“Morbier” means “small market town” in French. Morbier (full name Morbier du Livradois) is a mild-tasting cheese with a white pine ash layer in the middle of it. The cheese has a golden-brown rind. Inside, it is pale yellow, and semi-firm yet creamy and supple. It is made from unpasteurized cow’s milk. The milk is heated, then curdled. Traditionally, Morbier Cheese was made from leftover curd that wasn’t wanted for other cheeses or uses. The curd was put into a mould, then ash put over it to stop it from drying out and forming a rind until the next day, when there would be more leftover curd, enough to finish filling up the mould. Today, small producers will make the bottom layer from the evening’s milk, then the top layer from the next morning’s milk. It is then salted and pressed by law, it has to be aged a minimum of 45 days. Many, though, age it for two months. After this initial aging, it is then washed with brine, then aged another two months. Brought at local Brookville. It’s softish, and I was afraid a bit stinky at first — but it is actually pretty mild. They don’t know how cheesemakers learned to start adding the ash.
Valley Shepherd Creamery – Watch the Video.America’s Heartland PBS episode 415 Dec 10, 2008. New Jersey is home to a different kind of farming operation. The Valley Shepherd Creamery makes a wide variety of cheeses from sheep’s milk. (6:12 minutes)
If you are passing through the Philidalphia area and need food, don’t hesitate to stop in at Pottstown Limerick, KPTW. The Fairway’s Pub & Grill (610-495-7626) is a few hundred yards up the road from the FBO, but don’t let the name fool you. Yes, it is a ‘pub & grill’, but Marty, the chef, makes up daily specials depending on what he was able to buy at the farmer’s market that morning.
We had crab cakes, which is one of Marty’s own special recipies. They were great! In fact, we had a nice conversation with him. He gave us his cell phone number, and said to call the next time we were flying in and he would prepare something special for us.
This guy owns a bar & grill, is the chef at the place, which is across the street from an airport (outside of the SFRA). What a dream job!.
AT & MS started out at the Chinatown Farmer’s Market, but walked past the convention center to Historic Morrison Clark Inn (1015 L St. NW). From the NBC4 Blog: Enjoy the hotel’s happy hour by relaxing on the veranda, sipping Big Easy-themed cocktails, and snacking on southern specialties. 5:30-7:30 p.m.; $8 cocktails. After a Mint Julep and a Steel Magnolia, Wendell made his way over with Cheese from Whole Foods at Tenley. Wendell ordered a basket of bread, and we tried to discretely sample the cheese. It was a sheep night, and all was good. The staff were all so nice, but MS idea: A blog on how to best get served at local restaurants / bars — Do you wait at the table? Look for the host? Belly up to the bar?
Contraband cheese?
Pastore (14.99 a lb). Raw sheep milk: Pastore Sini is a semi-hard sheep’s milk cheese with a firm texture and a nutty finish. Pastore is covered in a brown wax, which is indicative of the tradition to preserve cheese by rubbing mud on its exterior. This cheese has been produced by Sini Fulvi for more than twenty years in the Village of Nepi, Province in Lazio, Italy. 4 Stars WWT.
Fiore Sardo: Raw Sheep milk: Siore Sardo is banded by a hard, black, natural rind. This semi-hard cheese is sharp and savory and the slightest shavings of it brings simple, olive oil-dressed pasta alive.
Persille Du Malzieu (from Hever Mons). Origin: Lozère, France. Raw sheep’s milk, the other Roquefort, months spent in the caves of Peyrades produces a salty edge, wild mushroom flavor.
Tariffs set to be levied on a range of EU products including Roquefort and bone-in ham are being dropped. “It’s a great thing,” said Liz Thorpe of New York specialty shop Murray’s Cheese, which — fearing a tariff increase — had ordered 300 extra pounds of Roquefort. Most of her stash sold as customers learned the venerable French blue might be priced off store shelves, Ms. Thorpe said.
We went to Founding Farmers — A restaurant run by a collective of 40,000+ American family farmers — to celebrate WWT’s birthday May 11 (even though he was out of town.)
The cheese was kept out in glass domes on the bar, so we figured the “local” cheeses must be good. We ordered an appetizer called: “We want the Funk, Give up the Funk!” $16. The bartender didn’t quite know which was which — though he says it’s hard because they get new cheese every week.
• Today’s special rind-ripened cow’s milk cheese:
We think this was: Thistle Hill Tarentaise, jersey cow cheese. North Pomfret, Vermont.
• Today’s special rind-ripened goat cheese — from NJ? Not sure about this one.
• HOLLY SPRINGS, Sweet Grass Dairy, Thomasville, GA
Holly Springs is our aged, raw goat’s milk cheese. Fresh milk from our herd of Saanen, La Mancha and Nubian goats is handcrafted into wheels and aged 2 months. With an ivory paste and a semi-firm texture, Holly Springs has a warm, nutty flavor that lends itself well to a variety of culinary applications.
• BAYLEY HAZEN BLUE, Jasper Hills Farm, Greensboro, VT
Bayley Hazen Blue is a natural rinded blue cheese. It is made with whole raw milk every other day, primarily with morning milk, which is lower in fat. Ayrshire milk is particularly well suited to the production of blue cheese because of its small fat globules, which are easily broken down during the aging process. Though drier and crumblier than most blues, its texture reminds one of chocolate and butter. It is aged between 4 and 6 months. Bayley Hazen is named after an old military road that traverses the Northeast Kingdom. The road, commissioned by General George Washington was built to carry troops to fight the English on a Canadian front. Though no battle ever took place, the road brought Greensboro its first settlers and continues to be used.
Since we still have some of this in the fridge from the Sheep & Wool Festival, we asked for a substitute: EVERONA PIEDMONT, Everona Farms, Rapidan, VA, sheep. They said it was some type of cheddar — we liked it, and it was sheepy — but we still aren’t sure what kind it was. It tasted familiar, and they think it was from NJ. Could it have been from Valley Shepherd — where we made cheese.
We think one was Mt Tam – one of our favorites from California’s Cowgirl Creamery: Triple cream says it all — like butter.
The Maryland Sheep & Wool festival this year was again very good. We went on Saturday, and there were a zillion people there. It didn’t rain, and thus was very nice. We found out that the cheesemonger that used to show up (Menhennet) has been replaced by Everona. We go there at 1pm on Saturday, and they had already old out of most of what they had brought, so we didn’t get any of their blues.
Smokey Piedmont
We’ve had their Piedmont before, so this was our chance to check out their smoked version. It was very good. (10/27/2010 update: I bought some Smoked Piedmont again at the Crystal City Farmer’s Market but over til next season. Once again, we liked it – went will with some fresh pears; easy to eat in your hand.)
Shenandoah
A milder sheep milk cheese, which was also very good.
