Welcome to the France 44 Cheesecutter! Every month, we will aim to explore a new area of cheese and provide our opinions and recommendations. We want to help you decide month by month which cheese is best to melt on your grilled cheese, which soft cheese is best to take with you on a picnic, and which stinky cheese pairs best with that bottle of bubbly in your fridge.
When I first moved to Minneapolis several years ago, a friend of mine invited me to her annual “pie night”. It was a tradition from her childhood that she was bringing to her new city; and she invited pretty much everybody in the neighborhood, with the only rule being that anyone who attended had to bring a pie that they made.
I was an avid baker at the time, but I had never attempted a homemade pie crust before. I was intrigued by the challenge. I made a pretty simple pumpkin pie as that was the only pie I had ever eaten growing up, and I had it exactly once a year – on Thanksgiving.
Droves of people came to pie night and everyone with their own pie. Some people brought fruit pies with intricate lattice-work, others had painstakingly folded individual empanadas and hand pies. There were steak pies, and cottage pies and peanut butter chocolate chip pies. It turns out that there was a wide world of pie for me to explore (although, I still bring a pumpkin pie every year on the off chance that no one else does!). Pie night has become one of those big ceremonial meals that I share with my friends and neighbors every year, and it represents, to me, the most important part of the fall and winter seasons. Breaking bread with the people around you as often as you can.
During the holiday season, I spend a lot of my time behind the cheese counter working with people to pick out exactly what cheeses fit into these meaningful meals that they’ll share with their loved ones. I’ve been thinking a lot about the way we eat around the holidays and the traditions and rituals that come with it. Breaking the wishbone at Thanksgiving, eating grapes on New Year’s Eve, or even just blowing out birthday candles. Food is such an essential part of connection and that includes how we serve and eat our cheese.
In this blog post, I’m going to go through some of my favorite picks for special cheeses that can help you create an environment of celebration and community. This means that I’m focusing on cheeses that are perfect for sharing at big meals, cheeses that have a ritual behind them or a specific way of eating them, and cheeses that just fit in with the holidays.
What to Consider:
- Feeling: First and foremost, this is about what type of feeling you want to create with this cheese. Do you want to include your friends and family in the ritual of cracking open the first Rush Creek Reserve of the year? Do you want to show off your cheeseboard skills by making little Tête de Moine rosettes ahead of time and letting them reap the benefits? Do you want to bask in the warmth of a freshly baked brie together? There are plenty of feelings that cheese can help to create. What’s your goal for this meal?
- Texture: There are many different textures to be found when it comes to ceremonial cheeses. From dipping bread into gold and bubbly fondue all the way to finishing your meal with some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and endless stops in between.
- Funk: Winter can be the perfect time to look for some more robust and funkier flavors if your cheese-loving heart leans in that direction. Traditional fondue and raclette tend to have a savory funk. Is this something you’re excited about or would like to try and avoid when it comes to your holiday cheese experiences?
- Feeling: The holiday season also tends to create environments for flavored cheeses to shine. Cheeses with delicious additions such as peppercorn, mustard, or even truffle all have a time and place in the upcoming holiday meals. There’s also milk type to think about. Are you interested in cow, sheep, or goat? Maybe all three in one cheese? It’s the perfect time of year to discover new flavors.
Iconic Centerpiece: Rush Creek Reserve
One of the verified stars of the holiday season, Rush Creek Reserve is a raw milk soft cheese made in the drift-less region of Wisconsin by Uplands Creamery. This cheese is made in the style of Vacherin Mont d’Or, another delicious seasonal cheese in France. This cheese is made with the decadent, fattier milk that the herd is producing when they transition from eating out at pasture in the summer to eating hay in the winter. The cheese is then hand wrapped in spruce bark and ready to be enjoyed. The best way to eat this cheese is to gently cut the top rind off all the way around right above that spruce bark wrap while the cheese is at room temperature. Then place a spoon inside so that friends and family can spoon this custard-like cheese onto fresh bread or even dip potatoes right in! What you end up with is a gorgeous centerpiece to your cheeseboard. Not only will everyone remember the delicious, woodsy flavor of the cheese itself, but also the experience of dipping their spoon right into such an unctuous, seasonal treat.
For That Finishing Touch
Belper Knolle: Belper Knolle is a Swiss cow’s milk cheese with garlic powder mixed into the paste and black pepper pressed into the outside. It’s an incredibly hard aged cheese that has a look not unlike a little truffle. Similar to a truffle, this cheese truly shines when it is grated or shaved on top of a dish to add that final touch. Whether it’s on top of pasta, or used to add a cheese-y finish to your popcorn, this cheese adds a ceremonial feel to any dish. As an added bonus, because of its dry and aged nature, this cheese makes a fantastic gift for any other foodies in your life.
Tête de Moine: Tête de Moine is another Swiss-made cheese with an almost ritualistic way of serving. This semi-firm cow’s milk cheese with a surprisingly intense flavor is traditionally served using a girolle which is a specialty rotary cheese knife that cuts the cheese into beautiful little rosettes. These rosettes are gorgeous on a cheeseboard or sprinkled on top of a salad. In addition to adding visual dimension, this way of cutting the cheese results in very thin pieces that melt in your mouth and disperse the fruity flavor of the cheese evenly.
Made for Melting: Raclette de Compton au Poivre
(arriving Tuesday, 11/10)
The second that the weather turns, my mind is on all the different ways that I can eat melted cheese. Truly, one of the most delicious, and most traditional, is raclette. This delicious award-winning raclette comes from Fromagerie la Station in Quebec and features a line of pink peppercorns running through the center. This adds a delightful fruity note to the otherwise very deep and savory cheese. Raclette cheese is specifically made to create a smooth melt and maintain its robust flavor when heated. It’s delicious when used for any sort of melting, but truly shines when eaten with friends and family in traditional raclette style. Slice the raclette thin, melt it up, and pour it over whatever you like. Better yet, have each guest bring over their favorite raclette accompaniment (potatoes, cornichons, and sausage are all traditional options) and try it all together!
