Cheeses & Other Edibles
A taste of Wine Diva's favorite local and international cheeses.
How Cheesy...
Those
of you who know me, know how I can wax on about cheese…(get it… wax?) nearly as
much as I do about wine. Cheese, like wine, animates me and a perfect pairing
can bring tears to my eyes.
Like wine,
I go out of my way to try new and different (sometimes questionable) cheeses,
but how else are you going to know what’s out there? I will make it my mission
to introduce you to different types of cheeses and what I think of them.
The most important thing however is to try and locate the best cheesemongers in
your city or neighborhood. Find a retailer who loves cheese, where the staff is
knowledgeable and they are always sourcing new products and most important,
somewhere where you can sample!
Sometimes
a nice round of Goat Cheese is easier to cart along with you than a pre cut
piece destined to become mushed up between bottles of wine. (What, you don't
carry wine and cheese with you in your purse wherever you go?)
Chèbrie
from Quebec is simply as it says a brie style round made from goats
milk cheese. It has that slightly rubbery brie texture with a soft rind and
earthy, sweet, mushroomy flavour which is nice with a little fruit or fruit
spread on above mentioned Raincoast Crisp crackers.
Wine Diva tasted-October 2006
Price-$8 approx
Stink Factor-virtually non-existent
Ibores
This aged goat cheese from Spain has a delightful pumpkin orange rind from being
dusted in paprika. It has a Parmesan-like texture, dry and crumbly but the
paprika adds a hint of smoky spice to the flavour and aroma of the cheese. Salty
and smoky with herbal, grassy flavours a sharp finish and a slow paprika burn.
Wine Diva tasted-October 2006
Price-$4 per 100g
Stink Factor-Low
Tomme Corsu Vecchio-Sheep's milk Tomme from Corsica Italy. The aromas are
of wild herbs, earth and an interesting sweet milky nuance. The texture smooth
and creamy with amazing sweet, nutty flavour and a dusty, mottled but edible
rind. Try this next time in place of your regular Tomme de Savoie or Tomme
Piedmontese.
$6.50 per 100g
Stink Factor: Low
Wine Diva tasted- August 2006
Pecorini de Fosse-Sheep's
milk cheese from Romagna Italy. This hard Pecorino style cheese is aged in
underground caves for 4-6 mos. giving an deep earthy aroma with flavours of
roasted nuts and herbs. Rich, earthy and smoky!
$5.50 per 100g
Stink Factor: Med-Low
Wine Diva tasted- August 2006
Smoked Gouda- You can get
smoked gouda (cow's milk) in the grocery store in processed rounds (a slightly
rubbery texture) that would do in a pinch if you were melting it. Or you can get
the good stuff from your cheesemonger.
WD has never been a smoked cheese lover but the gouda has such a
smooth creamy texture and is the perfect accompaniment to wines with any smoked,
toasted or oaky flavour to them (ie: Chardonnay, aged Champagne or a numerous
red wines).
$ Prices vary
Stink Factor: Low
Wine Diva tasted- August 2006
Brebille
Papillon, Aveyron France-Goats cheese-An adorable 100g short
barrel of medium consistency and lovely strong aged goat aroma/flavour. Very
earthy with herbs and pasture grassiness. The dense weight and flavour translate
into smooth chalkiness. Let it sit on your tongue and melt to really appreciate
it's wild goat-y flavour.
Appox. $6.00 each (Les Amis du Fromage)
Stink Factor-low
Wine Options-Sancerre or a crisp new world sauvignon blanc
Wine Diva tasted-June 2006
Sevre & Belle,
Chevre du Poitou, Celles-sur-Belle France- Goats cheese-As opposed to
the firm chalkiness of the previous posted cheese, the Poitou is fresh and
runny. This individually cardboard encased 125g puck has a creamy white shell
with herbaceous, mushroom-y and fruity ooey-gooey goodness. Perfect for
spreading on a baguette. Carries well for a picnic and all you need is a bottle
of wine with a screw cap!
$6.95 (Les Amis du Fromage)
Stink Factor-low
Wine Options-Off-dry riesling or fruity rosé
Wine Diva tasted- June 2006
Toma Piemontese, Piedmont
Italy-Cows milk-Medium soft and supple with a bloomy rind
(edible when young) but gets mottled and thick as it ages (I suggest you don't
eat the aged rind). Earthy and barnyard-ish with sweet fruity and truffle
flavours. Mild but inspiring. If you like good quality Camembert and Brie-try
this...you'll love it.
Comes in a larger disk/drum-have them cut you a piece.
$4.50 for 100 gr
Stink Factor-low
Wine options-Barolo, Barbera, Barbaresco
Wine Diva tasted- June 2006
Or....
Spread a small amount of Urbani Tartufi-Truffled Porcini Crema on
a cracker and top with a slice of the Toma.
Sniff, bite, savour and swallow!
Repeat as needed.
Urbani Tartufi-Truffled Porcini Crema purchased from the Ponderosa
Mushrooms booth at EAT! Vancouver. This creamy concoction of porcini, white
truffles, bianchetti truffles and spices is heavenly.
It's not cheap $20 for a tiny 80g jar but like truffle oil-you don't need
much!
www.ponderosamushrooms.com
Products can be purchased at Urban Fare
and...
My favorite Olive spread comes in a glass jar and is called,
Aiello Bruschetta-Chunky Olive Spread. What makes this
one so special? It's the addition of the walnuts to the usual green
olives, lemon, olive oil and capers concoction. Also great with a cheese
platter!
$7.95 (249gr) at Les Amis du Fromage
Neal's Yard Dairy-Spenwood-
This goat's cheese looks a bit like
Manchego in disguise but is much more expensive. Neal's Yard Dairy carries
cheeses made by small producers, kind of an agent for small British artisanal
cheese makers, and sells them through it's two retail stores in London (Covent
Garden and Borough Market), to specialty food stores across the UK and around
the world.
www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk
Joe at
Les Amis knows of my predilection for all things goat (in the cheese world) and
suggested this beauty. Firm and creamy white, it comes in drums about 7" x 5''
high (like Manchego) and has a strong chalky, earthy and nutty flavour slightly
wild and herbaceous with a texture just bordering on crumbly.
Stink
Factor:
Low
Wine Diva tasted-February 2006
Idiazabal-(ee
dee ah zah bahl)-45-50% butterfat. I was looking for a slightly fruity, not
grassy, cheese to go with a 1997 St. Francis Reserve Merlot, from Sonoma. I
wanted something I had not had before, when on the cheese board at Les Amis du
Fromage I spotted this cheese. Hailing from Spain
this med-firm sheeps milk cheese is gently smoked, just enough to
achieve a wonderful sweet, savoury flavour. It went extremely well with the
smokiness in the Merlot as well. If you like Manchego, you will
love this cousin.
Stink Factor: Low
Wine
Diva tasted- September 2004.
Salt Spring
Island-Juliette-Handmade goat cheese- Creamy white saucer sized round with a
slightly mottled surface and a fresh sprig of rosemary resting atop. Soft and
fresh with aromas of earth, and herbs roll it around in your mouth and let it
warm up to release the slightly sweet, mushroomy and earthy creaminess. This
cheese is made by David Wood who also produces the highly recognizable
upside-down vacuum sealed chevre rounds decorated with pretty flowers and
tepanades.
Available at specialty food stores and Les Amis du Fromage
$8.99 approx
Wine Diva tasted-December 2005
Stink Factor-Low
Vacherin Mont D’Or-(vasher-ANN-moan-Dor)
Why am I writing about this cheese (teasing and tempting you) when the ladies at
Les Amis du Fromage only get it in one time per
year…primarily before Christmas?
To prepare y’all for next years shipment,
of course!
General information-Cows milk, un-pasteurized with a delicate
apricot-hued washed rind and supple, runny interior. It comes packaged in a
round spruce-wood case. The one I purchased was about 500g. I made sure to walk
it around the room serving to my guests as I didn’t want anyone to miss the
unparalleled buttery texture and earthy, fruity and nutty flavours of this ‘Holy
Trinity of cheeses’.
Vacherin is produced in the fall, hence the pre-holiday arrival and comes
from France or Switzerland (although there are replications) similarly labeled
Vacherin…The producers vary as do the flavours depending on the region but the
ladies at Les Amis received shipments from France and Switzerland this past
year, so ask and pre-order next year depending on your taste.
I brought home
the one from France this year; think I’ll try Switzerland next!
Approx 500g
$35.00
Wine Diva
tasted-December 2005
Stink Factor-Medium
Le Trou du Cru- 50% butterfat (or 24%
actual dry fat content)
This adorably small orange puck is the perfect size for two, if you
are having a cheese only dinner with a couple other selections and a bottle of
wine. The interior is creamy yellow and demands to bulge out of its washed-rind
exterior as it warms at room temperature. It has a very soft, creamy texture and
intense raw cows milk flavour, slightly wild, barny and grassy. The Trou
comes from
Epoisses, Burgundy (a consummate cheese snob's utopia) and
shares the strong aroma and flavour of its famous Epoisses
cousin. No wonder it goes so well with red Burgundy or Pinot Noir!
Stink Factor: Medium-high
Wine Diva tasted: September 2004
St. Marcellin-60% butter fat (aka
double cream)
Smartly comes in it's own
lovely little clay dish. Trust me you'll need it because when this runny cheese
hits room temperature you had better bring out the spoon! St. Marcellin
is a cousin to Banon from Provence, and this particular one has a
pale creamy hue and mild nutty and buttery flavour. It is made from cows milk
and I would recommend serving it with a nice crusty, rustic bread that will
absorb and hold the liquid smoothness of the cheese. I liked the flavour, but
one taste was enough, my poor arteries were beginning to harden. Some suggest a
Rhone style red wine to go with the St. Marcellin, but I think a
sparkling wine would cut through the fat nicely and set off those nutty
flavours.
Stink Factor: Low
Wine Diva tasted-September 2004
Mountain Meadow 'Brie' from Chase, B.C. (29% milk fat) A certified organic sheep's milk brie with a low enough fat content as to be considered a January 'diet' cheese. It has a soft open-meadow aroma of grass and herbs. It is richly creamy in the mouth and much milder than expected (for those of you who think you don't like sheep's milk cheese) and as with cheese (or wine) as it heats up on your tongue it blossoms, into delicate earthy flavours.
I served it with a reduced red wine and cranberry compote I mixed up on the stove with honey and star anise to sweeten, and pecans on the side.
StinkFactor:Low
Wine Diva tasted- January 2005
*You can make any 'compote or chutney' quickly at home to serve with cheese by dicing fruit (pear/apple/berries/kumquats peaches/nectarines or whatever) into a saucepan on medium-low heat and adding honey, sugar or maple syrup to sweeten. I cook down unused red wine and keep it in the fridge to thin out and give the 'chutney/compote' a compatible wine flavour. Then I add whatever additional flavour elements I like, star anise, cardamom, rose water, orange water, ginger candied or fresh (all found in Asian or Middle Eastern stores). Stir until heated and thick, then puree or leave in chunk style.
Tomme de Muscadet- Cows milk cheese, France.
Wine Diva loves Tomme (great with Burgundy) and Wine Diva loves
wine…Muscadet. By brushing cheese with wine you have combined W.D’s two major
food groups!
The Tomme de Muscadet has a lovely (slightly sticky) edible,
orange rind that is the result of brushing the Muscadet wine onto the outside of
tomme disks. It imparts not only the gorgeous colour but a grapey/Muscat-y
flavour into the cheese. The cheese is earthy, herbascous and sweetly
grapey-fruity with a fresh, nutty finish and creamy mouth-feel. Could be a new
W.D favorite!
Excellent with slightly sweet white wines with good acidity. $4.95/100gr
Stink Factor-Medium
Saenkanter-Holland (cow’s milk)
Bold, nutty, salty this firm extra aged Gouda style cheese
is chewy on the entry then cramy as it dissolves in your mouth. then the salty
crystallization kicks in. Brilliant and potent with a long burnt caramel finish.
Black wax rind-please don’t eat, peel back and enjoy!
Stink Factor- Medium low
Queijo de Nisa-Portugal-Sheeps Milk
Smelly yes, earthy, sheepish, barnyard-y and wild tasting with a long
herbasceous grassy finish. Soft washed rind amber/orange rind-edible.
$6.95/100g
Stink factor- Medium High
Cheese Diary
Tripping on cheese...
Carmelis-Artisan Goat Cheese Boutique Dairy- Aha, I knew this would capture your attention!
It certainly made this ‘goat cheese loving’ Wine Diva sit up and pay attention early last summer when winemaker Tom DiBello of Cedar Creek mentioned it to me. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to visit Carmelis on that particular trip to Kelowna, but I was determined to during a return trip in October.
Driving along the winding Lake Shore Road on a beautifully clear October day I barely noticed the 12 kilometers I had driven from Kelowna. The road ambles along, above the lake past spectacular vistas and Wine Diva bliss: Summerhill’s pyramid winery, St. Hubertus winery and Cedar Creek winery, I continued on my merry way, following the well-placed signs leading to Carmelis Boutique Dairy.
The dairy and tasting room is located below a steep driveway off Timberline Road, which made me wonder why I had hadn’t worn sneakers rather than my usual ‘these boots aren’t made for walkin’ footwear.
Perfect timing.
With only two other patrons in the tasting room the three of us were able to whip through the approximately 15 tasting samples with oodles of attention and minimal fuss.
We started with a creamy yogurt cheese served in a beautiful wooden bowl and topped with golden olive oil and the Middle Eastern spice blend (which you can coincidentally purchase on site) zatar. Serve this at your next party with warm pita triangles and watch your guests scarf it up!
The tasting continues through the extensive range of preservative free, organic products that the family-run Carmelis makes. Next came the delicate ‘chevry’, a fresh, simple chevre and continuing through, vine wrapped, herb-crusted, wine soaked, walnut studded, Camembert, Gorgonzola and Emmental styles of handcrafted goats cheese.
I know, it sounds like a lot of cheese, but the fingernail sized tasters are just right to base your purchasing decisions upon. The family suggests you put your favorite cheeses aside as you taste, as not to forget which were your favorites, (the Wine Diva concurs with this clever advice).
I would highly recommend you take a trip out to Carmelis the next time you are up in Kelowna. Stop, pick up a bottle of the fine Platinum Pinot Noir from Cedar Creek, choose your cheese from Carmelis, then find a nice spot to relax and enjoy!
What the Wine Diva Purchased!
Lovely- a palm
sized, heart shaped disc with an ash covered rind and a mild creamy texture.
Chevretal-
Hard style similar to Swiss Emmental made from raw goats milk.
Blue Velvet- A softer Camembert style disc, similar in size with a soft rind
covered in an edible bluish mold.
Goatgonzola-
Just like it says, but less creamy than a Gorgonzola. Instead it is
drier with a pungent sharp earthy flavour and aroma and certainly not for the
faint of heart!
Vintage- Hard, from raw goats milk aged 4-5
months then soaked in red wine for several days. Lovely hue on the edible rind,
and the wine gives another flavour dimension.
You can purchase
Carmelis Goat Cheese on-line at
carmelisgoatcheese.com
Or if you live in Vancouver, stop by
Cheese the Shoppe in the Market at Park Royal.
Carmelis Goat
Cheese Artisan-170 Timberline Road, Kelowna B.C- (250) 764-9033
Cheese the Shoppe- Park Royal South, West Vancouver- (604) 922-0477
May 2006-A quicker trip to Carmelis!
If you have followed the Wine Diva on her
escapades you will know that I have made it a habit to drop into the Carmelis
farm and artisan cheese shop whenever I am in Kelowna.
But as luck would have it the Wine Diva
received an email from Ofri Barmor who (much to my delight) mentioned that
Carmelis was setting up a booth at Granville Island Public Market on a
permanent basis! Ofri is offering all 20 of her handcrafted artisan goat cheese
styles (and they will let you sample) sent down fresh from the dairy.
My favorite is the Chabichou (although Ofri didn't want me to put ideas
into your head) but the newest addition 'Misty' was a close second with it's
sweet creaminess. Vintage, a hard cheese doused with St. Hubertus wine is
always good with a glass of antioxident-rich red. But if you like
your goat cheese with bite then try the Picollo (with its soft edible
rind covered in vegetable ash) or the firm blue-veined Goatgonzola.
Carmelis Goat Cheese Artisan- 170 Timberline Road, Kelowna
250-764-9033
Or
Granville Island Public Market-Various traveling locations (look for the
crowds)
www.carmelisgoatcheese.com
Natural Pastures
Recently having returned to
Vancouver I have discovered numerous local artisan cheese makers around the
lower mainland, on the Islands and in the Okanagan. One of which is Natural
Pastures Cheese Company. I first tried their Comox Camembert a couple
of months ago when I purchased a gift from my local haunt, Les Amis du
Fromage.
The
individually wrapped hand sized disks are the perfect size to set out at a party
with some fresh and dried fruit and a handful of nuts. It has white bloomy rind,
typical of Camembert with a creamy center and mild flavour. It is best set out
at room temperature for about an hour before serving and I love it with a dry
Rose, Gamay, Pinot Noir (of course) but I have also paired it with Merlot and
thoroughly enjoyed the combination.
Although the Comox B.C.
based Natural Pastures has only been producing since 2002 they have won
numerous awards including 4th in class at the 2004 World Cheese
Festival for the Comox Camembert. They also produce Brie and a selection
of other cheese including Amsterdammer and Verdelait with cracked pepper or
cumin seed or…Wasabi?
I was able to find the Natural Pastures cheese factory in Courtney on a visit a few weeks ago. The hours in the retail shop at the factory are limited-1-4pm Mon-Fri and unfortunately they don't seem to give samples. So we purchased a perfect pie slice of just cut Brie as well as a slice of both Verdelait with cracked pepper and Borenkaas.
Wine Diva tasted -The Borenkaas was my favorite, although firm it has a buttery, creamy flavour with just a soft zip on the finish. The Wine Diva is not the worlds greatest fan when it comes to Brie...too many memories of poor quality, rubbery, processed Brie, but this was so fresh and creamy and paired so well with the bottle of Summer hill Cipes Brut we were drinking I may have to re-look this Brie aversion! The woman at the counter helping us suggested the Verdelait with cracked pepper but I think we tried it with the wrong wine (a Sauvignon Blanc). I would be interested in trying the Verdelait with cumin though, and what the heck, even the Wasabi Verdelait with a Mosel Riesling...just for fun!
Check them out at naturalpastures.com