Summer 2011
Made in Japan
Far from the tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast, artisan cheesemaking thrives in Nagano
One peaceful day last March I lay down to take an afternoon nap. I had arranged to visit Shimizu Farm, one of Japan’s top farmstead cheese companies, the following day and had spent the morning researching some of the other local producers I planned to profile for this article. I awoke to find my house shaking. Japan had just suffered the strongest earthquake in its recorded history. Over the next few hours, four-story-tall tsunamis would flatten entire towns and kill more than 10,000 people along the country’s northeastern coast. Suddenly, writing about cheese felt absurd.
Nagano Prefecture is mostly mountainous terrain where snow is present on the ground until early May
Buttermilk Oat Crackers
Buttermilk Oat Crackers
Not too sweet, not too salty, these crackers go especially well with cheddars, blue cheeses, and alpine-style cheeses such as Comté.
Makes about 72 small (1¾-inch square) crackers
1 stick unsalted butter
1⁄3 cup buttermilk
1½ cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
Easy-to-make crackers are fresh and frugal alternatives to the boutique brands
Guzzle No More
Today’s craft beers deserve some TLC to coax out their subtle nuances
You’d be hard-pressed to walk into any bar or restaurant and find someone sitting at a table, drinking red wine straight from the bottle. Such an action would seem barbaric, right? Yet it’s downright commonplace to be dining at any given steak house in any given city in America and find folk tipping back 12-ounce bottles of macrobrew. The fact is, all beer benefits from being poured into a glass.
As is the case with wine, there are countless factors that can determine how a beer tastes, looks, and smells once it’s placed in front of you. Is your beer served at a near-freezing temperature? Was your beer stored in a warm, brightly lit room prior to service? What type of glass is your beer served in, and how was it cleaned? Sure, beer is supposed to be a casual beverage and enjoyed easily with friends, but these handling factors are crucial when you’re looking to appreciate a craft beer at its best.
Just for Starters
Cheese flavor and texture begins with choosing the right bacterial culture
To some extent you might think of cheesemaking as farming conducted at a microbial level. The character of a cheese is mostly derived from the nature of its microbial populations, so cheesemakers, like farmers, carefully nurture their desired crops of bacteria, yeasts, and molds. Bright orange washed-rind molds or striking blue veins easily get our attention, but most often it is actually the invisible population of lactic acid bacteria that shapes the flavor and texture of a cheese.
Grilled Naan Pizzas
Makes 4 small pizzas
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling on top
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small bulb fennel, sliced thin
1½ pounds assorted heirloom tomatoes
¼ cup basil leaves
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
4 whole-wheat naan flatbreads or 2 stone-baked pizza crusts (10.5 ounces each)
½ pound smoked mozzarella, thinly sliced
A crisp, refreshing beer will cut through the smoked mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes. Left Hand Brewing Company Polestar Pilsner (Longmont, Colo.) is just the ticket, with a clean malt profile and spicy hop finish—a sophisticated take on a bowling-alley classic.
Dromedary Camel
Camel dairy in your cheese?
Written by Philippa Young
The absence of cheese in camel cultures around the world hasn’t stopped scientists from trying and failing and trying again to produce a European-style camel’s cheese made with an enzyme coagulator. The world saw its first modern-day camel’s cheese in early nineties, when the “dairy in the desert”—Tiviski, based in the capital of West African Mauritania—produced a camembert-like cheese exclusively from the camel’s milk, with the addition of calcium phosphate and a vegetable rennet. The resulting soft, white cheese, called Caravane, made its way just once to New York. Economy of scale and a lack of awareness among customs officials made Caravane’s place on the gastronome’s platter as distant a dream as Mauritania is a place.
Body of Work
Cheesemongers who love what they do have the tats to prove it
For a closer look, and more photos click here
Ask the Cheesemonger
Q:I’m going on a weeklong camping trip this summer and would like to take along some good cheese that does not require refrigeration. Got any recommendations?
Destination: Cheese Class
Combine your next road trip with adventures in cheesemaking
Those longing to learn basic cheesemaking skills can also enjoy a getaway when they book themselves into small cheesemaking classes at farms, inns, and specialty venues across the country from Hawaii, to Maine. Here’s a sampling of current offerings in some vacation-worthy locales.
Colorado:
A spectacular view of Pikes Peak is a perk of the cheesemaking workshops Lindsey Aparicio hosts at her 1.6-acre urban farm on the west side of Colorado Springs. The self-proclaimed Goat Cheese Lady—who tends to four milking does—likens her program to a homesteading experience. “Participants learn everything from how to milk a goat to how to make mozzarella, ricotta, and chèvre,” Aparicio says. “Everyone gets to eat and take home samples of all the cheeses they make.”
Taste Travel
• Formaggio al Tartufo
• Pecorino Toscano Fresco
• Taula
• Panforte Margherita
Mention Tuscany and even the least romantic among us can hardly refrain from conjuring up images of wandering through ancient hill towns, gazing at medieval frescoes, or sipping a bottle of Vin Santo in the local piazza.
