itsnotyouitsbrie — Cows dot hills in California, not sheep. So when a new wheel rolls around with a pretty ewe on the label, people notice. When the cheese it produces rivals Vermont Shepherd in complexity, people start running after the wheels to chase down a taste. [[ Click for more... ]]
madamefromage.blogspot — Earlier this week, I nibbled my way around the Finger Lakes of New York state. One morning, a family friend invited Monsieur Fromage and I over to try her favorite cheese. We toured her garden, took a peak at her homemade pickles curing on the counter, and sat down to...
madamefromage.blogspot — This is a story about a fancy dining room overlooking a fountain. In the story, I play a cheese expert on a sniffing trip – a chance occasion to eat a complimentary dinner that includes a magnificent cheese course. It’s a true story, I should mention that. But it felt...
madamefromage.blogspot — I've never been a big Muenster lover. This week, however, I had a brick of it to contend with from my local CSA farm share, and so Muenster and I had to reconcile. I had to pretend it wasn't the blandest of American-made cheeses and that I didn't feel disenchanted by...
madamefromage.blogspot — Splendor has a new name: Sally Jackson. This small-batch producer from Oroville, WA makes one of the most glorious goat cheeses I’ve tasted to date. Talk about nuance, talk about flavor notes, talk about a cheese that pairs so beautifully with ripe apricots I nearly crumpled to the kitchen floor,...
madamefromage.blogspot — In Wisconsin, everyone loves a squeaky curd. In Philadelphia, most people have no idea what a curd is, let alone a squeaky one. I was at a party back in May when a New Yorker asked me, "So, what is a curd?" followed by, "So, how is cheese made?" Oh...
madamefromage.blogspot — I’m a horseradish junkie. In my last life, my boss grew it in his backyard and every summer he would bring me a jar of his own homegrown horsey – a highlight during each of my five years in the newsroom. It was so fresh and pungent, I spread it...
madamefromage.blogspot — In winter, I like to eat blue cheese for dessert. But in summer, well, that can be dicey. Take today, when it's supposed to be 97 in Philadelphia -- you couldn't pay me to eat stilton. Well, okay, with the right port.Still, I prefer the lighter cheeses on a sizzler,...
madamefromage.blogspot — June was a funny month. I didn’t blog. I didn’t tweet. Instead, I stole off to meet my muse along the Mississippi in order to finish a novel. The quiet setting was great -- plenty of turtles and river trails -- but I have to admit, I got lonely. I...
cheeseunderground.blogspot — After four years of due diligence and market research that included visiting hundreds of dairy plants and retail operations, Karen Kelley and her family celebrated the grand opening of their farmstead ice cream factory this past weekend. Located just a mile off Hwy 41 south of Fond du Lac,...
cheeseunderground.blogspot — For a guy who's 92, Arnold Imobersteg has got a lot of living left. Still farming just over the Wisconsin border near Orangeville, Illinois, Arnold recently took a look inside a building that's sat on his family farmstead for more than 100 years and decided it was time to share...
cheeseunderground.blogspot — Jon Metzig grew up - literally - on top of his family's Union Star cheese factory near Fremont, Wis. He started helping out in the family business at age 7, earned his cheesemaker's license at age 18, and after graduating from UW-River Falls with a degree in Ag Business and...
cheeseandchampagne — Keswick Creamery is well-known among DC farmers market goers for their wonderful cheeses, yogurt and more. Located in Newberg, Pennsylvania, the small family dairy has been making cheese from their grassfed Jersey cows since 2001. Their ricotta is some of the best I’ve tasted, and local foodies rave about their...
cheeseunderground.blogspot — Chefs and cheesemakers have a lot in common, says Dream Dance Chef Jason Gorman. They both work magic with food. And no one works more magic than the combo of Chef Jason and Master Cheesemaker Sid Cook, the wizard behind the curtain at Carr Valley Cheese. As part of the...
madamefromage.blogspot — Until yesterday, I'd never eaten a raw-milk gouda. Then, I picked up my work phone and heard a breathless voice, "Madame Fromage, I went crazy at the Kimberton Whole Foods. I'm on campus with a ton of local cheese." The voice belonged to a colleague of mine I know only...
madamefromage.blogspot — Next week, it’s Bon Voyage, Madame Fromage! I’ll be packing my cheese valise and flying to Wisconsin to make a little cheese tour, then I'll hole up along the Mississippi at the Anderson Center in Red Wing, Minn. and finish work on a book – no, no, not a cheese...
madamefromage.blogspot — A few weeks ago, I was at a farmers' market in Madison, Wisconsin when I overheard one vendor say to another, “You know what I like to do my curds? I wrap them in arugula.” A little light went off in my mind. Of course, arugula-wrapped curds. Maybe add a...
madamefromage.blogspot — I'm in Iowa this week, listening to the corn rustle. I came for a high-school reunion and a chance to hang with my pops, but the real treat has been discovering local cheese. I grew up on Maytag Blue, a raw-milk zinger from Newton (made by the same family who...
mastercheesemakerbook.wordpress — Great trip to Rhinelander — a crowd of about 75 turned out to see us and sample a terrific array of master-made cheeses at the Rhinelander District Library. It was incredible how many (generally excellent!) questions were fired our way — the whole program ran a little over 90 minutes,...
cheeseunderground.blogspot — Bad news has a way of traveling quickly, so when I heard the news last night that Agriculture Secretary Rod Nilsestuen had died in a tragic drowning accident, I was absolutely devastated. This was a man for whom I worked, for whom I had fought for, and whom I would...
itsnotyouitsbrie — While sitting in my room in a French bed and breakfast in the Jura region of France, I compiled a list of what I learned about France and cheese. It is longer than the following nine items, but I won’t share them all. I don’t want you to think that...
mastercheesemakerbook.wordpress — We’re making an appearance in Rhinelander, WI, tonight, courtesy of the Rhinelander District Library. It should be a great trip — a local store, Trig’s, is threatening to inundate the audience with samples, and we always enjoy taking our show on the road. In other news, I’ve got a short story...
cheeseunderground.blogspot — It's not often one gets the chance to see hand-stretched mozzarella being made, so when Cesar Luis called me last week and asked me if I was interested in helping him make string cheese, I cleared my calendar, threw my boots in the car, and told my daughter we were...
cheeseboutique.blogspot — <!--StartFragment-->Hi, I'm Raymi and I'm a celebrity blogger who also just so happens to be an eataholic. I come bearing no off button, so when Cheese Boutique invited me along for the Seafood for Thought event (Toronto Zoo's 2nd annual fundraiser that promotes Sustainable Food) eating tour I just about...
madamefromage.blogspot — Friends, I write to you from the state of Minnesota, where I plan to squirrel myself away for the next month to finish a novel. I've got a cooler full of cheese to sustain me, but internet access will be spotty, so consider this my postcard...Madame Fromage will be back...