Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/523050
cheese focus New York Cheese Tasting Notes Cheesemongers and distributors share their thoughts on a range of Empire State cheeses. The experts are: Lydia Burns, Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine, Chicago; Laura Downey, Fairfield and Greenwich Cheese Company, Fairfield and Cos Cob, Connecticut; Christopher Killoran, Chef Collective, New York City; Steve Millard, Murray's Cheese, New York City; Rich Morrillo, Di Bruno Bros., Philadelphia; Anne Saxelby, Saxelby Cheesemongers, New York City. Cochran Farm 1790, St. Johnsville Mohawk Mist: soft-ripened goat disk; "very fresh little puck of goat cheese … clean, bright, and incredibly silky" (Saxelby) St. Johnsville: "Similar to Chabichou or Charolais … a rind that gets super wrinkly and breaks down … creamy with a slight chalkiness in the middle … can be quite gamy and musky" (Saxelby) Danascara Farms, Fonda Danascara: raw sheep's milk; "reminiscent of Manchego but rubbed in cocoa and olive oil so it's an eye-catcher; aged enough to get a little crystallization and a little sweetness to it" (Morrillo) Four Fat Fowl, Stephentown St. Stephen: triple-cream disk from Jersey cow milk; "super rich and buttery" (Millard); "a flinty character in the finish; it's not just buttery, it has some nuance; very consistent and popular" (Morrillo) Keeley's Cheese, King Ferry Across the Pond: semisoft, brine-washed cow's milk cheese; 3-pound disk aged 4 to 7 weeks; "Taleggio style but they sell it younger so it's a bit curdy in the center" (Killoran) Meadowood Farms, Cazenovia Ledyard: sheep-milk robiola wrapped in grape leaves washed in local beer; "as close as I've seen to a Banon equivalent" (Saxelby) Lorenzo: Raclette-style, cider-washed 8-pound wheel from raw sheep's milk; "awesome semisoft cheese; fits beautifully in the case because there's nothing else like it" (Downey) Rippleton: 1-pound Taleggio-style sheep's milk cheese washed in wort from a local brewery; "It has that nice fruity, yeasty, stinky thing going on; intense and meaty" (Saxelby) Strawbridge: bloomy-rind, lactic-set sheep's milk wheel weighing about half a pound; "when it's right on, the center stays chalky and fluffy and the outside starts to break down and get creamy and gamy." (Saxelby) Sprout Creek, Poughkeepsie Toussaint: alpine-style raw cow's milk wheel aged 5 to 7 months, about 20 pounds; "nutty and sweet; an excellent melting cheese" (Millard); "delicious to snack on but we also recommend for cooking, grating, and shaving" (Saxelby) 3-Corner Field Farm, Shushan Brebis Blanche: "a fresh button of sheep cheese" (Saxelby) Vulto Creamery, Walton Miranda: lightly pressed half-pound raw cow's milk disk washed in local absinthe; "oozes a little when ripe; the nuttier side of a washed-rind cheese and not really stinky; just a hint of the barnyard" (Downey) Ouleout: semisoft washed-rind wheel resembling Alsatian Munster; 2 to 2.5 pounds; "rich, savory, and pudding-like; as good as Jasper Hill Winnimere" (Millard) From left: Danascara; Vulto Creamery's Miranda; Sprout Creek's Toussaint PHOTOS (FROM LEFT): DANASCARA FARMS; VULTO CREAMERY; RIKKI SNYDER 38 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com