Capra Serenade

It could be said that I love cheese but this next cheese loves you back - how can you resist the delightful heart-shaped Serenade from Capra Cheese?


Cheese Maker: Capra
Cheese Name: Serenade
Location: 125 Tices Road, Mt Lookout


This has a double layer of ash - one surrounding the heart and the other straight through the center.


All cheese made by Capra uses organic goats' milk from their own free-range herd.


Much like their Velvet this has that same creamy, clean taste with the ash giving it another dimension. The flavour is quite distinct, I know my sister likened it to a blue cheese but I put it more towards a bitey vintage cheddar.

This cheese is now available at The Cheese Shop Deli at Prahran Market as well as the other places listed in my earlier post.

Originally published here

Hunter Valley Grape Vine Ashed Brie

The race that stops a nation has finally been run and won and hearty congratulations go to Viewed and its trainer Bart Cummings.

While the horses were racing we were happily nibbling on this:

Maker: Hunter Valley Cheese Company
Type: Grape Vine Ashed Brie
Location: Cnr Broke and McDonalds Road, Pokolbin, NSW
Web: Hunter Valley Cheese Company

When you see the words "grape vine ashed" you usually expect to see the ash on the outside. Since this is a Brie, the cheese is ashed and then left for the white mould to develop over it.



Having left this out of the fridge for a few hours and serving it close to its best before date, I've been well rewarded with this wonderful runny texture. There's a rich creamy flavour but the rind is surprising mild and very enjoyable to eat.



You could well be excused for treating it like a cheese fondue.

Originally published here

King Island Dairy Cape Wickham Double Brie

It's that time of year when you seem to do a lot more entertaining and cheese is usually on the menu.

Maker: King Island Dairy
Name: Cape Wickham Double Brie

The double brie is made by adding cream to the mix which produces a much richer and creamier finish and lush flavours.


Deep bold coloured interior that stays firmish - there's a little softening towards the middle. Full flavours that seem to stick in your mouth, courtesy of that extra cream content.

Originally published here

Hellenic Black Truffle Goat Curd

I may not have access to fresh truffles at the moment but that doesn't mean you have to go without. Here is a new product I've recently discovered that blends truffle with goat cheese!



I first spied these tiny tubs at Leo's in Kew and they immediately found their way into our trolley. I've since found them at Cleo's Deli in Prahran Market too.


There's a little oil covering the cheese and all those specks you see are black truffle. Easily spreadable, it would be a quick way to smarten up those everyday sandwiches.

I've also used it in those Tortelloni as a replacement for the White Truffle paste.

Originally published here

Maleny Buffalo Brie

We're working our way through our stash of cheese from the Cheese Show and I'm revisiting Maleny Cheese to take a closer look at their Buffalo Brie


Cheese Maker: Maleny Cheese
Cheese Name: Buffalo Brie
Location: 1 Clifford St, Maleny, Queensland
Web: www.malenycheese.com.au

The milk is sourced from a local Buffalo herd, one of only four in the country.

This is a firm cheese to handle totally different to the delicate nature of their Le Blochon. There's an earthy aroma to the cheese that is pleasantly devoid of any traces of ammonia.


It's beginning to break down and develop those runny characteristics - if I was to leave it another week or so this would be more pronounced.

When cut it's main difference to regular cows' milk brie is evident - it's a whiter interior very similar to that seen in goat cheese.


The skin on this is quite thick and the taste can dominate the rather mild core. There's a lovely creaminess and sweetness to this, characteristics of the buffalo milk. If you are seeking a change from your regular Brie, then this would be a good place to start.

Originally published here

Berrys Creek Tarwin Blue

Here's another cheese from the recent Specialist Cheesemakers Show - Berry's Creek Cheese are located in Poowong, here in Victoria and they specialise in farmhouse cheese made using the milk from their own herd of Jersey cows.

What struck us when tasting their range was the uniform creaminess of all the cheese - a direct result of using the richer flavour of Jersey milk.



Cheese Maker: Berry's Creek Cheese
Cheese Name: Tarwin Blue



There are three blue cheeses in the Berry Creek range and Tarwin Blue sits in the middle. It uses a combination of three moulds that gives it quite a depth of flavour with only a light veining present. The cheese itself is exceptionally creamy and almost sweet, the mound introducing that pleasant and almost Parmesan like, tang.


I think the combination of texture and light veining will probably make even the blue-phobic at least try it and more than likely, really enjoy it. For those that have already been seduced by the power of blue cheese, this is one blue you should keep an eye out for.

Originally published here

Maleny Le Blochon

Our intention in attending Sunday's Melbourne Specialist Cheese Show was to seek out new cheese-makers and/or cheese and this next offering certainly qualifies.

Maleny Cheese is a family concern which sees a merging of Swiss cheese makers with third generation dairy farmers. Located in Maleny, Queensland they opened in 2004.

The cheese featured in this post, is a highly aromatic washed rind called Le Blochon.

Cheese Maker: Maleny Cheese
Cheese Name: Le Blochon
Location: 1 Clifford St, Maleny, Queensland
Web: www.malenycheese.com.au

The first thing you notice when you approach this cheese is undoubtably its aroma. That "farm fresh" scent fills the air and can't help but put a smile on your face. Once you handle the cheese you'll then notice just how soft and malleable it feels



Once unwrapped you can enjoy its wrinkled tan skin. Much like the Reblouchon on which it is based, it is made using the milk from the second milking.



This photo shows the appearance when cut not long after removing it from the fridge - there are signs of its lovely unctuous character but it does need to come up to temperature



The skin is well defined and certainly edible - there's no bitterness or overpowering ammonia scent that can be found in other cheese.



Taste wise, it's a sweet and somewhat nutty flavoured cheese, combined with a wonderful creamy mouth feel. For washed rind novices, I urge you to look past its aroma - you will be more than rewarded by this excellent cheese.

Originally published here

Capra Cheese Velvet

Located at Mt Lookout here in Victoria, Capra Cheese produces traditional farmhouse styled cheese using certified organic milk from their own herd of goats.

Cheese Maker: Capra Cheese
Cheese Name: Velvet
Location: 125 Tices Road, Mt Lookout

Velvet is a barrel shaped, french-styled white mould goat cheese. As it matures it moves from nutty and earthy to sweet and rich in flavour.



With this well matured version, the texture is indeed, like velvet. The cheese can be scooped out and spread with a consistency akin to cream cheese. The rind is quite thick and rather intense in flavour - I would advise that you don't eat the rind. An enjoyable cheese with that pleasant goat tang at the finish - the creamy, lush texture gives it great mouth feel.


Postscript:
Having received a very lovely email from the owners of Capra Cheese, I can now produce a list of outlets were you can find this cheese and others in the Capra Range.
Retail Outlets:
Armadale - Macro Wholefoods
Glen Waverly - Macro Wholefoods (The Glen Shopping Centre)
Kew - Leo's Supermarket
Richmond - Macro Wholefoods
Bairnsdale - David Lucke’s Market and Bairnsdale Wholefoods
Paynesville - Foodworks Paynesville
Warragul - Lean and Green

Farmers' Market:
1st Saturday of Month - East Gippsland Farmers' Market
2nd Saturday of Month - Metung Farmers' Market
2rd Sunday of Month - Whitehorse Farmers' Market
3rd Sunday of the Month - IInverloch Farmers' Market
4th Saturday of Month - Traralgon Farmers' Market
4th Sunday of Month - Rotary Farmers’ Produce Market, Bulleen
5th Saturday of Month - Taste of Gold Farmer’s Market, Holmesglen


Originally published here

Barossa Valley Cheese Co. Babybert

It's been a while between cheese and I'm back with one of the smallest specimens I've seen.



Babybert is a Baby Camembert produced by the Barossa Valley Cheese Company and it's surely a cheese meant to be enjoyed alone as it only weighs about 50 grams.


It's a fairly firm cheese to begin with - let it come to room temperature and it does soften becoming somewhat spongy rather than oozy. It also has those typical earthy, mushroom notes to its aroma.


Tastewise, it is quite smooth on the palette with an enticing creamy texture.


Originally published here

Udder Delights Goats Brie

It's been a while since I last had some cheese from Udder Delights so why not celebrate with their new release.

Cheese Maker: Udder Delights
Cheese Name: Goats Brie
Cheese Cellar: 91a Main Road Handorf, SA
Open: 7 days: 9am to 5pm
Closed: Good Friday, Christmas and Boxing Day

The milk is sourced from a mainly Saanen Goat herd while non-animal rennet is used in the cheese-making process.

Compared with the Udder Delights Goat Camembert this is a little firmer though the signs are there that it will soften considerably.

According to the cheese-makers it will break down to a wonderfully molten cheese - to serve at its fully ripened stage you would cut the top off and just scoop out the soft interior - very similar to the Holy Goat Ripe Pandora.

Tastewise, clean flavours with a definite goat "tang" wrapped in a pleasant creaminess.


Originally published here

Grandvewe Blue by Ewe

The people at Grandvewe must have a sense of humour going by their choice of names for their various cheeses - take for example this one, Blue By Ewe

Cheese Maker: Grandvewe Cheese
Cheese Name: Blue By Ewe
Location: 59 Devlyns Road, Birchs Bay Tasmania
Open:
September - June: 10am-5pm, 7 days excluding Christmas day
July - August: 10am-4pm daily except Tuesdays

Blue By Ewe is a Roquefort style cheese made using penicillium roqueforti and is hand salted with Murray River salt.

There's a good degree of marbling - deep green in colour.

It is a bit crumbly but not at all dry. The sheep milk brings a sweetness to the flavour - pleasantly creamy with a delicious tang.


Originally published on here

Boosey Creek Warby Red

I've been holding onto this cheese post as I knew nothing about the cheese-makers and couldn't really find any information about them. As it happens, the farmers' market was having a regional promotion and rather fortunately the cheese-makers where there - so not only did I find out more about their cheese I also got to sample more of their range.

Cheese Maker: Boosey Creek Cheese
Cheese: Warby Red Washed Rind
Address: 734 Grinter Road, Boosey, Victoria
Open: 10am-5pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays/Victorian School Holidays

That tell-tale orange skin should immediately let you know that this is a washed rind cheese. In the words of the cheese-makers, it is "hand-washed in our secret blend".

All the milk used comes from their own herd of Friesian-Holstein cows - with the cheese making facilities located within the dairy.

Unlike most of the other washed rinds, this is quite a firm cheese - in fact it is surprisingly firm give the ripe aromas wafting from its skin. Even leaving it out reach room temperature didn't alter the firmness.

If you eat the skin, then this is a rather potent cheese - Paalo who loves his blue cheese even felt it was just too overpowering. However, remove the skin and the cheese itself is very pleasant - there's enough of those washed rind characters coming through but the creaminess of the cheese softens the overall flavour.

Not for the faint hearted but if you'd like to try it - here in Melbourne, it's only available at Leo's in Kew.


Originally published on here

Woodside Cheese Wrights Etzy Ketzy

I seem to be in a "stinky cheese" mood of late but when I spied this cheese from Woodside Cheese Wrights at Leo's, I just had to try it

Cheese Maker: Woodside Cheese Wrights
Cheese Name: Etzy Ketzy
Cheese Type: Washed Rind Cow/Goat Milk
Location: Woodside, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Retail Outlet: 7 Henry Street, Woodside, South Australia
Open: Monday - Sunday: 10am - 4pm

The name Etzy Ketzy is said to mean half and half or middle in Greek - an apt name considering this is a mix of cow and goat milk. It's made in the winter when there's less goat milk available.

With about another 4 weeks to go before it reaches it's best before date, the skin has already started to become sticky - there is also an excellent earthy aroma to the cheese that seeps through the packaging.

It is quite a thin cheese and is presented as a large flattish disc - it makes it look a lot larger than it's meagre weight of 125 grams would imply.

This hasn't been left out of the fridge very long but you can begin to see it starting to ooze

The skin is a dominant taste and even at this young age it isn't for the faint hearted - best served on solid chunks of bread, something like a good sour dough. As I find it a touch on the salty side, quince paste or fresh fruit would also make a good companion.



Originally published here

Red Hill Cheese Bushranger Gold

If you are a fan of washed rind as I am, then you'll be most interested in this next cheese.

Cheese Maker: Red Hill Cheese
Cheese: Bushranger Gold
Location: 81 William Road (Off Arthurs Seat Road), Red Hill
Cellar Door: Open daily Noon-5pm (except Christmas, Boxing Day & Good Friday)

Bushranger Gold is a washed rind, goat cheese and that warning sticker is really unnecessary as your nose will immediately tell you that is one of those delightfully stinky cheeses. While taking these photos, even through the wrapper those heady mushroom scents kept wafting up to tease me.

Bushranger Gold is described as

A wild washed-rind goat-milk cheese with a delectable, complex cauliflower flavour, lingering on the palate. Mild when young; sticky and pungent with an explosive flavour when fully mature.

It is also made using vegetarian rennet.

I must include a caveat that the "best by date" for this particular cheese is March 15th - so at this early stage of maturation, the flavours are all very mild. It will be very interesting to compare another specimen closer to its best by date.

I would imagine that the interior would become a bit more runnier along with an intesification of flavours and aroma. Currently the skin is highly edible and though the interior is firm, it still is quite creamy in the mouth.

Paalo thought this had similar characteristics to a Taleggio and can vouch for its delectability.

If you are unsure of washed rinds then this would be a really good place to start and perhaps built up to a more matured version.


Originally published here