Remember that first cheese pairing when the combination of flavors transformed into something sublime on the palate, when a new world of textures and exotic impressions awakened the taste buds to combinations that didn’t seem plausible? In this age of “anything is possible” cheese lovers have a lot to look forward to when selecting pairings.
What is the big deal about rennet, and what part does it play in the cheesemaking process?
Cheese is traditionally made with milk, salt, cultures and rennet. Rennet allows cheesemakers to efficiently turn fresh milk into curd, a technique they’ve been using for thousands of years. Over time, milk curds on its own, but by that time, the milk may sour. Rennet speeds up this process so proteins in the milk form curd, and the liquid separates and run off as whey.
Pecorino starts with the sheep. It’s even in the name — Pecorino cheese is named after pecora, the word for sheep in Italian. The three Pecorini begin with pure, fresh, whole sheep’s milk from the idyllic island of Sardinia.
When people think about seasonal eating, fruits and vegetables are the first foods that spring to mind. There’s a world of difference between the plump ripe tomato plucked from the vine in July and the pale anemic import offered at the supermarket in the depths of winter. There are other produce changes in flavor and texture throughout the growing season — consider the new potatoes of early summer and their heftier autumn cousins, or compare the tender leaves of young kale to its robust, more mature version.
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Rory Stamp of Burling, VT’S Dedalus Wine Shop describes his preparation for the 2018 Cheesemonger Invitational as “a lot of work,” but when speaking with him, his dedication to the craft and passion for cheese become quite evident, bordering on the heroic in this cut-throat competition.
As a child growing up in India, Jaidesh Sethi remembers begging his mother and grandmother every day to make him lassi, a cool, refreshing yogurt drink flavored with fruit and spices.
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As I sit here, I’m finding it difficult to write an editorial about cheese when so many people are facing devastating circumstances from Hurricane Harvey. One of the first things that comes to mind is how we take basic necessities for granted – clean water, medical care, safe places to gather, our homes and food...