Cheese
Bellwether Farms – San Andreas
“Once upon a time, Cindy Callahan needed a way to keep our pasture grasses under control, so she bought sheep,” explains Cindy’s son, Liam. ”That one innocent act triggered a series of events that placed our family at the forefront of the American revival in artisan cheese making.” Liam Callahan and his wife, Diana, now run Bellwether Farms, located about an hour north of San Francisco in the beautiful hillsides of Sonoma County. It would be fair to say that everything relating to this farm is beautiful, from the family’s mission of creating a perfect American Pecorino to the care of their flock of 200 East Friesian...
Read MoreSweet Grass Dairy: Green Hill
Not terribly far from the Florida Georgia border, a sustainable family-owned farm (farms really, but more on that later) is churning out some of the creamiest, gooey-ist, buttery-ist double creme this side of the sea. I picked up a wheel of Sweet Grass Dairy‘s award winning Green Hill Double Creme Camembert some time ago when I was merely a customer at Artisan Cheese Company and instantly fell in love as I slathered thick smears of it on freshly warmed baguette while standing at my kitchen counter. Now that I’m behind the cheese counter, Louise has to regularly check my purse to make sure I’m not stealing the inventory. It’s that good. I...
Read MoreYou Caveman Me Jane
There is something decidedly special about a box. There is. Just ask a cat. (Don’t own a cat? Probably don’t know what I’m talking about then, eh? Go buy a cat and a box.) Although, where felines prefer an empty box, one they will mightily try to squeeze their haunches in, no matter the size, we usually opt for one containing something we desire… gift, a good, a ring, a thing. Thus, when this beautiful little box shows up at the shop, I get more excited than if I watched Santa himself crawl down my stove hood fan bearing a whole bag full of boxes with my name on the labels. Hey, it’s the closest thing I’ve got to a chimney,...
Read MoreAlpha Tolman
“Burly? This cheese is burly? What does that mean?,” ask our customers who have heard us use a multitude of adjectives when describing our beautiful wheels, everything from delicate to funky, but burly? Never burly. But, Jasper Hill Farm‘s Alpha Tolman, named after a turn of the century Greensboro, VT dairy farmer, is indeed robust and meaty. Before you go on thinking that this cheese comes with a plaid shirt and a blue ox, you should also note that this raw cow’s milk wheel is an Alpine style cheese, meaning it’s rich and nutty, but this beauty imparts bit more butter and caramelized onion flavor – a combo welcomed in...
Read MoreBarely Buzzed
Little hints of espresso crumbs line the wooden counter at the shop, letting me know that I am not alone in my love of Beehive Cheese Co.’s ’Barely Buzzed’ Lavender Espresso Cheddar. I know, I know …lavender!?! And espresso? With cheddar? Just trust me. It works. These flavors, when combined, not only work but play exceptionally well together. Like The Bee Gees, The Police and my youth’s beloved Wilson Phillips, this trio is a huge hit. Tim Welsh and Pat Ford, the genius brothers behind Beehive Cheese Co., spend their days tucked in the valleys of mountainous Northern Utah, crafting phenomenally...
Read MoreFlagsheep Or Bust
If Steve Harvey asked his Family Feud contestants to name a type of cheese, no doubt “cheddar” would be the first word off their lips and, for sure, the number one answer on the board. In fact, they may be hard-pressed to name any other. ”Brie” or “Blue” maybe, but “cheddar” would certainly come without a moment of hesitation. But, for yours truly, cheddar has always been an ‘eh’ kind of cheese. As with most things, I blame my mother. Most of my childhood was spent thinking ‘cheddar’ was a bright orange rectangular brick of ‘Cracker Barrel’ cheese she always had in...
Read MoreLovin’ Them Berkshire Blues
Young people are idiots. At least I was. My biggest crime against intelligence? Saga blue cheese. Listen, I could probably eat Saga today and thoroughly enjoy it. It’s actually pretty tasty. But, what made me such a goddamn dummy was the fact that I thought that foil-wrapped triangle was somehow superior to my peer’s dairy choices. While my friends, fools as well, happily snacked on Babybel and shredded mozzarella (if you can even call it mozzarella), I was at home smearing $3 blue cheese on Wheat Thins and considering myself a culinary genius. Thankfully, over time, my wallet, taste buds, and food knowledge evolved. Well, let’s be more...
Read MoreKinderhook Creek Kills It
Sheep’s milk cheeses are sneaky. Very, very sneaky. They don’t come across as the ‘Look At Me’ milk when sitting alongside its goat and cow counterparts. But every time I hand somebody a little sample of a sheep’s milk cheese at the shop, the same process happens again and again: sheer, unadulterated, full mouth bliss. I’ve been accidentally falling in love with sheep’s milk cheeses for the past year. I remember when I was still a simple cheese buyer, relying on Louise and her dairy knowledge to lead me from Crottin to Mt. Tam to Colston Bassett. One day she handed me a sample of a new blue in the shop –...
Read MoreHarbourne Blue – A Goat’s Milk Blue
Alright, this cheese is unreal. Unlike the majority of blue cheeses that most of us have grown familiar with, Harbourne Blue is made of full fat goat’s milk and the taste it imparts is something clean and tangy and sweet and wonderful. Robin Congdon of Ticklemore Cheese, in the United Kingdom, has created this beauty, one of only a handful of blue goat’s milk cheeses made in England. Although dense and firm, it is surprisingly creamy and light. Culture Cheese Magazine describes this cheese as ‘spicy and assertive’ and one that can ‘overwhelm milder cheeses.’ However, I found the opposite to be...
Read MoreHudson Red Knows The Way To My Heart
Last week, a few new wonderful cheeses made their way into Artisan Cheese Company. Hudson Red was one of them and I couldn’t be happier about it. Hudson Red, from Twin Maple Farm in NY, is a washed rind cheese with a beautifully sticky and stinky rind and a soft, creamy, pliable paste. Say what? In case you aren’t a turophile (a connoisseur of cheese : a cheese fancier : cheese freak), allow me to give a quick overview of what those terms mean. Washed Rind: Wiki says ‘Washed-rind cheeses are, during production, repeatedly wiped or brushed with or dunked in a liquid such as saltwater, brine, or...
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