Cheese

There are some amazing deals out on the shelves right now.

First off, how about P’tit Pyrenees at $9.99/lb? Same producer as P’tit Basque but made with a mix of Sheep and cow milk.  Usually $16.99/lb!
 

Then there’s English Blue Shropshire, also at $9.99/lb. Shropshire is like an orange Blue Stilton, a little mellower and sweeter than the one we carry.  Also regularly $16.99/lb.
 

And we also bought a bunch of cheese that can be classified as shipping mistakes, badly labeled, and not-full-cases.  What is there will change almost every day, but look for the sign that says “Good Deal Grotto”.  This stuff is super cheap!

 (For now at least.  The dollar has already lost as much as it gained so these prices won’t necesarily last very long)

Because the dollar is stronger against the Euro than at any time in the last couple years, we finally have some relief on European cheese prices.  I have personally lowered the price on most of the EU (i.e. not Swiss) cheese over the last couple of weeks including Spanish Manchego, Organic Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Istara Ossau-Iraty, P’tit Basque and many others.  We also brought in a French Emmenthal (at $7.99/lb) because the Swiss keeps going up.

Additionally, we have a couple of while-they-last deals:

Fromager D’affinois  $9.99/lb

In perfect condition.  Oozy and rich.

Claudel French Brie $4.99/lb

Some rinds a little ugly, but paste is perfect, creamy, rich and mild.

I know, I know, I’ve been neglecting you. I’m sorry. We need to talk, don’t we? Things have changed between us, but let me assure you, it’s not you, it’s me. Really. Years of lifting heavy cheeses and weilding a double-handled knife have left my wrists and thumbs in wonky condition, so the thought of also typing has not been appealing. Still, I’ve missed you. I’ll try harder. Everything will be different this time.

Get it now before it’s gone for the year:
Jasper Hill Winnemere - Gordon thinks it’s about the best domestic cheese. It’s the one we like to describe as “like taking a walk in the Bacon Forest during autumn.” Raw cow’s milk washed in lambic ale, wrapped in spruce bark. Dude.

On sale:
French Fontal $5.99/lb
Mild, semi-firm, a great melting cheese for sandwiches or polenta. Amazing price.

Italian Taleggio $9.99/lb
Washed rind, gooey, pungent.

Sierra Nevada Habanero Jack $6.99/lb
Hot hot hot!

Whispering Meadows Mild Cheddar $9.99/lb
From grass-fed cows, no less.

Exciting new stuff:
Italian Verde Capra goat blue
I rarely like goat blues; somehow the flavors never mesh right for me. This, however, might be the one I’ve been waiting for. It’s lovely and rich, like a sweet gorgonzola, with a little goaty tanginess.

Sweet Grass Dairy Hopeful Tomme
Raw cow and goat cheese from the good folks at Sweet Grass dairy. Nice, grassy, and nutty.

“Oh no!” you grouse. “These prices keep going up and up and up! The dollar’s tanked out, the cost of milk is skyrocketing, and let us not even speak of global gasoline/transportation issues. However will I maintain my cheese-adoring lifestyle?!”

Aw, Sweetpea, it’s true, things are pricey right now, but here’s some good news. You like good news, right?

Redwood Hill Camellia are on sale for $4.99 each, down from $8.99.
These are yummy little goat camemberty wheels from really nice folks and their bouncy herd in Sebastopol. Also, they’re vegetarian and certified by the SF Rabinical Council.

If you like blue cheeses, we still have these at more-reasonable-than-usual prices:

Blue d’Auvergne is on sale for $9.99/lb, down from $13.49/lb.
A great raw cows milk, creamy, salty, buttery dessert blue. Try it with dates or fresh figs.

Coulet Roquefort’s still $25.49, down from $28.49.
Sharp, creamy, fruity, and intense. Raw sheep milk. Classic.

Belgioioso Gorgonzola’s a sharp, creamy domestic blue that’ll be available at $6.99/lb as long as it’s in stock.

We just cut our last six cases of $9.99/lb P’tit Basque. That’s 30 tiny nutty delicious wheels of sheep cheese, folks, and they’ll be gone in a flashity flash. So sad. So very very sad. Come get them now before the price returns to its regular $19.99/lb.

Heads up, my cheesey peeps, there’s another good deal coming down the pike! Redwood Hill made too many of their Camellia, so we’ve got a bunch at the low low low low price of $4.99 each. Usually they’re $8.99 each, so as far as I can see it, you can’t afford not to buy ‘em. If you’ve never had one, picture a tiny Camembert-style disc made from local goats’ milk. Soft, buttery, a little meaty, with a delicate little penicillum candidum rind that you can gobble right up.

Did you get your earthquake kit together? I sorted through mine recently, refamiliarizing myself with its contents. Turns out I’ve got everything but food, since all my edibles expired. I must go buy some more long-lasting sustenance. Maybe I’ll just throw a wheel of aged gouda in my backpack with a flashlight. But seriously, if you trust me about cheese, consider what I say about earthquakes. There will be one, and you don’t want to be stuck looting the corner store for Pabst and Ding Dongs.

Okay, that’s my last word about tectonic upheavals. I’m aware I’m misusing the cheese blog, and I’ll return to the subject at hand. Camellia. On sale. Come get.

Well, any of you who read the news or check your receipts know that prices are rising for food.  Cheese is no exception. Considering the amount of imported cheese you folks buy, you’ve probably noticed the dollar is at a historically painful rate (for those of us living in the USA).

 

As the main cheese buyer I’ve been trying to get some volume deals to ease this pain.  Though we can barely fit ‘em in our backstock cooler, we just got in 70 cases of Petit Basque that we are selling for $9.99/lb.(reg. price is $19.99/lb)  This is a Basque sheep milk cheese (made by the same folks who make the Istara Ossau-Iraty, our best-selling sheep cheese) that is sweet, nutty, and rich.  It makes pretty much everyone happy. Better get it while it’s here.  This is one of the best deals we’ve had in years.

 

If you can’t find it, just look for Creepy Timmy, the Petit Basque mascot. You’ll know Timmy when you see him.

 

(Please note, because the super-low sale price, we can’t give a discount for buying by the wheel.  Sorry.)

 

 

 

We weren’t lying to you. We really did run out of the cheap, rindless Explorateur. However, our distributor just got a whole new container of more, bloomless Explorateur. Their suffering is your benefit! Triple cream, luscious, rindless and $9.99/lb. reg $15.99/lb.

We also have a great deal on an extra aged, raw milk Mahon. Usually this name-controlled cheese from Minorca in Spain’s Balearic Islands is semi-soft to firm in texture. This one is harder, sharper and saltier than the Mahon we regularly carry, it’s also more intense and fruity. While it lasts, $8.99/lb.

Our California section has recently expanded because there are so many great local cheeses available. We have all the local cheese you’d expect and also just brought back in the 3 Sisters Serena, (used to be called Sareannah, a contraction of the three sisters’ names) an earthy, cheddary cheese and (we may be the only SF store carrying this) the Riconada Dairy La Panza is finally back in season. La Panza won first prize in the farmstead sheep category of the American Cheese Society and we sold out of it so fast last year that we didn’t even advertise it. Expensive, but really, really good.

If you read the post about the delicious and discounted Besace du Berger and Explorateur and thought, “That sounds great, maybe I’ll get it next week,” listen up: next week is here now, and the cheese is almost gone. We’ve got about two wheels of the rindless Explorateur, and maybe three dozen Besace du Berger, both of which I expect will be gone before you have a chance to smack your lips.

If you’re a parmesan afficionado, we’re selling big (2.5 to 3 pound) vacuum packed slabs of Boni brand Parmigiano Reggiano for $10.99/lb, which is a dollar less than our regular Reg, and about half the price of organic. So if your honey needs a cheesey vehicle, if your homemade minestrone requires hearty rind, or if your meals all seem naked without a blizzard of parmesan, you might consider this.

And just a follow-up on the Pedrozo demo, cheesemaker Tim Pedrozo sampled out the Pedrozo Nothern California Gold yesterday. People were snapping it up, but we have some left and will be offering it on our sample table for a day or two more. Tim’s now one of my favorite cheesemakers. I can still hear his great laugh booming in my ears. Boy, do I love cheesemakers who think I’m funny.

-Jenny Schmenny 6/4/06