A Winter Cheese Board

I am very excited to share images from my cheese shoot! I wanted to provide inspiration in creating a holiday cheese board. 

 Winter is that time of year where it's okay to INDULGE and celebrate with cheese, especially those ooey-gooey ones we all know and enjoy.

I fell in love with World' Market's Scalloped Trencher Cutting Board (lower board). The curves and shape are perfect. I found the rustic wood and marble cake stand from TJ Maxx, and knew I wanted a round of Camembert on top.

Dressing up the Camembert with a "wreath" of sage and rosemary brought texture and a wonderful, pine-like aroma. The sugared cranberries added a complementary pop of red and that extra holiday touch. I coated the cranberries in elder flower syrup and rolled it in sugar.

Cheeses clockwise:

1) Camembert- earthy, dense and creamy.

2) Grafton 2 Year Raw Milk Cheddar- tart yet mellow.

3) Fourme d' Ambert- slightly pungent and rich.

4) Humboldt Fog- tangy yet delicate in flavor.

5) Fromage d' Affinois with Truffle-aromatic and decadent, with black winter truffles.

Humboldt fog is one beautiful cheese.

To accompany, I brought in fruits to contrast the savory flavors of the cheeses: grapes, sliced bartlett pears, as well as pomegranate seeds and cranberries for tartness.

Meaty castelvertrano olives (I love their vibrant color) are great with cheese, and aid in cutting the richness.

French lavender honey is probably one of the best honeys..no lie. It's perfectly sweet with a creamy-crystalline texture.

Marcona olives add crunch and slightly sweet almond flavor.

Photography by my talented friend, Maki, of Maki Photography / Styling my Me

Tomme de Savoie, a Roller Coaster of Flavor

I find cheeses with complexity and depth incredibly pleasurable. There are quite a number of complex cheeses out there, but none stick to me quite like Tomme de Savoie (Tum-duh-Sav-Wa). This cheese will take your taste buds on a ride. A roller coaster has twists, turns and drops; likewise, Tomme de Savoie provides a thrilling experience of flavors. At first bite, you'll taste fresh grass followed by a tang. And, as you chew, a shift occurs, where there are notes of toasted nuts, hay and wood. As it dissolves in your mouth, it finishes slightly sweet with a hint of sharpness! 

Tomme de Savoie available at igourmet

Enjoying & Appreciating Cheese

Appreciating cheese is similar to appreciating wine. When tasting wine, you give it a good sniff, and a little swirl to examine its saturation of color, its viscosity and aroma. You then go in and take a sip. Your palate begins to detect flavors. It could be reminiscent of blackberries, honey, or even have a roasted nut finish. Ahhh...

Like wine, tasting cheese is an experience. Quite possibly an even better experience, I must say! There's a wide spectrum of cheeses with diverse textures, flavors and aromas. Cheese is truly incredible. Making cheese is a craft that requires patience, and cheese makers work very hard at providing a product that is both delicious and unique. This is why I feel the need to really savor it to appreciate all of its cheesy glory!

So before you gobble up that piece of cheese here are a few steps you can take to further your enjoyment and appreciation:

Photography credit: Cypress Grove

Humboldt Fog is a beautiful iconic cheese made by Cypress Grove in Arcata, California. Look at the gorgeous layer of vegetable ash that runs through. Pictured is a young Humboldt Fog. The aroma is similar to fresh cream. A young Humboldt Fog has a slightly earthy flavor with a subtle buttermilk tang and citrus finish. The layer of ash provides a delicate smoky background. With age, it develops a soft runny edge in the rind and intense flavor. The texture is creamy yet light.

1. Pick up the cheese and examine its appearance. 
Check out the interior, rind and color. What do you see? The interior of a cheese can range from dry and granular to satiny like frosting.  You might even see little white calcium lactate crystals. Take a look at the rind. It might be fluffy (rinds of Camemberts and Bries)  or orange and sticky looking (seen in washed rind cheeses). What's the color of the cheese? Cheese comes an array of colors and may have blue veining or be brown or straw in color.

2. Take in the aroma. 

To intensify the aroma, allow the cheese to be at room temperature. Rub a small piece between your fingertips and give it a whiff. Does it smell like sweet milk or does it have a pungency similar to gym socks? Just kidding, but you know what I mean! We all know that cheese can be stinky but that's what makes it so  interesting!

3. Taste the cheese and take mental notes of its flavor and texture.
This is the best part, of course. As you begin to chew, your palate will pick up intense flavors right off that bat followed by nuances of flavor. Cheeses can be nutty, acidic, earthy, candy-like, you name it. It can have undertones of almond and grass. And, like wine, there are starts and finishes.You might taste the lingering salty flavor of a cheese as you finish chewing.
Then there's texture. If you're eating a decadent soft cheese, you will have a buttery and silky mouth feel. Hard cheeses are crumbly and have a slight bite to them.

Stringy String Cheese

When I think about string cheese, I am brought back to my child hood. It was always nice to open my lunchbox and find string cheese waiting there for me to peel its strands. String cheese is simply yummy, portable and a snack I still enjoy as an adult. I do not discriminate when it comes to cheese, I love 'em all!
While peeling away on a stick of string cheese, have you ever wondered why you are able to do this, and not to a stick of Cheddar? Those variety packs of cheese sticks used to stump me as a kid. When I  finished the Mozzarella, I would try to peel the Colby and Cheddar, but it would just break up into chunks. Colby and Cheddar are not pasta filata cheeses but Mozzarella is.

Pasta filata means "spun paste." The curd is heated in a hot-water/whey bath and then stretched and pulled (kind of like taffy) until the desired elasticity is to the cheesemaker's liking. This why we are able to pull apart string cheese and have fun while eating it. ;)

Image via iVillage. Horizon Organic string cheese. 

Cheeses with a Kick

My favorite nibbling cheeses are the ones that have a spicy kick. I find the addicting peppery flavor and  pleasurable heat oh-so satisfying. I love anything containing pepper, even if it makes my nose run and eyes water. There are a lot of pepper-flecked, spice-laced cheeses out there, but these stand out above the rest. And don't worry, you won't be running for the milk!

Marco Polo
The base of Beecher's Marco Polo is one of my favorite cheeses of all time, Flagship. Flagship has the nutty flavor of Gruyère and the sharpness of a nice aged cheddar. And when you add green and black peppercorns in the mix, you have a cheese that's bursting with flavor. The heat level is mild and the peppercorns tastes so fresh, almost as if they have just been milled. 

For more information about Beecher's Flagship, see my "Must-Try Cheese" post.

Sonoma Hot Pepper Jack
This cheese is delightfully creamy. It's smooth and almost melts in your mouth. The heat is less pronounced when eaten with other foods. But, if eaten by itself, you will notice the heat. It's like a tickle- a good tickle, that leaves you wanting more. 

Image via Boudin Bakery
My "Cheese Spotlight" post provides additional information about Sonoma Jack cheeses.

Mike's Firehouse Jack
Mike's Firehouse Jack from Petaluma is truly a unique cheese. You can actually taste the individual red and jalapeño peppers. And the hints of cilantro, parsley and spices make it that much more flavorful. I can gobble this up!

****If you're looking for something fiery, definitely check out Cabot's Hot Habanero Cheddar. I'm warning you, it's HOTTTTT. 

Burrata Love

With so many different cheeses available in  your cheese counter, you ask yourself,  "which ones should I get?" If you have an idea of the flavor profile you enjoy, or even the texture, that's a great start! 

Cheeses come in a variety of textures, milks and flavor profiles. In the world of fresh cow's milk cheeses, we can detect mild, milky, sweet, salty,  flavors.  Its texture can range from soft and creamy to firm and crumbly. It all depends on the type of cheese, as there are many different varieties of fresh cheeses. 

Fresh mozzarella is an example of a fresh cheese. We all know and love it.  It's a yummy cheese, but, I'm all about expanding on the flavors you enjoy. If you're really into creamy, milky style cheeses like fresh mozz, you will love Burrata. Burrata is a fresh italian cheese that is on a another level.  I'm starting to see it grow in popularity, but there are a lot of people who don't know about it nor have ever tasted it. It's a sack of mozzarella that's filled with both mozzarella and cream. When you cut into it, its creamy center oozes out on your plate. It's milky sweet, buttery, silky and just delicious! I simply serve it with tomatoes, torn basil leaves, and a drizzling of good olive oil.

In the grocery stores,  Burrata is packed  in a plastic container with whey (in Italy, Burrata is wrapped in asfodelo plant leaves). You'll see it in the cheese refrigerator section of Whole Foods, usually adjacent to the cheese counter. I have also found it at Trader Joes.


*This is a new series I'll be introducing so you can take delight in more cheeses that appeal to you. 

Photography Credits: Fresh mozzarella via Di Bruno Brothers, Burrata via igourmet

Orange Cheese

Ever wondered why some cheeses are orange in color? The bright orange hue you see in Colby and American-made Cheddar cheeses are from the Annatto seed (also known as Achiote). Not only is it used to impart color in cheese, it is also used as a coloring agent in various Latin and Caribbean dishes.

Annatto seeds

Photography Credits: Annatto via Dean & Deluca, Cheddar cheese via igourmet (pictured is Widmer's Six Year Reserve Cheddar)

A Cheese Board for Valentine's Day

On Valentine's Day why not enjoy an after-dinner cheese board filled with rich chocolate, a creamy, silky cheese, fresh raspberries to complement, and glass of sparkling wine to toast?

Grayworks design heart-shaped organic cheese board, Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam (image via nugget market), Etoile Brut from Chandon, Williams-Sonoma sparkling wine glass,  Tcho chocolate, Driscoll's raspberries

Designated Cheeses

At some point you may have picked up a cheese with a stamp or seal displaying the letters  AOC, DOC, DOP, or PDO. Thoughts run through your head and you ask yourself, " is this a mysterious cheese code, and what do these initials even mean?"

This is what it stands for:

French AOC (Appellation d' Origine Controlee)

Italian DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata)

Spanish/Portuguese DOP (Denominacion de Origen Protegida)

PDO (Protected Designation of Origin)- for some wines and foods

Although it may seem like a secret cheese language, it is actually a system of legally protecting the authentic and traditional cheese making methods of certain European cheeses These designations are a way of identifying the cheeses backed by tradition and distinguishes itself from the imitations. Designated cheeses have very specific production procedures, from the area where the milk is derived, to the physical appearance of the cheese. This is can get quite detailed, but you get  the idea. It's a way of preserving ancient artisan cheese making and we can't get mad at that, can we?  ;)

Photography Credit: The Manchego Cheese

Serve a Super Bowl Cheese Platter

It's that time of the year again for the Super Bowl-where you can eat to your heart's content and oh, watch the big game. Let's be honest here, I'm excited for the food. I enjoy the bar fare that's typically served on Super Bowl Sunday; however, I like switching things up by serving a cheese platter. I conceptualized a Seattle Seahawks platter made up of cheeses of the Pacific Northwest: Rogue Creamery's Oregonzola and Washington's Beecher's Flagship (also mentioned here). I've added Wisconsin's Sartori Espresso BellaVitano to represent the coffee city of Seattle.

The sweet and earthy black truffle honey is the perfect complement to the deep flavors of Espresso BellaVitano and the sharpness of Oregonzola and Beecher's Flagship. Columbus salami adds a meaty, savory element to the platter, and the walnut bread is that necessary nutty component that brings it all together. Touch down.

Photography Credits: Seattle Seahawks cheese board via Bed Bath and Beyond, Beecher's Flagship, Sartori, Oregonzola via Amazon, truffle honey via Dean & Deluca, Columbus sausage via Amazon, walnut bread via Boudin

Range of Rinds

Hello! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! One of my major goals is to make this blog a priority. This means disciplining myself, not over thinking and just start DOING. I hope you enjoy the first blog post of the year.

The rind is the outer surface of a cheese. It's flavorful and  protects the cheese during ripening. When exposed to air in the correct temperature and humidity, the air interacts with the bacteria and molds used in the cheesemaking process. And....VOILÀ a rind forms (this does not apply to bandage wrapped, herbaceous rinds and waxed rinds). If you take a look at the cheese case in your local cheese shop or grocery store, you'll notice an abundance of cheeses, all with distinct rinds. Below are a few rinds that you've most likely encountered in your cheese travels.

Bloomy Rind

Soft cheeses like Brie have a white, bloomy rind that ripens the cheese from the outside in.
"Bloomy" refers to the fluffy, soft white mold.

Can I eat it? Yes! Bloomy rinds have a pronounced mushroomy flavor.
My favorites- Brie de Meaux and Marin Cheese Company's Camembert.


Washed Rind
Washed rind cheeses are known to be the stinkiest of cheeses due to the brine, brandy, or beer  that it's "washed" in. This results in the formation of  a bacteria called  B.linens forms, which gives the product a  stinky, sticky red orange rind. Believe it or not, the interior is less foul and typically meaty in flavor.

Can I eat it? Yes! However, the scent can be strong for some. Remove the rind to cut the smell.
My favorites- Chaumes and Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk. Chaumes is actually very mild and nutty!


Bandage Wrapped
Bandage Wrapped cheeses are wrapped in linen to hold its shape and protects the cheese, discouraging molds from developing on the rind. You'll see this in cheddars.

Can I eat it? No! Remove the bandage wrapping and enjoy.
My favorites- Fiscalini Farms bandaged wrapped cheddar


Waxed-Coated
You've seen this in Gouda and Babybel cheese. The flavor is not affected by the wax. Like linen, the wax is used simply as protection. The wax prevents the cheese from cracking.

Can I eat it? No! The wax is non-edible but food-safe.
My favorites- Edam
True Fact- As a kid, I ate the wax because I thought it was edible. :-)

image credits: bloomy rind via di bruno brothers, washed rind via pastoral cheese, bandage wrapped via tastings gourmet market, waxed-coated via murrays cheese

Ripeness

Beautifully ripe wedge of Brie. Check out at that oozy goodness.

Image via Binnorie Dairy 

For the upcoming holiday party you might decide that you're going to bring a cheese platter. Awesome. But, to ensure a spectacular cheese experience, make sure that your cheese is ripe! This goes for soft-ripened cheeses (with the fluffy white rind) like brie and camembert. To measure ripeness, take the wheel of cheese and gently give it a push. If it gives, then it's ripe and if it feels stiff, it's not. Don't worry, cheese that's not ripe is still very delicious, just not as creamy.  If you're purchasing a wedge rather than a wheel, you can usually tell if the cheese is ripe if the interior (paste) of the cheese slightly oozes out. Wheels that are cut into wedges do not continue to ripen.

*Be careful! There's such thing as overripeness. If you find that your cheese is overripe, 
throw it out!
Signs of an overripe brie or camembert:

-Ammoniated scent
-Astringent flavor, slight burn on the tongue

The "Hole" Situation

At some point while eating Swiss Emmental* (also known as Emmentaler), you may have wondered why are there holes? The holes or "eyes" are caused by a bacteria (Proprionibacterium freudenreichii) that is added in the curdling stages of cheese making. During ripening of the cheese, the bacteria creates carbon dioxide gas. When gas are unable escape, they create the characteristic holes you see in  Emmental cheese.

image via gourmet food world 

*Emmental is a Swiss cow's milk PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) cheese. 

Note:  In the U.S., "Swiss cheese" is a generic term used to describe alpine cheeses or any cheese with holes. 

Beginner Blues

The blue category of cheeses are often known for its bold flavor and pungent aroma. Although very delicious, it's piquant taste can be overwhelming for some. Note that not all blues are strong and spicy!  Start with mild blues and begin to train your palate for the sharper tasting ones. I've lined up my top beginner cheeses that may have your taste buds pleasantly surprised.

Cambozola by Champignon 

This is one of my favorite cheeses from Germany. A delicious product of camembert and gorgonzola (hence the name).  The mushroom aroma and earthiness of camembert balances out the blue cheese veins. It's a buttery triple creme, perfect for spreading on warm crusty bread.

Black Label Cambozola by Champignon  

The longer ripening time enhances the taste and texture, allowing for a full-flavored cheese. Camembert and gorgonzola flavor profiles are seamless. A must-try.

Dolcelatte also called Gorgonzola Dolce

A young, sweet gorgonzola that has only been aged for 3 months. The paste is delicate, light, and just DELICIOUS.  The natural sweetness of the cheese is a nice counterpart to the blue. The blue is a bit more pronounced than the other cheeses I have discussed. It's a perfect dessert cheese. Serve with Moscato d' Asti , an italian sparkling white wine or Port. 

Saga's Blue Brie

A delightful triple creme brie with a a kick of blue. Creamy, with the base of a subtle brie. Overall, pretty mild.

*TIP: If you're into blues that aren't too assertive, go for the italian version, gorgonzola. It's made with 

penicillin glaucum, a milder blue mold than penicillin roqueforti (found in Roquefort).


images via: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 

Gadget Gizmo {Cheese Graters}

Gadgets are great help in the kitchen. They can perform tasks that simply makes cooking and entertaining so much easier. We're looking at graters today, a must-have for any cook. I prefer grating cheese fresh than purchasing it pre-shredded. You can control how fine you want your shreds, and honestly, it just taste better. These are some tools that are pure genius and don't overcrowd storage space.

3 in 1 grating pen. I want!

Twist top grater that's like a pepper mill. Microplane  should come up with a large wooden one. 

Get slices with more surface area for your salads.

Measure pasta, then grate parmesan. Two tools in one.

This is not a grater, but how fun would it be to have a cheese curler? Great for garnishing and if you're like me, eating delicate ribbons of cheese.

1. grater pen via crate and barrel , 2. cheese mill via williams sonoma , 3. microplane via spoon sisters , 4. pasta measure and grater via a plus r store 
5. cheese curler via uncommon goods