Posted in Beer, Beverages, Food History, Germany, Producer Profile, tagged Beer, Minim Order, Molasse basin, Munich, Oktoberfest, Paulaner, Paulaner Brauerei, St. Francis of Paola on September 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Paulaner Brauerei (Brewery) first opened its doors in 1634, the same year that the citizens of Boston purchased (for 30 pounds!) the land that became Boston Common, the country’s first public park. Like many breweries in Europe, this one was founded by monks – in this case, the Minim friars of the Cloister Neudeck ob der Au. The brewery was named after St. Francis of Paola, the founder of the Minim Order. (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Food History, France, tagged Cheese, chevre, food, France, goat cheese, Loire, Loire Valley, Sainte-Maure Belgique, Sainte-Maure de Touraine on August 19, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Sainte-Maure Belgique
There are a few things one learns pretty quickly as a cheesemonger. Among them are that brebis generally come from the Pyrenées and small-format goat cheeses are closely associated with the Loire Valley. Of course, there are exceptions but, as general rules, these guidelines have served me pretty well. (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Education, FAQs, Food History, Pairings, tagged Brie, Brillat-Savarin, camembert, Champagne, Cheese, Cremont, Délice de Bourgogne, double cream, double-crème, food, Le Magnum, Parmigiano Reggiano, Petit Suisse, triple cream, triple-crème on February 10, 2011 | 7 Comments »
The terms “double-crème” and “triple-crème” are bandied about a lot in cheese shops. While most folks have a general idea of what they mean in terms of texture (creamy, spreadable!) and flavor (buttery, lactic!) for a cheese, these terms actually have very specific meanings. (more…)
Posted in Candy & Confections, Christmas, Food History, Pairings, Portugal, Travelogues, tagged Alentejo, Ameixas d'Elvas, Elvas, food, Greengage, plum, plums, Portugal, sugar plum, sugarplum on November 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
When is a plum not a plum? When it is a sugarplum or a plum pudding! Judging by the names of these traditional British Christmas treats, one would think that both include some quantity of plum. Not true! For centuries, the term ‘sugarplum’ has referred to any type of dried fruit, made into a small, vaguely plum-shaped sweet. During Victorian times, these sugary candies sometimes contained raisins or currants which were called plums.
Posted in Education, Food History, Produce, tagged basil, Caprese Salad, food, pesto, Purple Basil, Sweet Basil, Thai Basil on August 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A couple of years ago, on one of my many visits home, I bought a cheapie pot of basil at the supermarket. That pot of basil still sits on the window sill in the kitchen at my parents’ house and my mother plucks leaves from it when she makes a Caprese salad or needs some fresh seasoning. It doesn’t look too pretty now – it’s rather tall and skinny with a stick that helps to keep it upright – but it continues to be a fragrant and delicious addition to family meals. (more…)
Posted in Food History, Produce, tagged burrata, Caprese Salad, food, heirloom, heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, tomato, tomatoes on August 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Tomato season recently kicked off here in New England – a sign that we are in the mid to late stages of summer. Technically a fruit, tomatoes are treated as a vegetable for cooking purposes. There exist more than 5,000 varieties globally and we are increasingly seeing heirloom tomatoes available at markets here in New England. (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Education, England, Food History, tagged AOC, Cheese, Colston Bassett, England, food, Stichelton, Stilton, UK, United Kingdom on July 19, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Stichelton (left) and Colston Bassett Stilton (right)
Stilton is one of the most well-known blue cheeses in the world — up there with Roquefort, Gorgonzola and Cabrales. As possibly the most traditional English cheese, Stilton is often called the “King of English cheeses” and sometimes (and more controversially!) the “King of Blues.”
Posted in Cheese, Food History, tagged Cheese, Bayley Hazen Blue, Roquefort, Saint-Marcellin, Gorgonzola, Parmigiano Reggiano, Fontina, brebis, cheese history, Valençay, blue cheese, Époisses, food on July 6, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Fourme d'Ambert
History was my major in college and, when I read about cheeses, it is the history behind them that particularly fascinates me. For example, I love being able to imagine folks in the 9th century enjoying Fourme d’Ambert when I sample out that classic, French blue cheese to customers in the shop.
Some cheeses have changed quite a lot over time. Saint-Marcellin is a prime example. Originally this was a goats’ milk cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves. As the centuries passed, however, production shifted to favor cows’ milk and, today, the cheese is pretty much known as a cows’ milk cheese. As well, Saint-Marcellin is rarely leaf-wrapped these days; it is sold in small crocks (which, when no longer holding cheese, I like to use for all sorts of things from laundry quarters to paper clips!). (more…)
Posted in Cheese, Education, FAQs, Food History, France, tagged AOC, artisanal, Cheese, DO, DOC, DOP, fermier, food, France, fruitiere, PDO, Roquefort on June 18, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Three Roqueforts: Vieux Berger (top left), Gabriel Coulet (bottom left) and Carles (right)
We carry a number of AOC cheeses here at Formaggio Kitchen: Époisses, Langres, Comté and Fourme d’Ambert, to name a few. As a result (and not surprisingly), one of the questions that we often field on the cheese counter is what the term AOC actually tells us about a given cheese.
AOC stands for Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (translating to: Controlled Name of Origin) and is a designation of process and provenance that is used in France. There are equivalents of the AOC program in other countries – in Italy it is called DOC (Denominazione d’Origine Controllata) or DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta)*, in Spain it is called DO (Denominacion de Origen) and, in the EU as a whole, the designation is PDO** (Protected Designation of Origin). (more…)
Posted in Bakery, Food History, Produce, tagged baking, crisps, food, pie, rhubarb, spring on May 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Rhubarb
In April, I walked into the bakery and saw rhubarb piled high on the work bench, waiting to be added to a strawberry-rhubarb crisp. At the time, the weather had turned spring-like but we were still several weeks away from our own local rhubarb season. Still, that first sight of rhubarb was a lovely indicator that warm weather was on its way. This week, our produce manager, Julio, told me that we have just started getting in local rhubarb to the shop!
Rhubarb reminds me of home – my mom makes a fantastic strawberry-rhubarb pie and, as a baker myself, the bellwether rhubarb sets my mind racing with ideas for what will soon be a profusion of fruits to choose from for crisps, breads or crostatas… (more…)
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