Many of our customers are eager to know as much as possible about how a farm’s animals are treated, fed, medicated, and confined. My best answer is usually something like, “Um, I asked the farmers once, and they said everything was fine.” This isn’t the answer most people are looking for. Well, the folks at Meadow Creek Dairy offer the most extensive information about every aspect of their cows’ daily lives. Their Jersey Sally, for instance, enjoys regular walks by the creek and long candle-light vegetarian dinners. Wait, no, maybe I read that on another site. You should rely on the Meadow Creek website for accurate information, but keep coming back to me for entertainment and inspiration.
We’re currently carrying Meadow Creek’s Grayson, a pungent semi-soft washed-rind Jersey milk cheese. Like most washed-rind cheeses, the rind is pinkish-orange, incredibly stinky, and considered by most rational people to be completely inedible. The inside is a rich buttery yellow, and it’s nutty, pungent, a hint bitter, and, ironically, maybe a little beefy. Think Italian Taleggio, or French Livarot, but with some extra American ingenuity thrown in.
When customers would inevitably ask if we sell cheesemaking supplies, we always shrugged and gave them the contact info for New England Cheesemaking Supply, from which one can buy an astonishing array of cheesemaking items. Practically everyone goes to them. Well, we’ve ordered Ricki’s 30 Minute Mozzarella/Ricotta Making Kit, and for you DIY types, we also got some little bottles of vegetarian rennet.
Good luck in your cheesemaking endeavors, friends! Don’t forget to wash your hands as though you were about to perform open-heart surgery. In the cheese world, cleanliness is king, or at least democratically elected Grand Poobah.
Let us know how your cheese turned out!
I can’t believe I haven’t yet written about 34 Degrees marinated Australian feta! I’m not feta’s biggest fan, but seriously, anyone who’s come to the counter asking what cheese would be best for a really special date has heard me rave about the wonders of this one. Forget everything you know about feta for a moment. This is exceptionally soft and creamy, made with goat and sheep milk, and marinated in a blend of olive and canola oil, fresh thyme, whole peppercorns and garlic. It produces the most extreme reactions in people; I saw one person tear up a little when he tasted it. A co-worker got goosebumps. A customer cursed a lot and then gave me a big hug. Another declared his love for me in front of his spouse and child. It was an obvious case of transferrence. Anyhow, this stuff is one of my all-time favorite cheeses, and I’m happiest eating it just with a nice baguette that I can dip into the tasty oil after I’ve eaten all the cheese.
Of course, you could skip that tired old baguette and try some of the same company’s crunchy little crispbreads, which we just started carrying. We have both plain and rosemary flavored. They’re wafer-thin but surprisingly sturdy, and good with practically anything. I’m particularly smitten with the rosemary one. Rosemary’s always a tricky herb; it can be overpowering, but 34 Degrees got this just right.
When I first tried this Bartlett Blue from Greensboro, Vermont, it reminded me a bit of Stilton, only less fruity and more heartily earthy. So I wasn’t surprised to read that one of the cheesemakers over at Jasper Hill Dairy “learned his trade at Neal’s Yard Dairy in London.” So, you Stilton afficionados, you fans of unpasteurized milk, you ardent eschewers of imported goods, try this, maybe crumbled on a mushroom galette, or nibbled with a ripe Asian pear.
Orange is my favorite color and that makes Ibores one of my favorite cheeses to look at…that is until its devoured! The rind is rubbed with Paprika and olive oil, while the inside is semi-hard and eggshell white in color, made from pasteurized goat’s milk.  Ibores begins on my tongue with a buttery flavor, but finishes tangy and has an aroma of herbs. This cheese is from Extremadura in Spain and gets its name from the Ibor mountain range. The goats roam the countryside eating wild aromatic grasses and herbs namely rockrose, heather and thyme.  This used to be a seasonal cheese until it became too popular. Ask a Cheesemonger at Rainbow for Ibores, in aesthetics and taste, you’ll be satiated.
When my coworkers in Produce have a gripe about the smell emanating from our cheese cart, it’s inevitably a gruyere. Cheese workers would argue that there are a few foul smelling cheeses that we would prefer to avoid, for example; the plastic covering Cotswald is puffed up with a gas that smells like egg farts! Bet you never guessed. But gruyeres’ usually smell amazing to us; earthy, grassy and oniony. There are a few exceptions; Hoch Ybrig!  Named after a mountain in Canton Schwyz, Switzerland, Hoch Ybrig is made with raw milk and washed with white wine, then aged for about 8 months. Don’t assume that younger means less intense in this cheese.  Its about 15lbs. unlike traditional gruyere which is around 60lbs., so Hoch Ybrig ages differently and takes on its distinctive flavor rather quickly.  It has a caramelized onion sweetness on the tongue, a hint of bacon, a long nutty flavor with a bite at the end. I love this cheese for its versatility. It’s delicious on a baguette with whole grain mustard, toasted over bread with tomato, in quiche or grated over a French onion soup. Next time your recipe calls for gruyere think Hoch Ybrig!
