Artisanal Premium Cheese E-Newsletter
-07/24/07-

Whether you’ve been invited to the Hamptons or the Berkshires, you can’t forget to bring something special for your host/hostess. Here we’ve assembled our favorite gifts for you to choose from.

 

American Farmstead Cheese Basket Price: $150

White Wine Cheese Collection Price: $65

Carl Mertens Universal Cheese Knife Price: $70

Vermont Maplewood Cheese Board Price: $35

Artisanal Classic Cheese Tins Price: $65 - $95

Chef Brennan has created the perfect recipes to make the most out of summer’s bounty.  Enjoy either recipe for lunch or as a light supper with a bottle of chilled rosé.

Summer Mediterranean Salad with Bagña Cauda

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Anchovy Toasts

We are happy to report that two of our favorite American producers received top distinction at this year's Fancy Food Show. Those honored were Vermont Butter & Cheese's esteemed Bonne Bouche which won Outstanding Dairy Product and Cypress Grove which took home the prize for Outstanding Product Line. Don't miss your chance to taste these award-winning cheeses made. Order now!

Bonne Bouche Price: $8 each

Fog Light Price: $12.50 each

Purple Haze Price: $7.25 each

Humboldt Fog Price: $20 per lb

This Week's Specials: Double Gloucester Reg: $15.25 per lb Sale: $12.00 per lb More... Tomme Fermiere d'Alsace Reg: 18.50 per lb Sale: $16.00 per lb Raclette Reg: $13.75 per lb Sale: $10.00 per lb Fontina Val D'Aosta Reg: $17.75 per lb Sale: $10.00 per lb

At Peak Cheeses This Week: Lancashire, Kirkham's $23.75 per lb More... Meadow Creek Mountaineer $18.00 per lb Queso de Aracena $28.25 per lb Cornish Yarg $30.00 per lb

Question: What are the conditions that a cheese cave should have in order to make it a successful cave and does 'cave-aged' cheese really make a difference? Find out in the next Artisanal e-newsletter!
- The Artisanal Staff

Last Time We Asked: We see many cheeses made with mixed milks; is this something new and what is the goal in that cheese making practice?

Answer: You must have milk to make cheese, and to make a superior cheese you must have superior milk. Dairy animals have their lactation cycles and they are not continuous, although in many cases the lactation cycles can be staggered somewhat. Some of the younger fresher cheeses, which have smaller windows of peak stages of ripeness, may only be available every once in awhile. For the more aged harder varieties that have much larger windows of peaks these type cheeses will more often be available in fine form throughout the year. Yet even those cheeses will taste best if they are produced from the best milk available.

The milk quality is dependent on the vegetation that the dairy animals have available, as well as the climate, water, and other conditions. For the dairy animals that have short lactation cycles, the staggering of the cycles will make the milk available over longer stretches however the milk profile will depend on what the vegetation is like. It is one thing to stagger the lactation cycles of the dairy animals but it is more difficult to make the plants grow out of season. It is a constant challenge to the cheese maker to insure that there will be a cheese of consistently high quality from one part of the cycle to another, not just because of the availability of the vegetation, water, and climate, but also because of how the ratios of fats and proteins change in the dairy animal's milk throughout the cycle.

For more information on this trivia and other exciting cheese questions, get your autographed copy of The Cheese Plate by Max McCalman. Do you have a question for our trivia section, or some trivia of your own to share? Send it to editor@artisanalcheese.com and we may use it in a future newsletter!

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