JULY 2023 CHEESE CLUB

 
 

 WINE CLUB | CHEESE CLUB

ALL CLUB MEMBERS GET TO ENJOY THESE 3 CHEESES:

Mustard Seed Farmhouse Cheese | Ferndale, Washington, USA

Raw cow’s milk
Twin Sisters Creamery’s rindless cheese is laden with mustard seeds. The curds are loosely knit and cut into larger pieces to retain more moisture, and the texture ends up totally creamy and supple. It’s rich, grassy, and savory.
From this month’s wine club lineup, this cheese pairs well with: 2022 Gonc Grape Abduction Rosé

Samish Bay Vache | Ferndale, Washington, USA

Pasteurized cow’s milk
This fresh, acid-coagulated cheese is our second local delight in this month’s lineup. The cows are grazing on verdant pasture, so right now is the best time ever to get local fresh cheese. It’s clean and bright, with a richness that you won’t be able to stop thinking about. Vache is sort of a blank slate, so you can do pretty much whatever you want with it. It loves to go with fresh fruit (it’s summer, after all!) and an acidic quaff, or you can mix in herbs and spread it on crostini with your favorite wine. Alternatively, stuff some peppers, make an au gratin, or go wild and make lasagna! This cheese is super playful.
Try it with: 2020 Domaine Lefarge “La Rétro”

Fromage de Brebis | Central France

Pasteurized sheep’s milk
Next up we have this bloomy-rinded Frenchie. It’s simple, but full-fat with concentrated richness that will coat your palate. This cheese is grassy, herbal, buttery, and just a tick wooly.
Try it with: 2021 Getrank Gruner Veltliner

6-CHEESE MEMBERS ALSO GET TO ENJOY THESE 3:

Mountain Top | Colchester, Connecticut, USA

Pasteurized goat’s milk
This blue and white mold-ripened pyramid is salty and earthy with eye-rolling complexity just beneath the rind. The paste is Cadbury-Egg-Filling-smooth, and it’s so ripe that you might just want to give it a tonguing and wash it down with a glass of something delicious.
Try it with: 2021 Gulp Hablo Red Blend

Organic Swiss Emmental | Bern, Switzerland

Raw cow’s milk
This traditional Swiss cheese is aged and exported by world-renowned affineur, Hervé Mons. This cheese boasts a distinct taste of place — flowers, mountain grass, herbs, alliums, that sweet feet Emmental aroma, and much more. Many people consider it to be a cooking cheese, but it’s just as fantastic served on a cheese board with a table red.
Try it with: 2022 Tenuta iL Nespolo ‘Vino da Sete’

Scorpio | Paso Robles, California, USA

Pasteurized sheep’s milk
This washed-rind cheese from the Central Coast in Paso Robles is a stinky loaf of pure, savory, cruciferous bliss. It’s a must-have if you love washed rinds, and wow, is it a meaty lil’ thing!
Try it with: 2021 Getrank Gruner Veltliner

 
 

AND SOME TIPS TO KEEP YOUR CHEESE HAPPY AT HOME

  • Protect your cheese from drying out by keeping it in your fridge in a lidded container (like tupperware), a plastic baggie, or the crisper drawer.

  • After opening, always use fresh plastic wrap for any cheese you’re not planning to eat within a day, unless it’s being kept in a container (which we recommend).

  • In general, we suggest eating your cheese within a week or so of purchasing. Some cheeses will last longer, but, you know, why wait!

  • Keep bloomy rinds and blues separated when possible. The molds are quite zealous and will grow on any cheese they can latch onto, so just keep them in separate containers and you’ll be fine.

  • A word about mold: If it’s growing on your semi-firm or firm cheeses, just cut it off and eat it! This white and blue mold is just fine — these cheeses lack the water to host the nasty molds. But if mold is growing on your fresh mozzarella, feta, cream cheese, or fresh chèvre, throw it out.  The amount of water in these cheeses provides a great environment for the nasty stuff. If you start to see mold, you can be sure that the filaments are already running throughout the cheese :(

  • For the best flavors, take your cheese out of the fridge for an hour or so before serving. When cheeses are too cold, all their delicious flavors, aromas, and textures get shy. Serve at room temperature to enjoy to the fullest.

This month’s cheese was carefully curated by Seattle’s Resident Cheese Lady, Rachael Lucas, ACS CCP, CCSE. Rachael is a cheese buyer for the Ballinger Thriftway in Shoreline, a fromage writer for tastewashingtontravel.com, and she’s on the Board of Directors for WASCA (Washington State Cheesemaker’s Association).