Feb 4th 2013
The Rennet Story: Animal, Vegetable and Microbial
Ruggles Hill Creamery Ada's Honor - made with microbial rennet
Microbial rennet is derived from molds that are able to produce a coagulating enzyme and are viewed as vegetarian appropriate – however,
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Jul 26th 2012
What Is Annatto? How Does It Relate to Cheese?
Red Leicester and Annatto Seeds
Mimolette. Red Leicester. Shropshire Blue. What do these three cheeses have in common? They are all orange and they are all colored with annatto. Annatto is a somewhat
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Sep 28th 2011
The Origins of Gorgonzola: Dolce and Piccante
Gorgonzola Dolce (front) and Gorgonzola Piccante (rear)
Lombardy is a region in the northernmost part of Italy, sitting on the country's Alpine border with Switzerland. The terrain is varied, rangin
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May 12th 2011
Washed-Rind Cheeses (aka 'The Stinkers')
While studying to be a pastry chef, I started working as a cheesemonger. In a restaurant, the pastry chef is sometimes given the responsibility of overseeing the cheese plate. While the chef might b
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Feb 24th 2011
The Gouda the Dutch Eat: Boerenkaas
My first introduction to Gouda was the industrial variety that the Dutch ship all over the world: beige-ish, wrapped in red paraffin and fairly pliant. Traveling in Greece when I was sixteen, we bou
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Feb 10th 2011
What Exactly Are Double and Triple-Crème Cheeses?
The terms “double-crème” and “triple-crème” are bandied about a lot in cheese shops. While most folks have a general idea of what they mean in terms of texture (creamy, spreadable!) and flavor (butt
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