{"id":810,"date":"2014-04-02T21:22:15","date_gmt":"2014-04-02T21:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/galleychef.org\/?p=810"},"modified":"2019-10-09T22:09:32","modified_gmt":"2019-10-09T22:09:32","slug":"cheese-night-at-whole-foods-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/galleychef.org\/index.php\/cheese-night-at-whole-foods-market\/","title":{"rendered":"CHEESE NIGHT AT WHOLE FOODS MARKET"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cA silence fell at the mention of Gavard. They all looked at each other cautiously. As they were all rather short of breath by this time, it was the camembert they could smell. This cheese, with its gamy odour, had overpowered the milder smells of the marolles and the limbourg; its power was remarkable. Every now and then, however, a slight whiff, a flute-like note, came from the parmesan, while the bries came into play with their soft, musty smell, the gentle sound, so to speak, of a damp tambourine. The livarot launched into an overwhelming reprise, and the g\u00e9rom\u00e9 kept up the symphony with a sustained high note.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u2015\u00a0\u00c9mile Zola<\/a>,\u00a0The Belly of Paris<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

I took a journey through my taste buds last night at Whole Foods Market\u2019s new \u201cCheese Night\u201d. \u00a0It was all about the complexity of flavor in raw-milk cheeses and what makes them unique. \u00a0Certified cheese professional, Lynn Battels and David Hall, up and coming certified cheese professional, explained what a \u201craw-milk\u201d cheese is, how it\u2019s made, and how to taste it, with four of our five senses.<\/p>\n

\"Lynn
Lynn Battels displaying the Grafton Village Farms Classic Reserve Cheddar with David Hall behind her.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Looking at a particular artisan cheese can tell you a lot about the type of milk that was used to make it. \u00a0Goat milk cheese, for instance, is much whiter in appearance than cheeses made from other types of milk. \u00a0Look at the rind and the fissures in the cheese. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Lynn
Lynn Battels with a wheel of cheese.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then there is the smell\u2026. A mild aroma is sometimes described as floral, perfumy, fresh, sweet, grassy or nutty. \u00a0A strong aroma is described as barnyardy, earthy, funky, musty, sour, ripe or stinky. \u00a0Lynn explains, if you break up the cheese in the palm of you hand and roll it between your fingers, this will warm the cheese and expose more surface area, therefore releasing the cheese\u2019s aromas. \u00a0Then take a good whiff, exhaling through your nose and viola! \u00a0There you have it. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Tasting the cheese is all about being in the moment. \u00a0I close my eyes and focus solely on my breathing. (in from my mouth, exhaling through my nose) Then, rolling the cheese on the back of my tongue until it melts, ever so slowly, on my pallate while thinking about the mouth-feel. \u00a0Often the difference between mediocre cheese and excellent cheese is in the finish. \u00a0There are eternal truths to be recognized, just as there are eternal harmonies in a Beethoven sonata. \u00a0Ultimately, a cheesemakers\u2019 goal is to achieve balance among the five human taste areas: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. \u00a0It is all about that universality and transcendence.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Manchego
Manchego Cheese<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We started with an 8 month aged Manchego cheese from Spain. \u00a0Made from raw sheeps milk, this cheese has a firm consistency and a buttery texture with \u00a0a kind of sour note to it. \u00a0It is made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the Manchega breed. Official Manchego cheese is to be aged between 60 days and two years. \u00a0 The designation Queso Manchego is protected under Spain\u2019s\u00a0Denominaci\u00f3n de Origen<\/a>\u00a0(DO) regulatory classifaction system and has been granted Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status by the European Union. \u00a0We tasted the Ruffino Orvieto Classico with it. \u00a0This is an Italian white wine produced by Ruffino in the Tuscany region of Italy.<\/p>\n

\"Ruffino\"<\/p>\n

When I think about the great cheese makers of the world, I think immediately of French and Italian cheeses, however, there are some really good artisan cheese makers cropping up all over America. \u00a0Grafton Village Farms out of Vermont is one of them. \u00a0We tasted their Classic Reserve Cheddar, a raw cow milk cheese with a creamy texture and the classic cheddar flavor we all love. \u00a0\u00a0The designation of \u201cRaw Milk\u201d is reserved for cheeses made from milk that has not been heated to more than 100 F. \u00a0At this temperature, the hundreds of varieties of bacteria continue to thrive and interact with the milk, giving a greater, deeper flavor within the cheese. \u00a0In the United States, the FDA requires raw (unpasteurized) milk cheeses to be aged a minimum of 60 days.<\/p>\n

\"Vermont
Vermont Cheddar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We tried the \u201cLe Gruyere Reserve\u201d, a raw cow milk cheese from Switzerland. \u00a0Considered to be the best \u201cmelting\u201d cheese to use in fondues and for baking. \u00a0This cheese has a creamy-nutty-mushroomy flavor with the pronounced salt crystals that I so desire. \u00a0It\u2019s complexity is next to none, however, it never overshadows the other ingredients it\u2019s married with. \u00a0They can only fit 156,000 wheels of cheese in the caves of Kaltbach in Lucerne. It\u2019s never enough is it? My favorite sandwich has to be the Croque Monsier. \u00a0Made with\u00a0Gruy\u00e8re, bechemel and ham on a croissant, this sandwich is gooey, creamy, cheesy and comforting all at the same time.<\/p>\n