cheese tray

Family - Fun - Food - Fellowship...
and a cheese tray

Going home....
We went home last weekend to celebrate the February 7th birth of Hudson Blake.

As you can see, the cheese selections were extensively nibbled by the family. All selections were delicious!

11:00 position: Barber's 1883 English Vintage Cheddar ($11.99/lb at Whole Foods)-aged for 20 monthl-slightly brittle almost crunchy texture-pasteurized cow's milk, starter cultures, salt, rennet {England}.

 "Barber’s 1883 Vintage Reserve Cheddar, a mature farmhouse cheese from Britian’s longest operating cheddar family. For six generations, since 1833, the Barbers have made this cheddar on their Maryland farm in Ditcheat, Somerset. Barber’s cheddar is made from fresh milk from the family’s herd of grass-fed cows. Traditionally the cheese is made by “cheddaring”, hand-turning the curds to give the cheese exceptional body and character. According to their website, the Barber family and a cheese grading team taste the cheddars throughout the aging process to ensure that “only the very best leaves with the 1833 stamp.”Aged at least 24 months, this cheddar has refined notes of sweetness to balance out its tangy sharpness. Barber is perfect for enjoying with apples on cheese platters, sandwiches (especially grilled cheese ones) and adding to your favorite potato or noodle dishes."

Spicy Plum Chutney (purchased at Whole Foods) was the prefect blend of sweet and spicey to compliment the cheese selections, especially the  Sartori Balsamic Bellavitano and the English Vintage Cheddar.

4:00 position: soft, creamy; Saint Andre ($12.99/lb at Whole Foods)-Pasteurized cow's milk, salt, enzymes, bacterial cultures {France}

"Saint-andré is a high (~75%) milk-fat, triple crème cow's milk French cheese in a powdery white, bloomy skin of mold. Traditionally crafted in Coutances, in the Normandy region of northwestern France, the cheese is also made internationally from both raw and pasteurized milk. It has a soft buttery texture, tangy edible rind, and tastes like an intense version of Brie. Extra heavy cream is added to the cheese during manufacture, and the curing process last approximately 30 days. A wheel of Saint-André is smaller and shaped higher than the familiar flat wheel of Brie. It is sold all around the world.

The cheese is highly perishable and should be consumed within a week of its purchase. The fat content of Saint-andré is so exceptionally high it can make awhite wine taste sour and metallic: a crust of baguette and a light beer or simply a slice of pear are often suggested as better complements"

Sartori Balsamic Bellavitano ($14.99/lb at Whole Foods)-pasturized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, balsamic vinegar {Wisconsin, USA}
"From Sartori Cheese in Wisconsin comes the award-winning Balsamic Bellavitano. Inspired by the flavors of classic hard European cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Aged Gouda, the Bellavitano is a wonderfully sweet and buttery cheese accentuated by its balsamic-rubbed rind. Hard enough to grate in place of Parm or Romano, and complex enough to enjoy all on its own, Balsamic Bellavitano is another example of great cheese made right here in America! Enjoy with a pinot noir or a bright chardonnay, on its own or wrapped in prosciutto!"

Humboldt Fog ($26.99/lb at Whole Foods)- pasturized goats milk, rennet, vegetable ash, salt {California, USA}

"Humboldt Fog is a goat milk cheese made by Cypress Grove Chevre, of Arcata, California, in Humboldt County. It is named for the local ocean fog which rolls in from Humboldt Bay.

Humboldt Fog is a mold-ripened cheese with a central line of edible ash much like Morbier. The cheese ripens starting with the bloomy mold exterior, resulting in a core of fresh goat cheese surrounded by a runny shell. As the cheese matures, more of the originally crumbly core is converted to asoft-ripened texture. The bloomy mold and ash rind are edible but fairly tasteless. The cheese is creamy, light, and mildly acidic with a stronger flavor near the rind."

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