La Cuisine

cheesenotes:

Recently at Lucy’s Whey, I attended a cheese tasting featuring traditional and new cheeses from Mexico (as well as Mexican-style cheeses from the US.On the plate were six wonderful cheeses, Queso Cremoso, Queso Oaxaca, Hoja Santa, Queso de Bola de Ocosingo, Queso Blanco with Chiles and Epazote, and Queso Cotija, ranging in flavors and styles from wonderfully light, milky and sweat in the Queso Cremoso to the smoky, meaty, herbacious Hoja Santa to the crumbly, salty bite of the Queso Cotija.
The class was led by Carlos Yescas, cheese expert and consultant and member of the North American chapter of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, as well as one of the driving forces behind Lactography.com,”a small family-own consultancy firm dedicated to the promotion of Mexican artisanal cheeses around the world”. Carlos, working with his sister Georgina, is dedicated to the development and growth of cheese making in Mexico as well as the education of those outside of Mexico as to the wonderful variety and quality of cheeses available throughout Mexico.
As he explained during the class, one of Mexico’s biggest challenges is that of perception: due to a few highly publicized cases of food contamination related to queso fresco produced illegally in the US under substandard conditions (you may have heard of the outbreaks related to “bathtub cheese”), all Mexican cheeses have been unfairly tarnished and have thus faced difficulties in penetrating the larger cheese market.
As was demonstrated in the class, however, Mexico has a vibrant (and growing, in part due to the efforts of Carlos) artisanal cheesemaking scene, producing delicious, high quality cheeses in both state of the art facilities and traditional cheese rooms and using the milk of sheep, goat and cows.
I highly recommend taking a class with Carlos if you get the chance (and seeking out Mexican cheeses even if you don’t!). Below are his tasting notes from the handout that accompanied the cheese:
Queso Cremoso Rancho San Josemana — Queretaro, Mexico Sheep’s milk
Only in production for two years, this fresh cheese won a silver medal at the World Cheese Awards in 2011 The paste is fresh and smooth, with a lactic (milky) aromatic smell and light full flavor It has notes of butter and milk soda and distinct hint of sheep’s milk. It pairs wet with sparkling wines, light whites, lagers, and mezcal. It’s perfect on toast and honey.
Queso Oaxaca The Mozzarella Company — Dallas, TX Cows milk
This pasta filata (or pulled curd) cow’s milk cheese is the original string cheese. Unlike the commercial versions, this cheese is full of flavor. It has a milky sour taste with herbal notes of the cow’s grazing pastures. While the original cheese is made with partly skim raw milk, this Texan version uses full fat pasteurized milk to produce a very substantial cheese. It pairs best with bitter beers and light wines. It is perfect for quesadillas with some epazote leaves.
Hoja Santa The Mozzarella Company — Dallas, TX Goat’s Milk
A modern interpretation of a French Saxon, this cheese is Made in Texas with goat’s milk in replication of a popular cheese made in the Gulf states of Mexico. The paste is fresh with a complex finish from the hoja santa, which gives a smoky smell and taste. This is a perfect “botana” (appetizer) cheese to eat along a cold ale or a medium aged white wine or a cider.
Queso de Bola de Ocosingo Quesos Laltic — Chiapas, Mexico Cow’s milk
A unique cheese, this Chiapas original is three cheeses in one. The cheese is covered by two chewy, meaty, odorless skins made of skimmed milk pulled into form. The paste is sharp and milky with a subtle herbal aroma. Because it is so salty, its often used as an ingredient (such as in dips) or as an accompaniment to other foods. The first skin is perfect to stuff enchiladas, and the second skin to make chicharrones de queso. This cheese must be paired with a full-bodied red or a bold beer to stand up to the taste.
Queso Blanco with Chiles and EpazoteThe Mozzarella Company — Dallas, TX Cow’s milk
A “botana” (appetizer) cheese this style of cow’s milk with additives is very common in Mexican coastal states with warm climates. The flavor is distinct of a farmer’s cheese with hints of epazote and serrano peppers for a spicy and herbaceous taste. The paste is firm and chewy and the smell is fresh and green. Perfect for a tequila and salt or a light wheat beer.
Queso Cotija Meson del Cotija — Michoacan, Mexico Cow’s milk
This cow’s milk cheese is a big boy! Weighing 40 pounds, the wheels of this cheese are aged between 5 and 36 months in natural caves in Michoacan, Mexico. The flavor is buttery, salty and sharp. The paste is crumbly but fresh with some remaining moisture and has a distinct cave-aged aroma. It pairs well with sweet wines or milky stouts.

If you love cheese, go follow cheesenotes, please.

Recently at Lucy’s Whey, I attended a cheese tasting featuring traditional and new cheeses from Mexico (as well as Mexican-style cheeses from the US.On the plate were six wonderful cheeses, Queso Cremoso, Queso Oaxaca, Hoja Santa, Queso de Bola de Ocosingo, Queso Blanco with Chiles and Epazote, and Queso Cotija, ranging in flavors and styles from wonderfully light, milky and sweat in the Queso Cremoso to the smoky, meaty, herbacious Hoja Santa to the crumbly, salty bite of the Queso Cotija.

The class was led by Carlos Yescas, cheese expert and consultant and member of the North American chapter of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, as well as one of the driving forces behind Lactography.com,”a small family-own consultancy firm dedicated to the promotion of Mexican artisanal cheeses around the world”. Carlos, working with his sister Georgina, is dedicated to the development and growth of cheese making in Mexico as well as the education of those outside of Mexico as to the wonderful variety and quality of cheeses available throughout Mexico.

As he explained during the class, one of Mexico’s biggest challenges is that of perception: due to a few highly publicized cases of food contamination related to queso fresco produced illegally in the US under substandard conditions (you may have heard of the outbreaks related to “bathtub cheese”), all Mexican cheeses have been unfairly tarnished and have thus faced difficulties in penetrating the larger cheese market.

As was demonstrated in the class, however, Mexico has a vibrant (and growing, in part due to the efforts of Carlos) artisanal cheesemaking scene, producing delicious, high quality cheeses in both state of the art facilities and traditional cheese rooms and using the milk of sheep, goat and cows.

I highly recommend taking a class with Carlos if you get the chance (and seeking out Mexican cheeses even if you don’t!). Below are his tasting notes from the handout that accompanied the cheese:

Queso Cremoso
Rancho San Josemana — Queretaro, Mexico
Sheep’s milk

Only in production for two years, this fresh cheese won a silver medal at the World Cheese Awards in 2011 The paste is fresh and smooth, with a lactic (milky) aromatic smell and light full flavor It has notes of butter and milk soda and distinct hint of sheep’s milk. It pairs wet with sparkling wines, light whites, lagers, and mezcal. It’s perfect on toast and honey.

Queso Oaxaca
The Mozzarella Company — Dallas, TX
Cows milk

This pasta filata (or pulled curd) cow’s milk cheese is the original string cheese. Unlike the commercial versions, this cheese is full of flavor. It has a milky sour taste with herbal notes of the cow’s grazing pastures. While the original cheese is made with partly skim raw milk, this Texan version uses full fat pasteurized milk to produce a very substantial cheese. It pairs best with bitter beers and light wines. It is perfect for quesadillas with some epazote leaves.

Hoja Santa
The Mozzarella Company — Dallas, TX
Goat’s Milk

A modern interpretation of a French Saxon, this cheese is Made in Texas with goat’s milk in replication of a popular cheese made in the Gulf states of Mexico. The paste is fresh with a complex finish from the hoja santa, which gives a smoky smell and taste. This is a perfect “botana” (appetizer) cheese to eat along a cold ale or a medium aged white wine or a cider.

Queso de Bola de Ocosingo
Quesos Laltic — Chiapas, Mexico
Cow’s milk

A unique cheese, this Chiapas original is three cheeses in one. The cheese is covered by two chewy, meaty, odorless skins made of skimmed milk pulled into form. The paste is sharp and milky with a subtle herbal aroma. Because it is so salty, its often used as an ingredient (such as in dips) or as an accompaniment to other foods. The first skin is perfect to stuff enchiladas, and the second skin to make chicharrones de queso. This cheese must be paired with a full-bodied red or a bold beer to stand up to the taste.

Queso Blanco with Chiles and Epazote
The Mozzarella Company — Dallas, TX
Cow’s milk

A “botana” (appetizer) cheese this style of cow’s milk with additives is very common in Mexican coastal states with warm climates. The flavor is distinct of a farmer’s cheese with hints of epazote and serrano peppers for a spicy and herbaceous taste. The paste is firm and chewy and the smell is fresh and green. Perfect for a tequila and salt or a light wheat beer.

Queso Cotija
Meson del Cotija — Michoacan, Mexico
Cow’s milk

This cow’s milk cheese is a big boy! Weighing 40 pounds, the wheels of this cheese are aged between 5 and 36 months in natural caves in Michoacan, Mexico. The flavor is buttery, salty and sharp. The paste is crumbly but fresh with some remaining moisture and has a distinct cave-aged aroma. It pairs well with sweet wines or milky stouts.

If you love cheese, go follow cheesenotes, please.

↵ Reblogged from cheesenotes

# cheese

CHEESE NOTES: Camembert heads to court

cheesenotes:

Somewhat a moot issue for us sadly deprived Americans, who can’t even purchase a real Camembert on this side of pond (not legally, in any case), but Reuters reports that the debate over name-control seems headed to court:

Small producers from the northwestern French region say…

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Another in the growing pantheon of quality American stinkers, this is Grayson, from Meadow Creek Dairy in Virginia. Similar to a Taleggio, this wash-rinded, golden-pasted cheese has an assertive barnyardy aroma and a wonderfully beefy, full flavor with hints of nuts and onions. This cheese can vary wildly in the knock-your-nose-off department depending on when you get it and how it’s been cared for. This cave-aged beauty came from Murrays.

↵ Reblogged from cheesenotes