Cheeses of the NortheastTarentaise, Extra-Aged -- "An unparalleled success!"Coming Soon...
To a Cave Near You...This year we have 30 wheels reserved in Thistle Hill's aging room, developed with French cultures and with a climate calibrated to replicate the temperature and humidity of underground mountain water. Each cheese is rubbed twice a week using a traditional culture called morge which has been used in the Savoie region of France for hundreds of years.
American Cheese & Wine of the NortheastAn exciting new class, With Waldemar Albrecht and winemaker Richard Figiel, of Silver Thread Vineyard - producer of the Finger Lakes' best riesling6:30pm-8:30pm; Thursday, June 8 One of our most popular classes -- Enroll Today!
Artisanal Staff Northeast SelectionsBrowse our collection of Northeast Cheeses on our Web for more
Cheese Gifts and Baskets from the Northeast
Trivia from the Cheese Caves
Question: Why are some cheeses wrapped and covered with leaves? Does it serve other purposes than decoration and flavor? Last Week We Asked: What does it mean for a cheese to be alpage? What role do chalets play in making alpage cheeses? Answer: The term "alpage" literally means "high mountain pastures". Picture the movement of herds from their sheltered winter stays onto the verdant, fertile mountainsides of spring and summer. The animals, mainly cattle and sheep, graze on wild grasses, flowers, and herbs, thus producing milk of great complexity and flavor. Alpage indicates the style of cheese that this rich milk is perfectly suited towards producing. The animals are driven on to higher and higher elevations, sometimes in excess of 10,000 feet above sea level. Since the milk can't be transported back down to the dairy, shepherds instead stop at small cheesemaking facilities along the way, known as chalets. These chalets are conveniently located along the shepherds' route, so that they can make cheese on the way up, and collect the previous year's production on the way back down. Since the foliage available varies with elevation and according to the seasons, the flavor of the cheese often differs drastically from chalet to chalet. Alpage cheeses are truly artisanal. At Artisanal Premium Cheese, we feature several true alpage cheeses, including Prattigauer and Beaufort from the Swiss and French Alps, respectively, and Ossau Iraty Pardou and Tourmalet from the Pyrenees.
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May 30, 2006 |
One of the delightful challenges we face at Artisanal Premium Cheese is
collaborating with producers to mature cheese to its peak flavor profile.
Cheese can be enjoyed at various ages; and often, different flavors become
prominent at different times. For example, Tarentaise, handmade at
Thistle Hill Farm in North Pomfret Vermont, is typically sold at four to
five months of age, exhibiting smooth, nutty flavor and gentle
complexity. Last year, we asked the cheesemaker, John Putnam, to reserve
fifteen wheels of his small production for release after one year - a
first for the cheese and cheesemaker alike! Upon tasting the one-year-old
cheese, we were overjoyed to discover that the subtle essences of Thistle
Hill's raw, organic Jersey cow's milk had become pleasantly concentrated.
Tarentaise One Year, an unparalleled success, found its way onto the most
prestigious cheese plates in New York City, at restaurants such as Le
Bernardin, Jean-Georges, 
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