I was a little surprised when I got an email from Culture magazine saying that "something perishable" was going to be shipped to me in August. I was on a tasting panel for a blue cheese from Point Reyes cheese, but they said for sure is wasn't a new version of that cheese.

Let's see, something perishable from Culture magazine. What on earth could it be? Let's see ... bananas? Parsley? Or maybe it would be cheese.

Wow, I was right. It was cheese.

The cheese came with a letter. This is part of what it said:

"... we wanted to share a sample of some VERY special cheese that our cheese maker, Kuba Hemmerling, has been working on. Enclosed you'll find a sample of our Point Reyes Tomme. This hard cheese is pasteurized, aged about 18 months and similar to Tommes you would find in France or Switzerland. The aroma is very citrusy ad the texture is crumbly with definite flavor "pops" that are a result of crystalized proteins that form throughout the long aging process."