Shellbark Hollow Sharp Goat

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I absolutely love Shellbark Hollow sharp goat cheese.  Goat cheese had a pretty good tang to it to begin with, and this aged, sharp goat is super sassy!  It’s big flavor. It has a dry, sort of crumbly texture.

The sharp goat was a great addition to the roasted beet and goat cheese stacks I made last Friday.  Goat cheese is a natural paired with beets anyway, but this cheese stood up so well to the beets and the lemony zest of sorrel.  I’m thinking this would make an excellent cheese to stuff into some nice locally grown chicken breasts, as well.

The Shellbark Hollow sharp goat is available at DiBruno Bros. and the Fair Food Farmstand.

Birchrun Blue

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

The other day I wandered into DiBruno’s and asked for what they had that’s locally produced.  Despite getting the new guy in the cheese cave, he immediately pulled out the Birchrun Blue.  I have been happily munching on it since then.

Birchrun Blue is an aged, natural rind, raw cow milk (from pastured cows) blue cheese produced by Birchrun Hills Farm in Chester Springs.  Birchrun Hills is relatively new to cheesemaking, only cranking out cheese for a few years now.  Of course, they’ve been the dairy business much longer than that.  It’s an absolutely wonderful blue cheese that will even appeal to those that are not blue cheese fans.

The Birchrun Blue has a lovely creamy texture and a delicate blue cheese taste, nice and earthy.  It’s perfect with slices of apple, and a fantastic melting cheese.  I made burgers using some ground beef from Natural Acres and melted some of the Birchrun Blue on top - it was delicious!  The rind is vaguely brie-ish, although pretty intense, flavor-wise.

Birchrun Blue can, as I said, be found at DiBruno Bros., and also at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market, as well as several farmer’s markets in the area.

Oak Shade Farm pepper jack

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Monterey Jack cheese is supposed to be pretty mild.  I must admit that I found the Pepper Jack from Oak Shade Farm in Nottingham, PA extra bland.  The cheese, that is.  The peppers that are in the cheese are good and spicy, which totally redeems the cheese for me.  Twenty minutes after eating a few slivers, my mouth still burns!

I can’t help but think about the stellar grilled cheese sandwich this cheese would make.

Oak Shade Farm cheese is available in the dairy case at Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal.

Raw milk cheddar

Saturday, September 01, 2007

My grandparents were farmers - cows and corn.  As a result, my mother didn’t have pasteurized and homogenized milk until she was out of high school and thought it was disgusting.  When you’re used to raw milk, everything else tastes super watered down.  I haven’t drunk raw milk since I was a baby…until recently.  I bought a gallon to make cheese, and nearly spit it out when I tried it.  It’s all what you’re used to, I suppose.

One thing even the skim milk drinkers amongst us might agree on: milk made from raw milk is far superior in taste and texture.  The flavor of raw milk cheese is so much more complex and, well, earthy.  I recently tried the raw milk cheddar from Green Meadow Farms, a farm run in Gap, PA.  It is amazing - it has a fairly sharp bite to it, which I love in cheddar.  Great texture, too - it’s a little crumbly, but smooth on your tongue.

While my bit of raw milk cheddar will be finished simply sliced and served with thin slices of apple, the cheese would make an unbelievable baked macaroni and cheese.  As the cooler weather approaches, I may have to try that.

Green Meadow Farm cheeses are made from grass-fed milk and are hormone- and antibiotic-free.  You can find their cheese at various restaurants throughout the Philadelphia area, including Fork and the White Dog Cafe.  I purchased my piece of cheddar at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market.

Nettlesome cheese

Monday, August 27, 2007

A few days ago I bought a small chunk of Valley Shepherd Creamery Nettlesome cheese.  It sat in my ‘fridge.  I just couldn’t work up the motivation to try it.  Stinging nettles in cheese?  It just sounded…wrong.

But Nettlesome cheese is so, so right!  This mixed milk cheese is really wonderful - it’s filled with dried nettles and has a great, grassy smell.  The taste, too, has grass undertones.  Not in an unpleasant way - in a very rich and interesting way.  Coincidentally, I had this idea last night during my tasting - it would probably make a really great grilled cheese sandwich.  It seems like it would melt really well, and the taste of the nettles would be really unique.

Interestingly, eating cheese with stinging nettles is pretty good for you.  Aside from all the benefits of dairy, nettles have long been used in herbal medicines to treat disorders of the muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, and anemia. Who knew you could eat cheese and treat arthritis all in one shot?!

Valley Shepherd Creamery is located in Long Valley, New Jersey.  And if you’re ever up that way, they do offer cheesemaking classes.  Valley Shepherd Creamery is also the location of the 2007 Artisan Cheese and Food Festival coming up on September 29.  It sounds like an amazing event for local food aficionados.  Over 25 small farms and artisan food producers throughout the Northeast region will be there with American Cheese Society award winning cheeses and specialty foods.

Edited to note:  Nettlesome cheese is available in the dairy case at the Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal Market.

Pennsylvania Noble

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

When I contemplated starting to eat locally made food, my first thought was ‘What about the cheese?’  Oh sure, I know where to buy locally made mozzarella…and I can make my own ricotta cheese and fromage blanc…but what about cheddar?  What would I do to satisfy my craving for good cheddar?

As luck would have it, I was running around Reading Terminal Market one day when a man from Green Valley Dairy was pimping some of his Pennsylvania Noble.  From that day forward I knew I would never have to worry about my cheese cravings.  While it’s not super sharp, the “cheddar style” cheese has a slight nuttiness and a good strong taste going for it.  Plus, it’s organic and made from the raw milk of grass fed, pastured cows.  And cave aged for seven months.  It’s absolutely fantastic with slices of apple or pear and a glass of Shiraz.

In addition to being available at the Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal, you can also find PA Noble at DiBruno Bros., Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop, and online at Green Valley Dairy.

On a related note, I see that Green Valley will soon have a Brie de Meaux-style cheese available.  I can hardly contain my excitement! One can only hope it emits the eye-watering stench of dirty feet of real Brie de Meaux.  Be still my heart!

Hot and Sweet Chevre

Friday, August 03, 2007

If I were stranded on a desert island and could only take along one kind of food, it would be cheese.  I love cheese above all else, which makes me the black sheep of the family because my people have a serious sweet tooth issue.  It’s possible, though, that Shellbark Hollow Farm’s Hot and Sweet Chevre could make them see the light - this locally made cheese is absolute perfection.

Ignore what you think goat cheese tastes like.  Some of it can be a little chalky in texture, and many people don’t like goat cheese because it’s got a bit of a tang to it.  Maybe it’s the locally produced raw and organic goat milk or maybe it’s purebred Nubian goats cared for lovingly by the family who runs Shellbark Hollow Farm - this goat cheese is light but tart, and unbelievably good.  When you add in the hot peppers, it’s irresistible!

The Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal Market sells Shellbark Farm products, and I’m also told that the White Dog Cafe often has the cheese on their menu.  Do what you have to in order to get your hands on some.