Featured Cheese - February 2022

We love Farmhouse Cheddar for its, buttery, nutty, cheddary richness, without the slightest hint of bitterness or bite. The aroma of authentic farmhouse cheddar should be nutty or grassy, with a rich texture and complex flavors ranging from fruity to a woody oakiness. The color of the cheese should range from straw yellow to beige, and the texture should be open with a few cracks… rather than rubbery and dense, which indicates factory processing. You’ll know great cheddar if you can still taste the sweet nuttiness several minutes after you have finished your first mouthful.

Visually, Drunk Monk is pale ivory in color. On the palate, Drunk Monk is semisoft, silky, and sweet like freshly churned butter or heavy cream, but with brioche-like yeasty notes from the Belgian blonde ale wash. The Cascade hops influence takes a backseat to the sweet creaminess of the cheese, adding an appealing bitterness on the finish, especially closer to the rind.

Purple Haze is a fresh goat’s milk cheese flavored with lavender buds and wild harvested fennel pollen. The name, inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s classic song, reflects more of the appearance rather than the taste of the cheese. This chevre has a sweet, flowery (but not overwhelming) flavor of soft, creamy texture. Pair it with crackers, ripe figs or Zinfandel.

Port Salut is a semi-soft natural cheese that is most recognized by its orange rind. It is rather mild with a savory, sweet flavor, unlike many other French cheeses. It is a cheese that has universal appeal with its smooth, velvety texture and light acidic taste. The pâte is elastic, cream-colored, soft, and supple with a very faint aroma. Bon appetit!

Valdéon, is a pasteurized, semi-firm blue cheese made from both cow and goat’s milk from the base of the Picos de Europa in the town of Posada de Valdeón, Castilla y Léon, Spain, by a family-owned and operated cheesemaker. While considered a sister cheese to the Cabrales DOP (Denominación de Origen), the Valdéon is milder, with a luxurious, creamy texture. Traditionally wrapped in oak or maple leaves and aged six months, this cheese captures the attention of your palate with its rustic and robust flavor combination.

Délice de Bourgogne is the name of a trademarked cheese from the Burgundy region of France, created in 1975 by Jean Lincet and his fifth-generation, family-operated cheesemaking company, Fromagerie Lincet, originally founded in 1895 and based in the towns of Saligny, Vaudes, and Brochon, the latter of which shares a home with the winemaking village of Gevrey-Chambertin along the Route des Grands Crus in the Côte de Nuits. The milk for the Lincet family of cheeses is gathered daily from 61 farmers with whom Fromagerie Lancet has worked for over 50 years.