The last maple sap of the season doesn't make the best maple syrup, which typically comes out darker, heavier, with earthy undertones. Turns out it's good for something though - a maple sap brew that'll put hair on your chest! In the old days, farmers would gather the late season sap, which has a "leafy" taste, boil it down, throw in some yeast, hops, and perhaps a few raisins, then let it ferment in barrels in the cellar until it was ready to drink in July. A few local Vermont brewers are bringing back this tradition.

Sean Lawson heard about the maple sap beer a few years ago and started researching it. He came up with own version — brewing it in a more controlled environment than "ye olde cellar" — and has been doing it now for five years.

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Northern Italy suffered a huge blow early Sunday morning, when a magnitude 6.0 earthquake rocked the region. Tragically, seven people were killed, and many historical buildings were demolished.

The BBC explores the process of fermentation in this radio food piece. Sandor Katz and Sheila Dillon offer their expertise on the subject, and discuss the human relationship with these microbes, many of which play a part in creating some of our favorite dairy treats!

Since ancient times humans have harnessed the power of microbes to preserve food and enhance its flavours. Rich and complex food cultures have developed that use this power in a process called fermentation - making pickles, breads, wines and much, much more.

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Photo by Nathan Reading

Slow Food Madison, one of the oldest Slow Food Chapters in the country, held its annual meeting on May 20. Jeanne Carpenter of Cheese Underground reflects on what Slow Food truly means and how it has changed her life.

As a family, we were on our way to realizing what good food was, but we didn't yet have the resources to eat it full-time. Today, when I open my fridge and see an entire drawer of artisan cheeses made by hand from that same Driftless Region of which Piper remembers, I appreciate the good, clean and fair food I now enjoy on a regular basis.

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On June 3rd Murray's Cheese Shop - of Greenwich Village fame - plans to open a new kiosk location at the entrance of the Fred Meyer Store in Portland, OR. There will be over 300 specialty items to choose from including plenty of West Coast cheeses.

They’re also expanding their American Artisan Cheese offerings to include California specialty cheeses from Cypress Grove (Humboldt Fog, Truffle Tremor and six additional CG favorites) and Pt. Reyes; In addition to the Maple Leaf cheeses reviewed earlier today, the shop will offer 6 Award-winning cheeses from Wisconsin’s Sartori Cheese including their Sarvecchio, the most decorated American Parmesan.

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We heard yesterday that many wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano were casualties in Sunday's magnitude 6.0 earthquake that rocked northern Italy. Here's an update from The Huffington Post on the losses sustained:

In terms of economic impact, the artisanal cheese sector appears to be the hardest hit. At least 10 percent of Parmesan production has been impacted, according to early estimates by the Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Consortium, which annually generates (EURO)1.2 million in production revenues and (EURO)1.9 billion in consumer sales.

In all, some 10 collective Parmesan aging warehouse and cheese production sites have sustained damage in the quake, affecting 300,000 wheels, half of which are estimated to be at least a partial loss.

Cubes of Comté get tossed with apples, chicken, toasted walnuts, rice and lemon vinaigrette for a mouthwatering but easy-to-make salad that is perfect for your next picnic or potluck.

In a small bowl, combine the smashed garlic clove with the lemon juice and let sit while mixing the rest of the ingredients.

Traditional cheddar, matured in cloth is prized the world over for its characteristic complexity of flavor. This flavor is derived in large part from the way the cheese loses moisture, maturing through the muslin cloth, as well as the flora of flavor-producing molds that develops on the cloth itself.

A consequence of having a cloth-wrapped cheese is that cheese mites (related to common dust mites) are a routine pest for traditional cheesemakers, affecting wheels from around 6 months old.

"The mite" is completely normal on cheese, and harmless when it is kept within certain limits. For instance, all blue Stiltons have it on the rind. However, when mite gets out of control, it has disastrous effects on the appearance of the product and can have a severe impact on sales.

Origin

Ayrshire cattle originated in the county of Ayr in southwestern Scotland prior to 1800. Early Scottish dairymen selected various strains of cattle—including both European and Channel Island breeds—to cross with the small, native cattle, using any available stock they felt would improve their animals’ utility. The result was an efficient dairy animal ideally suited to the harsh climate and poor- quality forage found on the exposed moors and barren moss of the Scottish Lowlands.

History

Ayrshires were first imported to the United States around 1822 by New England farmers in search of a dairy cow that could thrive in the region’s rough, rocky pastures and tolerate the bitter winters. Today there are registered Ayrshire breeders in 29 states and in other harsh climates across the globe, from the icy Scandinavian coast to the heat-scorched plains of Africa.

Appearance

Michael Noonan, Ireland's Minister for Finance, got on trouble last week for saying that feta cheese was the only Greek product the people of Ireland ever put in their shopping baskets. Greece maintains that there is more trade between the two countries, but Noonan's standing by his statement:

Yesterday, Mr Noonan said international listeners to the online broadcast of the conference might not have understood the Irish position and tended to put International Monetary Fund programme states such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal “in the one box”.

In answer to a question on whether contagion would spread from Greece to Ireland, he sought to stress there was little economic, trade or banking connections between the two states. “I could have done that by running a bunch of statistics, but I thought it was better communication to refer to the [grocery] basket,” he told RTÉ Radio One’s This Week programme.