Artisanal Cheese Journal
Our staff of passionate cheese professionals discover, explore, and travel. We are happy to share these articles that reflect their experiences, personalities and genuine adoration of cheese.
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It was a fairly typical week for the folks at the Vermont Butter and Cheese Company in Websterville, Vermont, but for me, a chance of a lifetime to take part in a new chapter in the history of artisanal cheese making!
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''I'm going to France for vacation and I am not going to do anything cheese related -- No visits, just rest and relaxation.'' Okay, maybe I didn't plan on driving 7 hours from a small town outside of Brive to the Jura with fromage in my sights but what can I say? It wouldn't be the first time I spent my days off from work to do what I love.
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In the fall of 2005, as Sales Manager for Artisanal Premium Cheese -- and a true Irishman -- I had the very special opportunity to visit
the luscious farm of Jim & Breda Maher at Cooleeney Farm, in County Tipperary. With the need to recharge my 'Irish Soul',
and a desire to taste some more Cooleeney Cheese, I decided to make another trip to my ancestral home.
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This year marked my fifth trip to the New York International Show seeking innovative and unique products for Artisanal Premium Cheese. Armed with my years of experience and a comfortable set of shoes I embarked on the long journey through the seemingly endless rows of gourmet delights.
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My recent visit to Fromagerie Jacquin didn't just change my opinion of pasteurized, soft-ripened goat's milk cheeses - it prompted a complete re-evaluation of our current supply chain and maturing methods. Going into this challenge, I felt confident that my years of tasting pasteurized Loire Valley cheeses and rock-solid expectations couldn't be shaken. I couldn't have been more wrong…
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Jasper Hill Farm has not only been a source for some of the best Artisanal American cheeses - it has also been an inspiration to me and to the greater dairy industry to move in a more progressive direction of milk quality, education, and value.
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"It's a long way to Tipperary", and we have shortened the trip.
So if you are not there now the next best thing would be to cut a piece of Cooleeney Cheese taste it, close your eyes and imagine that you are transported back to Ireland. |
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January 2006 marked my second pilgrimage as Buyer for Artisanal Premium Cheese to the annual Fancy Food Show at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. My quest, as always, is to explore the world of new and existing fermented dairy products in America, and to examine the ever-expanding trends in this fanciest of foods.
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I've never met a cheese I didn't like. Each artisanal cheese is so entirely unique, so entirely an adventure unto itself, that eating a bit of one, any one, becomes a transporting experience.
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Sicily caught the attention and dreams of every powerful civilization that anchored in the island's harbors. As the recipient and assimilator of so many distinct influences, Sicily has the rare gift of a multi-cultural identity.
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| COW | SHEEP | GOAT | WASHED RIND | HARD | SOFT+BLOOMY | FIRM |
| CHEDDAR | SEMI-FIRM | RAW MILK | LEAF WRAPPED | SEMI-SOFT | BLUES | MOUNTAIN |