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Posts Tagged ‘Cheese’

Time Flies! Our Blog’s Three Year Anniversary

Posted in About Us, Food Writing, tagged , , on October 9, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Cheese Sampler

First off, a big thank you to all of our readers! Over the past three years, we’ve been working hard to make this blog fun and informative for both customers and staff members. Recent posts have included a two-part study of balsamic vinegars, some of our food book favorites and Tyler’s recipe for “Mil Fromages” mac and cheese. We’ve now posted over 180 articles on a range of topics from pine mouth, to our recent travels in the Basque region of France, to posts about cheese, beer and wine. (more…)

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Mac and Many Cheeses: The “Mil Fromages”

Posted in Cheese, Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes, tagged , , , on October 4, 2012 | 1 Comment »

A Bite of Mil Fromages Mac and Cheese

Every Sunday in our Cambridge shop, the kitchen staff get the day off and a cheesemonger helps to make our “Sunday Sandwiches” – small Iggy’s rolls with a varying assortment of toppings. We always  do a vegetarian option or two and then we regularly make some ham and Brie sarnies, sometimes dubbed the “Huron Classic” and at other times, “The Frenchman.” If time allows, that cheesemonger will also whip up an additional dish for the sandwich window. One such Sunday, I had enough time to make a casserole dish of mac ‘n’ cheese. Availing of our “cheese bits” bin, I think I used 35+ cheeses in the end. So, it was only a slight exaggeration when the dish was dubbed “Mil Fromages.” (more…)

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Ricotta Toasts with Turkish Figs and Spring Blossom Honey

Posted in Appetizers & Hors d'Oeuvres, Cheese, Recipes, Salads & Sides, tagged , , , , , , , on August 8, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Ricotta Toast with Dried Turkish Figs and Carlisle Spring Blossom Honey

Ricotta Toast with Dried Figs and Carlisle Spring Blossom Honey

Ever since making B&G Oyster’s inspired arugula, blood orange and ricotta salad, I have been on a bit of a ricotta kick – incorporating it into salads, dolloping it on strawberries and, more recently, experimenting with it on bruschetta-like toasts. Quick and easy to put together, they are effectively a kind of open-faced sandwich. Ideal as appetizers, I find that in this heat they can also be ample for a light dinner. (more…)

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What Is Annatto? How Does It Relate to Cheese?

Posted in Cheese, FAQs, Food History, Herbs, Spices, Salts & Peppers, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Red Leicester and Annatto Seeds

Red Leicester and Annatto Seeds

Mimolette. Red Leicester. Shropshire Blue. What do these three cheeses have in common? They are all orange and they are all colored with annatto. Annatto is a somewhat mysterious ingredient added to a number of cheeses and, recently, I took a minute to research where it comes from and a bit of its history. (more…)

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Mac and Cheese Magic with Toasted Orzo + Parmigiano Reggiano

Posted in Cheese, Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads & Sides, tagged , , , , , , , on July 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Toasted Orzo Parmigiano Reggiano Mac and Cheese

A couple of months ago, I had the good fortune to have a late afternoon lunch at B&G Oysters in the South End. With a natural affinity for all things dairy and, in particular, for a good mac and cheese, I ordered the orzo from their list of “sides” to go with my lobster roll.

It arrived in a small ceramic dish, hot from the oven. I pierced the crumb topping with my spoon and scooped up a bite. A little puzzled because there were some darker colored bits in amongst the cheesy creaminess, I thought that there was a little prosciutto surprise in there. (more…)

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Choosing Our Cheese: Cabot Clothbound Cheddar

Posted in Cheese, Local, United States, tagged , , , , , , on June 28, 2012 | 8 Comments »

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar (note the batch date at right)

Every two months or so, Tripp, our domestic cheese buyer in Cambridge, and I, domestic cheese buyer for our South End location, drive up to Greensboro, Vermont and visit with our friends at the Cellars at Jasper Hill. The purpose of these trips is primarily to select new wheels of Cabot Clothbound Cheddar.

Artisan cheeses, like Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, tend to differ slightly from one batch to another – even wheels made one day apart and aged under the same conditions, can be surprisingly different. These variations can be attributed to the season, to changes in the weather and to what the cows might have munched on the day they were milked. I like to think of it as a sort of time capsule, a way of capturing a moment of the farm’s existence in time. (more…)

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Made in the USA: Cheeses to Celebrate Independence Day

Posted in Cheese, Fourth of July, Holiday, Local, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Lake's Edge - Blue Ledge Farm

Lake’s Edge – Blue Ledge Farm

Celebrate Independence Day with a cheese plate that is “Made in the USA!” Tripp, domestic cheese buyer in our Cambridge shop, is recommending four cheeses for this July 4th (“four for the fourth!”). All of the cheeses hail from Vermont and represent varying textures, styles and milk types. Whether you try one or all of these cheeses, we think you’ll be as impressed with what is happening on the American cheese scene as we are! (more…)

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Metaphors: Describing and Sharing Our Food Experiences

Posted in Cheese, Food Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 14, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Arthur Rimbaud

Arthur Rimbaud

Not long ago, a fellow cheesemonger and I were talking about the way we describe food – specifically, in selling cheese to our customers. “Like ‘nutty,’” she said. “Nuts really have nothing to do with the production of cheese.”

Why do I think of the flavor of sesame seeds when I taste Moses Sleeper, from Jasper Hill Farm, in Vermont? Why Brazil nuts with a recent Taleggio or pistachio when tasting Caprotto? Why do we describe specific tastes, or hints of taste, with things that are most certainly uncheese-like? Because these metaphors help people understand what to expect from a cheese. (more…)

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Staff Tasting: Spring Brook Farm’s Reading and Tarentaise

Posted in Cheese, Producer Profile, United States, tagged , , , , , , on May 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Spring Brook Farm Cheeses - Reading and Tarentaise

Spring Brook Farm Cheeses – Reading (L) and Tarentaise (R – progressing in age from the youngest, to the Reserve)

At the end of March, Jeremy Stephenson, head cheesemaker at Spring Brook Farm in Vermont, visited our Cambridge shop. He led a staff tasting on the Friday evening, sampled out to customers on Saturday and, along with several other amazing domestic cheese and beer producers, taught a class that afternoon. It was a busy weekend! (more…)

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A Few of Our Favorites: Spring Goat Cheeses

Posted in Cheese, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Grazing GoatTraditionally, spring is a time of the year when farms pause in their milking cycle so that newly-arrived, baby animals get the milk they need to start a healthy life. In late spring to early summer, milking for the purpose of cheesemaking resumes, and our shops start to receive an abundance of delicious, fresh and lightly-aged cheeses. This is a wonderful time of year to taste the best of seasonal cheese both locally and from afar. (more…)

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