Tales from the Cheesemonger

May 2006

Seattle Cheese Festival, 2006

Seattle’s second annual Cheese Festival held at the historic Pike Place Market was a rousing success this past Mother’s Day weekend. Cheeses from all over the world, including our neck of the woods, were displayed and sampled by happy market goers enjoying the sunshine.

The fest was a great opportunity for both cheesemakers and supporters of the industry alike to join together and talk cheese. If you missed the event, stop by Beecher’s and we’ll be happy to help you sample some of the cheeses featured at the festival. To read up on what went down, click here.

Cheese and the Summer BBQ

The weather is getting warmer and folks are starting to migrate towards the outdoors with barbecue supplies in hand. While the heat can put some limits on transporting perishables, one needn’t shy away from a food as varied as cheese. For starters, harder or drier cheeses such as Fiscalini’s aged cheddars can stand the heat for the better part of an afternoon and evening.

Plus, there’s no better barbecue condiment than Rogue Creamery’s award-winning Smokey Blue to transform an ordinary cheeseburger into a rich and smoky piece of heaven, especially in combination with fresh tomatoes and crisp butter lettuce. To further capitalize on the smoked flavor, add a few strips of bacon from your local butcher.

Cheese is also no stranger to summer side dishes. A garlic lover would welcome the addition of Beecher’s Market Herb Cheese Curds to their pasta salad or market greens salad. The olive oil marinade serves as a partial replacement for your traditional vinaigrette.

Take advantage of the return of fresh goat cheeses to compliment your outdoor spread. As fresh goat cheese is dependent on the goat’s breeding cycle, it typically becomes scarce between December and April. It’s now readily available in the market and for the ideal ‘stand alone’ goat’s cheese, Beecher’s newest retail addition, Black Truffle Chèvre from Amaltheia Dairy in Montana, makes a great warm weather appetizer. With its bright and earthy flavor, it’s perfect served next to crisp, cool veggies and a crusty baguette.

To round out your barbecue, for dessert, top assorted berries with a dollop of Beecher’s Honey Blank Slate and garnish with fresh shredded mint leaves. Easy to make and loved by everyone.

Summer Cheese Pairing – Bring on the Beer

Although wine is the traditional adult beverage to pair with cheese, for those of you who prefer a cold barley pop to accompany your burger, never fear: beer and cheese is the up and coming pairing trend among foodies in the know. For fans of this fusion, cheese and beer are the more natural pairing than cheese and wine, and there are several arguments to support this.

First, beer has a lower acidity than wine. While this doesn’t guarantee a perfect match every time, it does make for far more harmonious combinations. Second, cheese and beer are crafted using the same traditional methods – fermented liquids and cultures combined with a little know-how. As they overlap in the processes by which they are created, cheesemakers and brewmasters will combine the two products during their make process. For example, Beecher’s once used reduced beer as an experimental flavoring agent in a small batch of cheese and it was well received. In turn, some of the Beecher’s whey (the by-product of making cheese) is used in a specialty stout brewed by Rock Bottom Brewery here in Seattle.

Even the vocabularies used by beer and cheese aficionados contain much overlap, with descriptors like grassy, salty, fruity, and nutty prominent in both circles. Finally, for those cheeses especially high in fat, beer serves as a palate cleanser by nature of its carbonation. Not only will you be left refreshed, you can also taste cheese after cheese after cheese without any creamy build up on your tongue.

Surprise your guests with the following pairings at your next cheese party and let your taste buds be the judge: