our cheese caves to see if I could come up with a tentative list of cheeses to use in our Cheese & Wine 101 class. I excitedly agreed as I pulled out my notepad and began jotting down ideas. I knew what types I wanted to use; a fresh goat, an aged goat for comparison, a mild aged sheep, a washed rind stinker, a wild-ball eye opener, a well known cheese the way it’s meant to be done, and a classic blue. Max told me to keep in mind progression and variety, as we always do. This was my selection:

1. Laurier, a Vermont goat cheese exclusive to Artisanal
2. Monte Enebro, a Spanish aged goat cheese
3. Zamorono, a delightfully nutty Spanish sheep cheese
4. Queijo Serra da Estrela, a bold, herbaceous Portuguese cheese
5. Barely Buzzed, rind rubbed in espresso and lavender
6. Four year aged Gouda, a classic firm cheese
7. Roquefort Artisanal, a classic French bleu made with sheep’s milk

I sent my original proposal to Max and he agreed with my selections. I felt, upon completion, a joy I had not yet known. This was my cheese list. I selected these cheeses for people to eat. I was proud of my selection and during the class everything seemed to taste five times better than I remembered. The guests enjoyed themselves just as much as any other night, only this time I had a hand in their pleasure. I have since followed a similar process to choose cheeses for other classes. I feel like this was a very prominent landmark in my stay here, since when I started in April, I knew nothing about cheese. I owe it all to my coworkers here at the Artisanal Cheese Center; they taught me everything I know.

Frank Buatti
Intern

For a limited time become a member of the Cheese of the Month Club and receive two tickets to Artisanal’s famous Cheese & Wine Tastings.

Every 3, 6 or 9 month purchase of Cheese of the Month comes with two tickets a cheese tasting of your choice. All you have to do is enter the promotion code COMCLA before purchasing Cheese of the Month.

Learn more about Cheese of the Month.

View the full schedule of tastings.

Artisan Cheese shouldn’t just be for those with a “sophisticated palette,” or Fifth Avenue residents, but for anyone who appreciates a well crafted piece of cheese. As a senior in college, I thought I’d have a hard time fitting artisan cheeses into my budget, but after a session with Denis Cottin, Artisanal’s resident affineur, I’ve come to realize that not all Artisan cheeses are out of reach.

Many goat cheeses are in season right now, and it’s the perfect time of year for them. These soft, creamy cheeses match the fruits that are also at their peak. Fleur de lis pairs perfectly with summer strawberries, or any other fresh fruit. Since this is the only time of year that some of these cheeses are made, it’s the perfect opportunity to try them with the best of the summer fruits available. Cabecou Feuille, another goat cheese, is perfect with fresh peaches (since it’s marinated with peach schnapps) and at its price, it’s hard to resist.

Not into goat cheese? Banon de Chalais is a soft cow’s milk cheese, or you can try Saint Marcellin, another soft cow cheese that is super creamy. You don’t need to know a lot about cheese to see that these taste good—the pictures say a thousand words.

As a newbie to the world of fine cheeses, I was a little afraid to dive in for fear of never being able to afford what they let me try at work. I’m not worried anymore.

Holly Walker
Intern

Artisanal CEO, Daniel Dowe, was quoted in The Advocate in a great article about the spread and appreciation of Artisan cheeses in the United States.

Check it out!

Throughout my career as cheese monger I have come across some cheese and wine pairings that have been unforgettable, and I would like to share some of my favorites.

It is a truly a myth in my opinion that a wine and cheese from the same region should be a pairing made in heaven. One example of an utter disaster from the same region side by side is Pinot Noir from Burgundy and fresh goat cheese from Burgundy. The same can be said about the sheep’s milk cheeses from Portugal and Vinho Verde wine.

The first pairing that I truly love during the summer months is Loire Valley goats milk cheese and Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. They both have lovely acidity and a smooth refreshing finish.

The second pairing I truly love and that is perfect for the Spring and Summer months is California and Oregon Pinot Noir which is a more robust Pinot Noir with thistle rennet sheep’s milk cheeses from the Iberian Peninsula that have a grassy, creamy tart finish.

My last and favorite pairing to have at the end of the meal would be late harvest Semillon Sauternees from Bordeaux and Carles Sheep’s milk Roquefort with butter.

Gabriel Edelman
Culinary Advisor

Akiko Katayama, judge on Iron Chef America, attended a Cheese & Bubbly class at the Artisanal Cheese Center.

She had the following to say about her experience:

I attended the ‘Bubbly & Cheese” class where four beautiful champagnes and seven excellent cheeses were paired. Both lecturers, Seth Box on bubbly and Waldemar Albrecht on cheese, were fun and competent, and they jointly proved how wonderful bubbly and cheese could be by being together. Now when I see cheese, I think of Champagne.

There is an old Spanish proverb that reads: Cheese from the ewe, milk from the goat, butter from the cow. Could this explain why I tend to gravitate toward these nutty, full-flavored sheepy curds? Sheep have been raised for milk for thousands of years, long before the now ubiquitous cow. Not that I have any grievances with things bovine. But I have come to realize that many of my most favorite cheeses are of the ovine persuasion. As I’ve studied and tasted cheeses as part of my on-the-job training, I’ve discovered some interesting things about the milk of these woolly creatures.

A brief foray into the world of nutrition gives me some clues as to why these cheeses taste so darn good. Did you know that sheep’s milk is highly nutritious? It’s richer in vitamins A, B, B6, B12, D and E, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, zinc and magnesium than cow and goat’s milk? With its short and medium chain fatty acids, sheep milk is easier to digest. OK–it’s also higher in fat, but as it turns out, this fat is not as high in saturated fatty acids as compared to goat and cow’s milk.

Also, less is more. Since sheep’s milk is higher in solids, it takes less milk to make a pound of cheese than cow or goat’s milk. This is a good thing because sheep produce much less milk in a given day that goats or cows and that explains why these cheeses can be a bit more expensive than those made from other animals.

Some claim it can prevent hangovers. If you are familiar with the discomfort of having over-indulged after a night of drinking on the town, try drinking a glass of sheep milk or eating a hunk of Abbaye de Belloc a couple hours before you go out and it will line your stomach. The goal is to prevent the hangover rather than having to cure it.

Finally, I surmise that the skills of a dedicated cheesemaker combined with the use of this uber-nutritous milk make it impossible not to love sheep milk cheeses. Some of my favorites include Carles Roquefort, Bianco Sardo di Moliterno, Pecorino Balze Volteranne, Spenwood, Zamorano, Ossau-Iraty, Tourmalet, Berkswell and Torta del Casar. You’ll find descriptions of these cheeses on our website and you just may be tempted to try one or two at your next gathering. Ewe better believe it!

Erin Hedley
Drop Ship and Corporate Gift Culinary Advisor

On a starry May night at Lincoln Center the goddesses of culinaria descended among us mere mortals that were lucky enough to witness it, I am invariably referring to the 2009 James Beard Awards that celebrated women in food.

For the second year in a row, Artisanal Premium Cheese was invited to be the Cheese Sponsor for the event, so the task at hand was to find women cheese makers that represented great examples of terroir and craftsmanship in the cheese world, not a difficult job, since many of the great cheeses in the planet have long been created and nurtured by remarkable ladies.

I narrowed my selection to five distinct cheese makers, many of which I have a close relationship with, from Dallas Texas, Paula Lambert was represented by her beautiful Hoja Santa, wrapped in leaves with distinct licorice hints, her Montasio rosemary, and the sweet aroma of her Blanca Bianca. From Vermont, we presented the team of Allison Hooper and Adeline Druart and our exclusive Laurier with the slight piquancy that the bay leave imparts, together with Coupole and their absolutely knock out butter with sea salt.

Not to be outdone, we presented Judy Schad’s goat beauties, represented in the form of the light and pillowy Old Kentucky Tomme and infamous ash-dusted Wabash Cannonball, coming around to the Majestic Kunik made by Sheila Flanagan in upstate New York. Of course, we needed to present an example of the Old World, and crossing the pond on a small jump, we finished with the legendary , tangy, and buttery Kirkhams Lancashire made by Ruth Kirkham.

The cheeses were presented in three stations, press room, VIP dinner and in the main room creating the wow effect that great cheeses invoke, which complemented the daring and inventive creations many of the famed women chefs designed for this occasion.

It was then that among the throngs of celebrities and foodies alike, I hurried up to catch one of the few available city cabs, satisfied and proud of a job well done!

-Waldemar Albrecht
Director of Business Development