Featured Cheese - January 2019

According to Trevor Hickman, resident of Wymondham in East Leicestershire and a Stilton historian, the background of the cheese is somewhat cloudy. A blue-veined cow’s milk cream cheese was produced by farmers at Wymondham as soon as pastures were enclosed, but the first written reference to Stilton cheese was in 1722. Other references made about the same time clearly indicate that Stilton was very popular even then.

This cheese is produced in the central cantons of Switzerland. It's a traditional, unpasteurized, hard cheese made from cow's milk.The aroma is sweet with tones of fresh-cut hay. The flavor is very fruity, not without a tone of acidity. Emmental has walnut-sized holes. It is considered to be one of the most difficult cheeses to be produced because of it's complicated hole-forming fermentation process. We found it delicious with a glass of Jura Blanc!

This delicate farmstead chevre is made from fresh goat’s milk. Once up to room temperature, you’ll find the texture to be crumbly yet milky, mild and bright with butter and lemony notes. We love this cheese as it can be used in so many ways. It’s bright white appearance looks striking on a cheese board and pairs well with most other cheeses, cured meats, and fresh fruits. Because the cheese has buttery lemon notes, try pairing it crumbled on fresh herbed salads.

We think the Schlossberger Alt (Aged) we’re featuring this month is among the more interesting cheeses in Jumi’s line up. This truly special alpine mountain cheese is produced in 60 pound wheels and aged for 18-24 months in caves near the Schlossberger castle in the valley of Emmental. We found it to have many of the same flavor characteristics as other wonderful mountain cheeses like Comté, offering a rich, brothy, nutty and buttery flavor profile.

L’Amuse’s Pril is a small-batch gouda that has all the big, sweet butterscotch flavors you look for in good goudas, but the mouthfeel of its paste is what really sets it apart. Aged 3-6 months, you’ll find it especially creamy, pretty much melting in your mouth. It’s got a big, lingering, balanced finish. The extra creamy paste makes for a great melting cheese for roasted potatoes, macaroni and cheese, gratins and of course, grilled cheese sandwiches.

In addition to simply being visually stunning and making an outstanding addition to any cheese tray, this delicious double-cream cheese offers complex flavor and texture profiles. Prior to being cut, it's a sphere of cheese covered in lovely white bloomy mold after 2-4 weeks of maturation. When sliced open, tellicherry peppercorns dot the paste which is a light buttery color. Just under the rind, the paste begins to mature, forming a creamy, fluid texture