![]() The cheese is also washed with a locally made beer. Like the European classics, Winnimere is wrapped in spruce bark from trees located on the farm to help the cheese keep its shape. Winnimere was modeled after the European Classics Vacherin Mont d’Or and Försterkäse. While flavors like cauliflower, crème fraîche, bacon, and toasted nuts hit your palette, the flavors are in balance and not as overpowering as more traditional Camemberts. ![]() The rind is bloomy with loads more complexity than you might find in a Brie. What follows is a mild earthiness with notes of crème friache and a slightly sweet finish that is reminiscent of brown sugar The first cheese in the project has arrived and it is amazing! Already named, Harbison, made by Jasper Hill Farm, could be described as a cross between two of their other cheeses, Moses Sleeper and Winnimere. In the end, the feedback we provide will determine which cheeses will be put into greater production and which cheeses need more experimentation. Some of the cheese may not even have a name. There is no regular schedule as to when and what cheeses will arrive or how long the project will continue. We are also charged with selling the cheeses we receive and getting feedback from our guests. The mongers chosen spend time tasting, evaluating, and giving invaluable feedback. So what is this new Conundrum? A small group of retailers have been selected around the country to receive new experimental cheeses. By dropping their young cheeses off at the Cellars at Jasper Hill to be aged and distributed, these new cheesemakers can focus on just the cheesemaking aspect. Jasper Hill built the Cellars as a way to not only age their own cheeses, but to help a host of Vermont Dairy folk to take their unsustainable milk dairy and to help them become sustainable cheesemakers. Aging cheeses also requires another skill set. The difficult task of cheesemaking is part science and part art. While many US cheesemakers practice the art of affinage, or cheese aging, themselves, much of Europe’s cheese production is split into 3 tiers – Milk production/animal husbandry, cheesemaking, and affinage (aging). The 22,000 square foot Cellars is the premiere aging facility in the United States. Jasper Hill Farms, a great Vermont cheesemaker, built the Cellars at Jasper Hill several years ago. But this is a cheese problem and I couldn’t say no. Try it immediately.) You can also expand on the savory theme with olives, nuts, and pâté, or any other savory thing your heart desires.“Do you want to participate in the Conundrum Project?” I usually say no to “a difficult problem or question.” As a small retailer, we have loads of Conundrums of our own. (Speck is like bacon you don’t have to cook. Spread on: Thinly sliced baguette or a hearty cracker is the way to go.Įat with: I love serving Winnimere with Speck to play up the smoky flavors in the cheese. You can also enjoy with a beer – after all, it’s washed in beer from Hill Farmstead Brewery! They say “the cheese stands alone,” but the truth is, there are a few ways to make this cheese even more delicious.ĭrinks: Off-dry Riesling and fruity reds (mountain-y stuff from Austria works) make great pairings. ![]() When you’re ready to serve it, slice off a portion of the top rind to make for easy scooping of the luscious, creamy inside! If it’s too cold it won’t be as gooey and scoopable, and the flavors will be muted. The choice is yours! No judgment here!Īll cheese should be served at room temperature, but this is especially true for a cheese like Winnimere. So either you commit to eating a pound of cheese, or you invite 4 to 6 friends over and tell them to bring the wine. Most wheels of Winnimere weigh a little over a pound, and this is the type of cheese that is really best to eat in one sitting, two at most. (Ok, it’s a little like Forsterkase if you’ve ever had that, but way better!) The result is like nothing you’ve ever tasted. ![]() Are you transported to the rustic landscape of rural Vermont yet? No? What if I told you that Winnimere is wrapped in locally harvested Spruce bark? It’s true, they wrap a strip of fragrant, woodsy bark around every wheel to impart that special, earthy flavor. Jasper Hill takes the notion of terroir (roughly translates “taste of the land”) a step further by washing each wheel in a local beer, which gives the cheese a creamy texture and a lightly funky flavor. Winnimere is made of raw cow’s milk, so you get subtly nuanced flavors that sometimes get lost when milk is pasteurized. I’m not saying your life is about to change, but your life is about to change. ![]() She doesn’t believe in rules for eating cheese, but does believe in the pursuit of max deliciousness.įirst of all, if you are in possession of a wheel of Jasper Hill Farms Winnimere, be very excited. Beth Griffenhagen works in Marketing and Events at Murray’s Cheese. ![]()
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