Cheese Tasting with Elizabeth Chubbuck from Murray’s Cheeses
Last week we had an amazing cheese tasting in our New York restaurant with Elizabeth Chubbuck, wholesale manager of our beloved Murray’s Cheeses. Held after hours, of course, it was informative and fun and, quite frankly, delicious. We learned about the cheeses that will be now be available in our restaurant and about what makes each one so special. Scroll down below the photos for descriptions, compliments of Murray’s, of the standouts on our Summer 2010 cheese list. You must come in and try them, too. And your tasting doesn’t have to be after hours!
Yum! Wow! Thank you, Elizabeth, and the whole Murray's team.
The Michael's New York team learns, samples, tastes, and talks.
Nettle Meadow Kunik, USA
In the south Adirondacks, Sheila Flanagan, co-owner of Nettle Meadow Goat Farm, has created this tart, tangy, triple-crème made from pasteurized goat’s milk and enriched with Jersey cow cream. The blend makes for a sumptuous, thick, buttery paste that still retains the kick of fresh chevre.
Casatica di Bufala, Italy
Italian water buffalo give the richest and sweetest milk of any dairy animal, but it’s only rarely used for styles other than the popular mozzarella di bufala, or buffalo mozzarella. This soft-ripened cheese in the stracchino style, characterized by its rich yet mild flavor and creamy consistency, is a hefty, custardy little beauty, barely restrained by its bloomy rind.
Fouchtra de Vache, France
The high-quality pasteurized cow’s milk used in the production makes this an excellent centerpiece for a cheese course. Fouchtra’s delightfully colorful rind can carry any number of different molds, depending on the season. What is constant though, is its firm, custardy, rich interior, balanced by a hint of minerality.
Edwin’s Munster, Austria
This Austrian cheese from the town of Munster is made of raw cow’s milk and is washed in brine until the texture loosens and pungency develops. At full strength, the aroma of porcini mushrooms wafts from the gooey center while the flavor evokes truffle paste. This is nothing like the presliced Munster of childhood lunchboxes!
Garrotxa, La Bauma, Spain
Pronounced “ga-ROCH-ah,” this moist and cakey Catalonian import is fast becoming Spain’s most famous goat cheese. The “La Bauma” brand is crafted by Tony Cueca in the foothills of the Pyrenees. This semi-firm cheese offers a white pepper piquancy, while its velvety gray coating lends a woodsy aroma.
Ewephoria Gouda, Holland
The punny name that only makes sense in English should give away that this cheese was invented for the American market’s infamous sweet tooth. That may be presumptuous, if not for the fact that the butterscotch-sweet, nutty result is so successful. This cheese is made from pasteurized sheep’s milk.
Cashel Blue, Ireland
In the mid 1980s in the town of Tipperary, Ireland, Louis and Jane Grubb developed the first Irish blue cheese. Cashel is made with milk from the Grubbs’ 110 Friesian cows, pasteurized and then ripened for from two to six months. It maintains a unique, voluptuous, creamy texture with a minerally undertone complemented by a delightful, mild blue tang.
