Artisanal Premium Cheese E-Newsletter

We've been busy this year adding new classes and faculty to our curriculum! Check out our latest hands-on classes such as All About Fondue, and Cooking with Cheese. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and prepare some dreamy cheese dishes that you can easily re-create in a flash at home. Artisanal is also proud to introduce some excellent new teachers, such as wine expert Candela Prol teaching Robust Red Wines & Artisanal Cheese and La Dame du Fromage, Erin Hedley, teaching European Tradition Meets American Innovation. And of course some of our tried and true favorites are back, Hands on Mozzarella! and Scotch and Artisanal Cheese with our good friend Ethan Kelly of Brandy Library. We've got something for everyone, so while the weather is still cold (or unpredictable at best) take advantage of our new classes and leap into the world of Artisanal cheese!

Erin Go Braugh: Irish Cheese for St. Patrick's!
Special Pricing: $65

Irish? Wish you were Irish? Just for an evening? Well what better way to get in the St. Patrick's Day spirit then by sampling a full range of Irish Cheeses…and washing them down with a few Irish beverages, of course? On the eve of the big day, Artisanal's John J. Grogan, certified ''Irish Cheese Lover'' and frequent traveler to the old sod, will take you on a very special journey through the cheeses of Ireland. John has had a chance to visit with a number of Irish cheese makers over the past year and has arranged for some special cheeses to be sent to the Artisanal cheese caves for this class. Join us as we taste such Irish delicacies as Durrus, Cooleeney, and Cashel Blue while learning about their dairies and their production, firsthand. Whether you'll spend your St. Patrick's Day marching up 5th Avenue, watching the parade from the sidewalk, or curling up in front of your TV, an evening of Ireland’s best cheeses will set the tone for a wonderful St. Pat's Day!

Ardrahan

Gubbeen

Cashel Blue

Durrus

Hold Your Next Corporate Event Here At Artisanal

Looking for something different this year for your corporate outing? How about a private tour of our state of the Art Cheese caves? Discover the secrets of Affinage with Artisanal and let us plan a cheese & wine class or reception for your group. Each event includes an exclusive tour of our cheese caves as well as a tasting of up to 8 cheeses and 4 perfectly paired beverages.

Contact Alicia Mullenix 212-871-3143 or amullenix@aritsanalcheese.com for more information or for assistance planning your next corporate party at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center.

Question: Why are cheeses produced from mixed milks?
Find out in the next Artisanal Cheese Lovers Trivia Segment!

Last Time We Asked: Why do so many cheeses smell?

Answer: Cheese being the living food that it is will have certain aromatic characteristics. Cheeses tend to respire, especially those that are made from unpasteurized milk. The more pleasant aromas are conveyed by the presence of various ketones and some simple aldehydes in cheeses, while the less desirable ones are generally conveyed by the presence of other methylated aldehydes, certain alcohols, esters and sulfurated compounds. Suffice it to say that much of the enjoyment afforded by fine cheeses should come from its aroma, and though some of those odors may be pungent and fairly intense, they should smell living.

The quality of the milk itself will dictate the aromas of a cheese more than anything else. How the cheese is manufactured: with the application of aromatic herbs, spices, beverages used in washes, as well as enzymes and other microorganisms, all these additional treatments will alter the fragrance of a given cheese but the fundamental flavor and aroma profile of a cheese will primarily come from the fodder upon which the dairy animals graze. The more plentiful and diverse vegetation available will yield the fuller and more diverse aromatic profile.

Generally the dairy animal knows innately what is best to consume and given the options presented will produce the finest milk possible. It is interesting to the note the variations in the aromatic qualities in the more artisan of cheeses from one wheel to the next. The rotational grazing, the plant life cycles, the stage of lactation; all these considerations provide subtle influences on the smell of a cheese. If the cheese is produced from milk that has not been compromised by heat treatment the fuller aromas originating in the plants themselves will be transferred to the final cheese. If it is a cheese that is produced from pasteurized or otherwise heat-treated milk the cheese aroma will be diminished, along with much of its flavor.