11/12/08 Cheese Overview
Go Back
The Grilled Cheese Club
Cheese Tasting 11.12.08
O’Bannon – Capriole Goat Cheese, Indiana
Judy Schad, cheesemaker at Capriole Goat Cheese in Greenville, Indiana, is as talented at naming her cheeses as she is at making them. Case in point: the O’Banon, an old cheese with a new name. The cheese is made in the same fashion as the french Banon, a small disc of goat’s or cow’s milk cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves. However, while the french version has succumbed to largely industrial production, the O’Banon is still made in tiny batches by hand. The chestnut leaves used to wrap and preserve the cheese are soaked in artisanal Kentucky Bourbon - either Old Forester or Woodford Reserve, depending on what’s in the cupboard. Enjoy O’Banon either young or aged, with a shot of whiskey or a fruity California Viognier. One piece weighs approximately 6 ounces.
Camembert – Le Chatelain, Normandy
It comes from Normandy, France, where Camembert was first created back in 1791. This is a great example of a rich, creamy cheese that when ripe is “as good as it gets”. When this cheese was presented to Napoleon in 1855 by the daughter of the Marie Harel, the creator of this variety, he liked it so much he asked where it came from. Since that day, it has been called Camembert.
Camembert Le Châtelain retains most of the authentic flavors and qualities of the raw-milk cheese you can buy only in France and is gently pasteurized to make it available in the United States.
Camembert Cheese come from the Normandy region of France and is made from 100% cows milk. It has a bloomy rind and is aged 2 - 3 months. The taste is succulent, ripe, rich and creamy with a possible hint of apple. The texture is creamy and can have a runny interior with age.
Chaumes - Fromageries of Chaues, Perigord
Chaumes cheese is a cow’s milk cheese from Périgord (South West of France), made by traditional cheese-making processes. Translated literally, “chaumes” is French for stubble. Based upon traditional Trappist-style cheeses, it is a rather popular cheese among modern French varieties, in particular with children. It is a soft pale cheese with a rich full-bodied flavour and smooth creamy and quite rubbery texture. Its aroma is generated by the cheese’s bright tangerine-orange soft rind. The rind appears after several washings of the crust, along with brushing with some ferments.Maturation of the Chaumes takes four weeks.
Pecorino Toscano, young – IL Forteto, Tuscany
Pecorino Toscano is a young 100% sheep’s milk cheese, only about 40 days old when it arrives on our shores. Because it is a young cheese, it is somewhat discreet; almost shy. As the cheese first hits your tongue, you detect a hint of Tuscan herbs, grass and wildflowers. Lactic, milky, toasty, tangy; it’s not strong or sharp but it’s delicious. The aftertaste it leaves on your palate is a wonderfully complex flavor that is hard to describe, but easy to enjoy. Authentic Pecorino Toscano is name-controlled by the Italian Government, meaning that in order for a cheese to bear the name, it must be made to exact specifications and only in defined locales.
Ossau Iraty, Onetik, Pyrenees in Basque France
Ossau in the valley of Bearn and Iraty in the forests of the Pays Basque combine to make this cheese. Ossau-Iraty is a Appelation d’Origine Controlee (A.O.C) cheese.
Ossau-Iraty is mainly made from Manech ewes. The cheese is sometimes produced in mountain huts (Ossau-Iraty Fermier). The cheese needs to mature for at least 90 days to develop its nutty flavor.
Ossau-Iraty is rather medium-soft light in color and very complex yet delicately smooth flavors. This cheese tastes slightly akin to cow’s cheeses of similar texture such as alps cheese. Ossau-Iraty is complex and includes an edible slightly white-moldy tart rind; this offers considerably to the experience. This is a creamy, not bitter, not overly sweet, perhaps slightly nutty cheese with a gentleness and ability to please. Finishes rich and smooth.
Parmigiano Reggiano – Various Producers, Parma Italy
Does it need explanation?
A hard, fat granular cheese, cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas of Parma. Parmigiano-Reggiano is made from raw cow’s milk. The whole milk of the morning milking is mixed with the naturally skimmed milk (it is left in large shallow tanks to allow the cream to separate) of the previous evening’s milking, resulting in a part skim mixture.
Forme d’Ambert – Terres Volcans, Auvergne France
Legend says that Fourme d’Ambert was already made at the time of the Druids and the Gauls. It is certainly one of the oldest cheeses in France along with Roquefort. Fourme d’Ambert is made in the Monts de Forez of Auvergne. Since 2002, Fourme d’Ambert and Fourme de Montbrison, although almost simlar, have a distinct AOC grade. “Fourme” is the old French word for cheese from the Latin name “forma”, and describes its cylindrical shape. Fourme d’Ambert is made with cow’s milk. 25 liters of milk for one cheese. Penicillium glaucum bacteria is added to the cheese which is going to rest in a cave for a minimum of 2 months.
Go Back
